Following the prior day's beachside shooting at St. Thomas' Cyril E. King airport, the beautiful Allure of the Seas deposited us at the pier in Phillipsburg St. Maarten. Needless to say that this aviation enthusiast (geek) and my somewhat willing girlfriend were on the first cab heading to Maho Beach, the Sunset Beach Bar, and Princess Juliana International Airport.
Being one of two people crazy enough to be using scanners on a crowded beach full of part time plane spotting wannabes (tourists), I found myself occasionally mobbed by people wondering when the "big plane" (nonexistant 747 flight) was coming in... "Umm... define "big"". With selfie sticks, iPads, and GoPros galore, the day started with many ruined shots (see the upcoming outtake post), but overall it's hard to complain about being in spotters paradise. I mean, great traffic, perfect weather, no police/"concerned citizen" harassment, pizzas just steps away, a cool refreshing breeze, and the ability to hop in the ocean whenever a heavy wasn't on final... what more could a spotter ask for?
The surfboard (Flightaware for those of us without international data plans), being updated with the day's arrivals.
mb1 by MK16photo, on Flickr
The traffic began as the typical SXM commuter flights for the first few hours.
mb3 by MK16photo, on Flickr
mb5 by MK16photo, on Flickr
mb6 by MK16photo, on Flickr
mb8 by MK16photo, on Flickr
This pair of sierra-hotel FedEx pilots won the Clipper (of the fence) Trophy for the day with this low approach
mb9 by MK16photo, on Flickr
The big(er) arrivals started with Insel's Mad Dog coming in over a crowded beach
mb10 by MK16photo, on Flickr
mb12 by MK16photo, on Flickr
mb14 by MK16photo, on Flickr
mb16 by MK16photo, on Flickr
In my opinion, the guy in the left seat of this Turbo Centurion was the luckiest SOB on the face of the earth bringing that lovely Cessna in low over the beach
mb18 by MK16photo, on Flickr
mb21 by MK16photo, on Flickr
mb23 by MK16photo, on Flickr
More to come in Part II later.
Thanks for looking!
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