AvGeek Archives - Page 2 of 12

Inside Armstrong Building 703: The Home of NASA’s State-of-the-Art Research Aircraft

Plane Spotting / By Keishi Nukina / May 16, 2019 August 9, 2019

While NASA is best known for the work it does in connection with space travel and exploration, every day the agency’s engineers, researchers, and other staff work hard to make advances in the field of aeronautics as well. One of NASA’s divisions responsible for that is the Armstrong Flight Research Center – known until 2014 as …

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New Terminal, New Era: Onboard Jetstar Japan’s Inaugural Flight from Tokyo to Shimojishima

Special Flights / By Keishi Nukina / April 10, 2019 August 29, 2019

Over the last couple of years, I took quite a few “special” flights – whether inaugurals or farewells. Among others, I was on Air France’s inaugural 787 flight, on the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400CC inaugural flight, as well as on the Cathay Pacific 747 farewell flight. That said, I’d never been on an inaugural flight …

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Aviation Museum: Polish Army Museum (Warsaw, Poland)

Aviation Museums / By Keishi Nukina / February 16, 2019 August 9, 2019

Whether you are a civil aviation or military aviation enthusiast, if you find yourself with some spare time in Warsaw, Poland, you should consider visiting the Polish Army Museum which is just a short walk away from the capital’s city center. Since I had a long transfer in Warsaw while transferring between a LOT flight …

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Aviation Museum: Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History (Brussels, Belgium)

Aviation Museums / By Keishi Nukina / January 13, 2019 August 9, 2019

The Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History in Brussels is, as its name suggests, mainly focused on military and not solely focused on aviation either. I still visited it during my long transit in Brussels the other day, though, as I wanted to see the ex-Sabena Sud Caravelle that is probably the …

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Malev Lisunov Li-2, Ikarus 55 and Tupolev Tu-154

A Retro Weekend in Budapest: Flying on the Lisunov Li-2 Over the Danube

Special Flights / By Keishi Nukina / November 26, 2018 August 25, 2019

If the aircraft above looks familiar to you, then it’s because looks like the well-known Douglas DC-3. However, rather than being the DC-3 itself, it’s the license-built Soviet version of the DC-3, Lisunov Li-2. Back in October 2018, I had a chance to fly on a short sightseeing flight over Budapest onboard the last remaining …

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How Is Plane Spotting from Naha (Okinawa) Airport’s Observation Decks?

Plane Spotting / By Keishi Nukina / November 8, 2018 August 9, 2019

When thinking about plane spotting in Japan, it’s easy to focus on the two Tokyo airports. However, the country offers other regional airports that offer a nice mix of traffic that cannot be seen in Tokyo and of nice photo points. One of such airports is Naha (Okinawa) which is the seventh busiest airport in …

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NASA 747, Cleared for Take-Off: Observing a SOFIA Mission

Special Flights / By Keishi Nukina / October 27, 2018 February 20, 2020

Every summer, NASA’s airborne observatory SOFIA leaves its base in Palmdale, California, and heads to Christchurch, New Zealand to observe the Southern Sky. Being in the southern hemisphere for a couple of months not only allows scientists to observe celestial objects that cannot be seen from the Northern Hemisphere, but it also allows them to …

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AvGeeking at Kagoshima Airport: Observation Deck and ‘SORA STAGE’ Exhibition Hall

Plane Spotting / By Keishi Nukina / October 13, 2018 August 9, 2019

Serving over 5 million passengers a year, Kagoshima airport is among ten Japan’s busiest airports, and also the second largest airport on the island of Kyushu. Besides having an observation deck like many Japanese airports do, there is also a small aviation-themed exhibition in the terminal called “SORA STAGE” where visitors can learn about aviation …

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Spotting Guide: Photographing Seaplanes at Vancouver Coal Harbour Seaplane Base

Plane Spotting / By Keishi Nukina / August 13, 2018 August 9, 2019

When it comes to seaplanes, Alaska, the Maldives, or the Seychelles might be some of the places that you think about first. And, while it’s true that Lake Hood in Alaska is the world’s busiest seaplane base and that seaplanes are important for the tourism industry in the two archipelagos in the Indian Ocean, when …

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