What's the most amazing thing you've seen from a plane
Aug 25, 2015, 6:20 am
#136
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: south of WAS DC
Posts: 10,131
Aug 25, 2015, 6:37 am
#137
Join Date: Sep 2013
Programs: DL PM, 1MM, DL SC, Kimpton Inner Circle
Posts: 2,416
Greenland never gets old.
Las Vegas lights in the middle of the pitch black desert at night.
Going over the Arctic Circle on a wintertime ORD - NRT run. Hours and hours of ice with the low sun on the horizon. Amazing colors. I've never understood why almost all of the other passengers had windows closed. It's a chance to see a part of the world that we'll never, ever be able to visit.
Las Vegas lights in the middle of the pitch black desert at night.
Going over the Arctic Circle on a wintertime ORD - NRT run. Hours and hours of ice with the low sun on the horizon. Amazing colors. I've never understood why almost all of the other passengers had windows closed. It's a chance to see a part of the world that we'll never, ever be able to visit.
Aug 25, 2015, 6:51 am
#138
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: MCI ** UA Plat, Marriott Lifetime Plat
Posts: 1,249
Flying BUF-DTW we'd frequently get delayed taking off due to ATC in DTW. Occasionally we'd get airborne before they'd contact the flight to delay us, and we'd waste some time flying around the Canadian border. On one particular flight the pilot decided to do figure 8's over Niagara falls, so when the plane banked the entire right side of the aircraft got the view of a lifetime, then he came back and banked the other way so the left side of the plane got the same view... then we made our way to DTW.\
Last edited by holland; Aug 25, 2015 at 6:54 am Reason: resize images
Aug 25, 2015, 7:27 am
#140
Join Date: Mar 2005
Programs: Continental Onepass, Hilton, Marriott, USAir and now UA
Posts: 6,447
Amazingly sad
Flying on final approach into LGA over ground zero 6 days after 9/11 on a perfectly clear early afternoon and sitting in front on the left side of the plane. We almost flew directly over the still smoking ruins.
Flying on final approach into LGA over ground zero 6 days after 9/11 on a perfectly clear early afternoon and sitting in front on the left side of the plane. We almost flew directly over the still smoking ruins.
Aug 25, 2015, 10:15 am
#142
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: DCA
Posts: 7,769
A few of mine:
-Aurora borealis on JAL NRT-JFK. FA came and grabbed us since we were the only pax awake.
-On a DFW-ANC late summer afternoon flight, the combination of time of year, latitude, longitude, and altitude resulted in perfect golden hour light bathing the entire duration of the Canadian Rockies for hours, with the sun basically stationary, lighting up the snow and casting long shadows into the valleys.
-Flying CX from JFK to HKG - crazy Siberian landscapes, Lake Baikal, and then just huge factory cities in China, ones that we don't even know the names of but that must be a million people each.
-Ditto to flying over shallow tropical waters - Bahamas, etc.
-Parallel runway approaches or flight paths. A couple months ago was flying into the north side of ORD from DCA, coming in over the lake. We were trailing a LH A340 by probably a mile and had maybe 1-2 miles of north-south separation. For about 10 seconds there was a perfect image of the LH aircraft silhouetted against the skyline of Chicago, the lake shore, the beaches. With the right equipment I could have had a great shot for the LH marketing dept.
-Centerline of the runway at LGA appearing out of a blinding snowstorm at a 45 degree angle to the fuselage. First thing I saw after an hour of bouncing through a blizzard from ITH in a DH8 (may have been a Saab 340).
-River visual into DCA from an A-seat NEVER gets old.
-Aurora borealis on JAL NRT-JFK. FA came and grabbed us since we were the only pax awake.
-On a DFW-ANC late summer afternoon flight, the combination of time of year, latitude, longitude, and altitude resulted in perfect golden hour light bathing the entire duration of the Canadian Rockies for hours, with the sun basically stationary, lighting up the snow and casting long shadows into the valleys.
