Well...nearly froze my "jingle bells" off, but I spent over an hour at the edge of the airport waiting to see one of the last of Delta's 747s. They're being retired and Delta is making a farewell tour to several cities. We were promised a flyover first and the plane came right overhead of where I was standing. So huge!
Next, we waited for it's approach to the runway. I'm there Monday thru Friday at the dog park, so I knew where to go for the best angles. It seemed to be coming in so slow. Don't know if that's because it's so much bigger that the planes I'm used to seeing or if it has a slower stall speed. Got several shots as the plane came closer to the runway, then the frame of my camera was filled with just the forward section of the plane. With my big lens it felt I could touch it.
As I spun to follow the plane's progress, I watched for the touchdown and the blue smoke from the tires hitting the tarmac. The plane kept flying over the runway, just a few feet above the runway...and it kept going. We all realized it was going to rise again and come around once more.
Waiting for the plane to return the cold really started to sink in. Fingers were getting numb and I said if it doesn't get here soon, I won't be able to work the shutter. The lady next to me said, "Try being out here in a skirt". Damn, there she was in a short skirt with tights. Guess she really wanted to see the plane.
It came back again and I got a second chance at shooting the approach. Wonder how much fuel Delta had to buy for that! Again I tracked it to the runway and got the touchdown! The finale landing of a 747 at MSP.
The 747 will visit a few more cities on the tour, then off the the Arizona desert to sit in the sand. Seems like such a sad ending for a noble plane. Seeing a 747 one more time and getting the pictures did make my day!