August 26, 2012 at 2:32 pm
Having visited Sheremetyevo earlier that day, the afternoon was reserved for Vnukovo. Unlike two years ago there was no ramp tour at Vnukovo airport. However, we were welcome at the VARZ-400 maintenance works.
We where a bit early though, so the coach was parked in the final approach to runway 01 for some spotting there. Photography is not really possible here (backlit) so I walked towards a pedestrian bridge with a view over the airport. It is possible to make photos here, but the bridge was not designed with a coach load of spotters in mind, so the small window was flooded with people. That’s why I’ve only got one photo from here:
Having wasted about an hour here (for number collectors it is great, for photographer like myself a waste) we went to VARZ-400. Two years ago the best part of the tour. This year did not disappoint!
We had two hours to cover two platforms. The first platform also had views on the airport including the Russian air force´s transport fleet (no photography allowed of that platform).
While photography of the “Putin platform” was not allowed, there were a few military planes at VARZ which we could make photos of.
Having spend a lot of time at the first ramp, in large part due to the number collectors, we had to rush our way through the second ramp. That’s why unfortunately some photos have a bit wonky exposure, with in particular some clouds blown out.
By: EGTC - 27th August 2012 at 03:08
Wow! I’m so jealous! 😀 Awesome pics and brilliant collection!
By: MSR777 - 26th August 2012 at 22:23
Great pics, fascinating. I still think that the Rossiya livery looks distinctly ‘cold war’ Nice to see an IL62 amongst the ‘Putin Planes’ Thanks for posting these:)
By: tenthije - 26th August 2012 at 14:33
Because only 20 photos per post are allowed, here is the conclusion:
On the way back we passed a small parking area from which the “Putin platform” could be seen. Time to park the coach! To look over the fence some climbed into a construction carrying a pipeline over the road. This was particularly usefull for photographers.