This time, we had a southerly wind, so all aircraft would use the northern approach and this gave me the opportunity to try a new spot.
Unfortunately, a southern wind means that by the time the Convair arrived (it always arrives shortly before midday and leaves an hour later), the sun is almost at the tail of the aircraft.
(If the aircraft uses the southern approach, the sun is good for some nice front-angle shots.)
I know I shouldn't complain but I was really hoping to see one of the other two Convairs (not ZK-CIF) this time around. But no, it was the all-white 580 again.
It seems that it is no longer used on the Tonga-run but instead flies the NZ-routes.
But a peek at Vincent Aviation revealed why my chances of catching a green-tailed Convair were rather slim - one of the two (ZK-CIB) was also at Wellington for maintenance.
Here ZK-CIB is fitted with an overhauled engine again.
So the sun angle wasn't the best but the spot I found must give some great light in the earlier hours of the morning.
Here is some of the local traffic from my hillside vantage point. Do note that the air control tower is not actually AT the airport, but its located in a street on the hill next to it.
The funny thing is that the control tower is located in a normal residential street, surrounded by houses on either side!
At 1 pm, the Convair was scheduled to depart again and the sun had crossed the runway - so I had to find a spot on the other side.
However, my previous location was way too far down the runway, even a Convair would be airborne by then.
I opted for a spot on Bridge Street - a small park that has a hill which brings you level to the elevated runway.
Unfortunately the light had not turned sufficiently. Between 12 - 2pm, the light conditions are really tricky when aircraft depart towards the south.
Nevertheless, the local spotter crowd went absolutely nuts when this Gulfstream 650 came in for a quick sales pitch.
I don't do civil stuff really, but just imagine a Pakistan AF Mirage III or a Tanzanian MiG-19 and you get the point.
While I was there, I also shot this Life Flight - I had missed this last time around as I was eating my lunch.
And one of the local Gulfstreams I assume.
And the Convair you asked? Well it never departed and as the airport departure website also no longer listed its flight number (CV21), I assumed the flight was canned and went back to work.
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