-Flying CX from JFK to HKG - crazy Siberian landscapes, Lake Baikal, and then just huge factory cities in China, ones that we don't even know the names of but that must be a million people each.
-Ditto to flying over shallow tropical waters - Bahamas, etc.
-Parallel runway approaches or flight paths. A couple months ago was flying into the north side of ORD from DCA, coming in over the lake. We were trailing a LH A340 by probably a mile and had maybe 1-2 miles of north-south separation. For about 10 seconds there was a perfect image of the LH aircraft silhouetted against the skyline of Chicago, the lake shore, the beaches. With the right equipment I could have had a great shot for the LH marketing dept.
-Centerline of the runway at LGA appearing out of a blinding snowstorm at a 45 degree angle to the fuselage. First thing I saw after an hour of bouncing through a blizzard from ITH in a DH8 (may have been a Saab 340).
-River visual into DCA from an A-seat NEVER gets old.
Aug 25, 2015, 4:37 pm
#143
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: DSM
Programs: UA 1K, AA EP, DL PL, HH Dia, Marriott Gld, National Exp
Posts: 722
Flying BUF-DTW we'd frequently get delayed taking off due to ATC in DTW. Occasionally we'd get airborne before they'd contact the flight to delay us, and we'd waste some time flying arpqnd the Canadian border. On one particular flight the pilot decided to do figure 8's over Niagara falls, so when the plane banked the entire right side of the aircraft got the view of a lifetime, then he came back and banked the other way so the left side of the plane got the same view... then we made our way
Also thanks to everyone else who has taken the time to dig out and. Upload great photos. Thoroughly enjoyable !
Aug 25, 2015, 7:33 pm
#144
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: New Jersey
Programs: UA 1MM Gold, Hertz Gold, Hyatt, Marriott
Posts: 309
What I am about to post is nothing original; many others have done the same. But the Northern Lights are just so amazing that they must be mentioned. I have seen them on round trips between LA and Tokyo which are not even fully polar flights; they hug the Arctic Circle. But the Lights are incredible.
Also, at least one poster has mentioned the circular rainbow. Another marvel of airplane flight. From the surface of the earth the ground gets in the way of a full circle!
Also, at least one poster has mentioned the circular rainbow. Another marvel of airplane flight. From the surface of the earth the ground gets in the way of a full circle!
Aug 25, 2015, 7:58 pm
#145
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SFO
Programs: TK *G, HHonors Gold, UA 0.547MM and ex-1K but we gave up on each other
Posts: 201
Photos from the window seat are one of my favorites.
Taking off from SFO, sometimes there are good views of the Golden Gate and San Francisco Bay:
... and San Francisco and the East Bay:
Tahiti:
The Venetian island of Murano, where the glassworks are:
Greenland is always nice if it's clear:
Here's a volcano erupting, from an 18-seater over Tanzania:
Does on the ground count?
Taking off from SFO, sometimes there are good views of the Golden Gate and San Francisco Bay:
... and San Francisco and the East Bay:
Tahiti:
The Venetian island of Murano, where the glassworks are:
Greenland is always nice if it's clear:
Here's a volcano erupting, from an 18-seater over Tanzania:
Does on the ground count?
Aug 25, 2015, 8:27 pm
#146
Moderator: Travel Buzz
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Sunny San Diego
Posts: 3,099
-Flying over the USA on a 4th of July evening, and seeing firework displays in so many cities. Over the Mid-West, you could see displays that were half a state apart (or so it seemed.)
-Seeing the Statue of Liberty as we flew over the harbor. It took me 15 more years to see it from the ground.
- I used to live on a farm that was under the flight path to LAX about 100 miles out. Once I was flying home from Amsterdam after a long and tiring trip, and looked down from my seat and saw MY 80 acres and MY house and MY cars in the driveway in MY neighborhood. It's all so strikingly clear from the air. We had a plane at the time, a taildragger, that we used to land in and out of our fields. We'd get home by taxiing down the road to the tie down. So I was used to identifying our property from the air, but it had much more impact after a long journey on a jet.
