Binocular test drive

January 30, 2010
1200

Airport: OAK
Location: San Leandro Marina; Oyster Bay Park, San Leandro
Equipment: My NEW Nikon Action Zoom XL 10-22x50
Registrations collected: 9
For a total of: 45
Airlines: 3
Makes: 5

Today was another one of those spontaneous outings. I knew it was a poor time to expect to catch a lot of planes, but I decided I couldn't wait any longer to go and try out the new binoculars I ordered. I knew they were going to be good when I recorded 2 registration numbers from Southwest planes at terminal 2, well over a mile away! With the zoom set between 12x and about 18x, I can track the planes really well and hold fairly steady; the shakiness seems to become problematic around 15x or 16x. At 25x magnification, I was able to track planes on the approach, but was too shaky to read at least half of the tail numbers. Oh well. A little practice with the zoom and focus levers and I'll give it another shot.

I was able to enjoy the sights of the traffic flying over after shooting off of the 1s at SFO. I could easily identify the airline, make, and model from the ground. The shaking that accompanies the 25x setting for "close" viewing wasn't an issue here. A few 737s 757s, 767s, and A320s - nothing too exciting since the 1s are the shorter of the pairs of runways, but at least it added a little variety to the good ol' Southwest 737 traffic at OAK.

Lowlights:

The fact that it was a Saturday, meaning the marina was overrun by fishermen (Eating fish from the Bay? Really?) and the park overrun by dogs who like to bark and lick and fight and jump right at the wrong moments.

Leaving my REI fingerless gloves somewhere in the park. I don't know where but I'm sure they've become puppy chow by now.

Highlights:

Realizing that in addition to downtown Oakland being the backdrop for SFO spotting, downtown San Francisco is the backdrop for OAK spotting. Quite a nice thing to enjoy during the lulls.

A FedEx 727-2S2F. Always loved the 727s.

My new binoculars being AMAZING. Did I mention they're SO COOL? They really are.

Not as successful

January 25, 2009
1430

Airport: OAK
Location: Oyster Bay Park, San Leandro
Equipment: Nikon Trailblazer 10x42
Registrations collected: 0
Airlines: 1
Makes: 1

After learning that my newly purchased, returnable binoculars were almost-but-not-quite good enough to get the job done at SFO, I decided to head out to OAK to check and see if they, by some small chance, would be sufficient there. Nope. I think even a 12x magnification would be enough, and should still be a good choice for tracking planes at take-off speed.

At least 50% of my motivation of going down to the park was to have a little fun hiking through the mud. That part was a success. The half hour or so that I spent traipsing around in the slosh was fantastic and made the trip worth it for sure.

I'll get the chance (read: excuse) to go again when my 10-22x50s arrive in the mail on Friday. Back to SFO on Sunday, I hope.

My first adventure

January 23, 2009
1200-1330

Airport: SFO
Location: Bayfront Park, Millbrae
Equipment: Nikon Trailblazer 10x42
Registrations collected: 36
Airlines: 13
Makes: 10

It's been raining for days in the Bay Area and I've had an uncontrollable urge to get out to the airport to spot. An unfortunate combination. Ever since I learned about the hobby of collecting airplane tail numbers (instead of simply observing, which I've been doing for years), I've been just dying to get out to SFO to get started. So when I checked the forecast and saw just a 40% chance of precipitation across the bay, I decided to get out and go.

Bayfront Park was the destination. I was able to find parking in the park's tiny lot, and headed out as quickly as possible to the rocks along the shore to watch a few heavies coming in on the 28s. I was quite disappointed to realize that my 10x42 "rented" binoculars were not strong enough to see the tail numbers on the planes that had particularly small numbers. I was able to record registrations from a couple of Cathay Pacific 747s and Korean Airways 777s. I headed up to watch the smaller jets departing from the 1s and collected quite a few numbers.

Highlights:

Spotting my first A340 (-313X, Air France, F-GLZJ) since learning the Airbus line. It landed on 28L too quickly for me to get its tail number, but I was eventually able to see it when it taxied to a gate near my post.

One United 757-222 departing from runway 10. It was the only one to go the reverse direction - they quickly switched back to the 28s. I've never seen anything like that before.

My Chipotle picnic lunch.

Looking up from my notepad to see and San Francisco cop with his K9 starting at me. I was sure I was going to be asked to stop or at least questioned, but tried saying a simple "hello" and he passed right by.

The rainbow that lingered for well over an hour, framing snow capped mountains on the other side of the bay. Gorgeous!