Spotting Report: The Last Sunny Moments of My Stay in Miami

Spotting Report: The Last Sunny Moments of My Stay in Miami

After waking up on the last day of my stay in Miami, I looked outside and it was cloudy. As such, I decided to stay in the hotel, have breakfast, and work on some articles. The weather did not improve much throughout the day, and it was the closest to the original “cloudy” forecast that has been frustrating me for days before the trip.

Even so, throughout the day, the sun came out a number of times, and so I made a couple of outings to the airport.

Outing Number One

After breakfast, I checked FlightRadar, and noticed that Qatar Cargo 777 and Copa Airlines 737 in special “ConnectMiles.com” livery were heading towards Miami.

As by the time they were getting closer, the skies were looking a bit more promising, I decided to pack up my camera bag and walk over to the El Dorado spot.

Unfortunately, when I got to the spot, the sun was still covered with clouds and I could not get either of the two aircraft in acceptable conditions.

However, as the sun came out within seconds of Copa’s landing, I stayed at the spot for about an hour and a half being able to add some more new liveries into my growing “sunny Miami collection.” The new aircraft (or aircraft shot in improved conditions) included an Aruba Airlines A320s, a Caribbean Airlines 737 with a white tail, Sun Country Airlines 737 in base Transavia colors, and an Avianca A330 wearing the Star Alliance livery.

Aruba Airlines A320

Aruba Airlines A320.
Caribbean Airlines 737

Caribbean Airlines 737-800.
Sun Country 737

Sun Country Airlines 737-800 in base Transavia livery.
Avianca A330

Avianca A330-200 in Star Alliance livery.

Of course, there was also plenty of repeat traffic, such as the Eastern 737 of which I just can’t get enough, a Frontier A320, and a number of American Airlines aircraft.

Frontier A320

Frontier A320.
Eastern Air Lines 737

Eastern Air Lines 737-800.
American Airlines 767

American Airlines 767-300.
American Airlines 737

American Airlines 737-800.
American Airlines 757

American Airlines 757-200.

Finally, there was also a freighter train passing on the tracks at the spot. Given that my previous two days of spotting were Saturday and Sunday, I was under the impression that the tracks were inactive. However, it seems that cargo trains pass through the track every now and then on weekdays – at an amazingly slow speed. Luckily, there was no interesting movement while the train was passing.

Train

A train passing by the “El Dorado” spot.

Outing Number Two

After about three hours at the hotel, I decided to head back to the spot again – this time to catch an Avianca A330 in old colors. Unfortunately, the weather at this point was not good, and sunny moments were minimal.

Just as I was ready to head back to the hotel with zero results, I ran into the two German spotters I met on the first day, and instead of heading back, I decided to join them and head to “the holes” with them.

While we spent most of the time there chatting in the car, there were some sunny moments at the end of the day allowing me to get my last sunny shots in Miami.

Those included the landings of a Delta Air Lines 757 and an American Airlines A319 on runway 12, as well as the departures of LAN Chile 767, Delta Air Lines MD-90.

Delta Air Lines 757

Delta Air Lines 757-200 landing on runway 12.
American Airlines A319

American Airlines A319 landing on runway 12.
LAN Chile 767

LAN Chile 767-300 taxiing for departure.
Delta Air Lines MD-90

Delta Air Lines MD-90 taxiing for departure.

The last aircraft I photographed in Miami before heading back to the hotel for the last night was a British Airways 747 in OneWorld colors taxiing for departure back to London Heathrow.

British Airways 747

Last spotting shot of the trip – British Airways 747-400 in OneWorld livery taxiing for departure.

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