I long to see the Northern Lights. From the plane or on the ground...
-Seeing the Statue of Liberty as we flew over the harbor. It took me 15 more years to see it from the ground.
- I used to live on a farm that was under the flight path to LAX about 100 miles out. Once I was flying home from Amsterdam after a long and tiring trip, and looked down from my seat and saw MY 80 acres and MY house and MY cars in the driveway in MY neighborhood. It's all so strikingly clear from the air. We had a plane at the time, a taildragger, that we used to land in and out of our fields. We'd get home by taxiing down the road to the tie down. So I was used to identifying our property from the air, but it had much more impact after a long journey on a jet.
I long to see the Northern Lights. From the plane or on the ground...
Aug 25, 2015, 9:19 pm
#147
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Lake Oswego, Oregon or Costa Alegre take your pick
Programs: AS MVPG,
Posts: 1,066
My favorite flights
1. The remnants of Mt St Helens still smoking right after the eruption on a PDX-SEA flight.
2. Iguazu Falls
3. Victoria Falls
4. Flight over the mountains and ocean above PPT.
5. Seeing Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio upon landing just before sunset.
6. Flying pretty dog gone low over the elephants and other animals in Chobe National Park Botswana.
2. Iguazu Falls
3. Victoria Falls
4. Flight over the mountains and ocean above PPT.
5. Seeing Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio upon landing just before sunset.
6. Flying pretty dog gone low over the elephants and other animals in Chobe National Park Botswana.
Aug 26, 2015, 5:03 am
#148
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: LHR / HKG / SIN
Programs: KrisFlyer, Asia Miles, Virgin Atlantic, ANA, Eurostar
Posts: 56
Fireworks
Flying from HKG to LHR on New Year's Eve 2014, we departed just as the fireworks went off. We didn't get windows seat as we had the bassinet in the middle but managed to catch glimpses of fireworks out the window, it was really pretty ^
Aug 26, 2015, 4:35 pm
#149
Join Date: Mar 2007
Programs: Mileage Plus
Posts: 15
1. Sydney Harbour after being away over a year
2. Greenland glaciers
3. Lights from fishing boats in South China sea
4. Mt Fuji
5. Cape York & Barrier Reef - turquoise waters and islands
6. Frozen wastes of Canada, Hudson's Bay
7. Great Wall of China
8. Diamond Head Crater
9. Golden Gate Bridge
10. North West cape of Australia
11. Looking down at thunderstorms over the Pacific
12. Inside Wembley stadium from above
13. Flying 2000ft over and passing a A320 over Iran in BA 747
I flew the Polar route IAD-PEK but it wasn't a night when the aurora was active :-(
2. Greenland glaciers
3. Lights from fishing boats in South China sea
4. Mt Fuji
5. Cape York & Barrier Reef - turquoise waters and islands
6. Frozen wastes of Canada, Hudson's Bay
7. Great Wall of China
8. Diamond Head Crater
9. Golden Gate Bridge
10. North West cape of Australia
11. Looking down at thunderstorms over the Pacific
12. Inside Wembley stadium from above
13. Flying 2000ft over and passing a A320 over Iran in BA 747
I flew the Polar route IAD-PEK but it wasn't a night when the aurora was active :-(
Aug 31, 2015, 1:27 pm
#150
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Central Colorado
Programs: Delta, United, American, Norwegian, Southwest, Frontier, Bonvoy
Posts: 182
1. Flying directly over the Golden Gate Bridge on a clear sunny day (en route Chicago - Hawaii)
2. Snow-covered alps, also clear and sunny day (London-Nairobi)
3. Another vote for Manhattan.
BTW pilots used to announce these cools sights, they never do anymore. Is it because they're afraid people will jump up and try to get to windows to look out?
2. Snow-covered alps, also clear and sunny day (London-Nairobi)
3. Another vote for Manhattan.
BTW pilots used to announce these cools sights, they never do anymore. Is it because they're afraid people will jump up and try to get to windows to look out?