Spotting at Frankfurt (03/05/24)

Title Music:- All rights Reserved - Muse: United States of Eurasia [+Collateral Damage]

PLEASE NOTE: - Throughout my next few videos (including this one), you'll likely notice that the audio is not up to it's usual standards. Unfortunately it seems I didn't properly configure my external microphone to work with my new camcorder which is has led to the sound being massively distorted for large portions of the video. To say I'm devastated about this is an understatement, especially when this was a trip I've been looking forward to for so long. I always try to provide as high a quality footage as possible, and I can only apologise for the impact this issue will have on your viewing experience. Where the distortion is at it's worse I've looked to tweak the audio as best I can to limit how much distortion you can hear, so if you experience varying levels of volume throughout the video, that's something on my side, not yours. Nonetheless, I hope you can enjoy the video.

This was day one of spotting at Frankfurt having arrived by train from Cologne earlier in the morning. After dropping off baggage at the Moxy Hotel we headed straight over to the Aussichtsplattform Zeppelinheim for the day.

The footage speaks for itself in terms of the massive variety of aircraft and airlines to see at a major European hub like Frankfurt - much like London Heathrow. It's hard to single out some particular favourites as there was so much on the day I hadn't seen before, but the MEA A320 in the retro colour scheme was up there along with the Vietnam Airlines 787-9 and Asiana Airlines Cargo 747-400F. I have to say that the trip confirmed for me that the new Condor livery is amazing, and I never got bored of seeing them throughout the time we were there - particularly on their new A330-900neos.

The Zeppelinheim viewing deck is a fantastic facility offering great views across a sizeable portion of the airfield. It enabled me to capture footage of aircraft taking off and landing on Runways 25L, 25C and 25R (although you'll note aircraft landing on 25R are at the limits of my camcorder's 24x zoom.) You then of course have the classic views of aircraft being towed to their gates via Taxiway Uniform. This view seems to have become more obstructed over the years thanks to the extension of the airport monorail system, which has led to additional lighting poles being installed. Nonetheless, its a fantastic place to capture heavies and for aircraft taxiing for departure from Runway 18.

Other than the sound issues, my new camcorder with enhanced optical zoom performed well, however as you'll see, I'm still very much getting used to holding the camera steady at higher zoom, particularly when it was as cold and windy as it was that day! Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy!