The Antonov An-225 Mriya... the one that got away!

 "Are you sure it's coming this way grandad?' All being well it was coming this way and after climbing a hill, clambering through a fence and 'hobbling' up another hill we arrived at what was going to be a prime spot! Until! The call went up that the wind had changed and 'it' would be arriving from the north.. it was a bit like a comedy sketch as we all scrambled back down the hill, into cars and off again in search of that other perfect spot :)

The enthusiasts on the bridge were standing their ground and in retrospect perhaps we should have too because by now we were stuck in heavy traffic and getting nowhere fast with the imminent arrival of 'our reason for being there'! With less than five minutes to go we pulled off the main road.. stopped the car, jumped out just in time to see it in the very far distance! I stood my ground, I was done with the running :) you can just see, by the first power-line, my only shot of 'our reason for being there'! 

Bill kept running and with his long lens managed to catch the shot below, landing wheels down, excellent! The Antonov An-225 Mriya, built in the 1980's to transport the Buran spacecraft, mothballed for 8 years and now refurbished and back in the business of transporting oversized payloads, which is why it was touching down in Perth at 11.50am on Sunday morning, delivering a 117 tonne generator for one of the mining companies. Bill and I were among thousands of keen plane spotters eager to catch the spectacular arrival! If you are an aviation enthusiast you can see it touching down here.. and taking off pre-dawn yesterday morning on it's way to Italy here.. it's an amazing sight! Happy Wednesday, take care and stay safe...