The best day off for me would be plane spotting – fighter jet spotting is even better. Today Andy and I went to Warton, one of BAe Systems’ bases. This is the best place to spot Eurofighter Typhoon, but today we got a bonus. Harrier GR9, who is also based here, flew around, did a few touch-and-go and even practiced hovering and vertical take off and landing.
One of the experts there told me that it was the first time of this year that the Harrier flew over Warton. What a great day...!
I know plane spotting sounds pathetic for many ‘normal’ people… but I guess I was and am never ‘normal’ anyway. Plane spotting is brilliant!! It could be a consolation after a very rough day or week. Even when it is only watching commercial planes near Manchester Airport – or Jakarta Soekarno Hatta, or anywhere in the world. (In fact, I have a favourite place near Manchester Airport which I will write about soon)
The great thing about hanging out near a runway and waiting for exciting planes to take off or landing, is meeting people who have the same passion as me. It is a different world than the everyday world at work. It is a world of forever being a child with great fascination of anything flying with loud noise. It is a world of human achievement – flying an iron bird against all odds.
But more than anything, it is MY childhood world. For each time I watch an aeroplane taking off or landing, I suddenly became this four-year-old girl again, in my dad’s VW Beetle at the end of the runway of Kemayoran Airport, just me and my hero my dad. And now, I am lucky that Andy enjoys taking me to runways and airports to watch these iron birds. He is my soulmate.
So, no matter what life would bring, as long as there are planes to watch – with Andy beside me – everything will be “..a okay….!!”
Watching planes is GREAT!
