As most of you know I have been in Ethiopia for a few months now and I am just now starting to get busy with spotting. A little background about ADD, both parallel runway run from NE to SW limiting photography from day break to about 10:30am and after 4PM which is not a problem as the airport goes dead silence in between. All if not most international arrivals and departures are in the evening, through the overnight hours and early morning. The morning is busy mostly with connecting departures to African destinations mostly with 757s and 737s. There are interesting visitors to ET Technique from Africa and the middle-east. The weather calls for clear blue skies from late September to April with temps in the mid 80’s with scorching sun and not a lot of winds. During this time the airports operates north at all times. Then April showers kick in clearing again in May and June. During this time the airport becomes unpredictable like JFK so they are working me hard. The confusion also helped me capture departure shots which otherwise will not be possible for now. The wet season moves in from mid June to about mid September. Spotting will not be possible during this time and the airport switches to south ops. Spotting in general is a dangerous game in this part of the world unless you are like me who originates and knows the town so I will try to cover as much as possible in the next few weeks.
P.S. I just got word while I post this the second 767 to have winglets installed just entered maintenance hunger which was in Star Alliance colors. So now I have to wait at least 30 days to shoot it.
My favorite African color scheme
The only private airline in the country. Yes you can run an airline but your aircraft cannot be bigger than this.
This daily A345 service may have been replaced by A330. I will find out this week.
Pilot Training
Finally, my spotting office with a nice roof protecting me from natural hazard like UV. No sunscreen lotion necessary.
See you next week in another report.
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