Left too late, arrived too rushed – and then the A380 landed on the other runway anyway. Welcome to planespotting.
And yet I'd prepared everything. Long research into which spots at Munich Airport are the best. There are three main locations. My first outing took me to the north mound – depending on wind direction the A380 lands there, which made it the ideal spot for my plan. In theory, at least.
I'd checked departure and arrival schedules on various websites and studied the weather forecasts. There aren't many A380s at Munich: the first arriving from the US lands around 7am, one heads back at noon. So: early start – the landing seemed more exciting. At least I wanted the chance to capture both. The 150-600mm wasn't making its debut here either – it had already passed its first field test with a limping chamois in South Tyrol.
You Can't Plan the Weather
After arriving at the north mound I got my bearings. In winter the spot is probably better since the trees have no leaves and nothing blocks the view of the runway. Even so it was good – except the wind wasn't cooperating. While setting up the tripod I checked Flightradar again and noticed: the A380 was heading for the southern runway. Wrong wind, wrong runway. Either I'd researched wrong or the weather had other plans. So be it. It smelled of kerosene. A smell I love.
First small setback – but no big deal. I started with test shots of departing planes and was immediately impressed. How close you get with 600mm. And how difficult it is at that focal length to keep a plane properly sharp. The light kept changing – test auto mode, try different AF modes, handheld, tripod. And the same problem kept coming up with 600mm: suddenly you're completely somewhere else in the frame and have to zoom out just to figure out where you're even pointing. The heavy cloud cover made for interesting images but complicated the settings.
600mm Isn't Always Enough
From a distance I watched the superjumbo on approach – which I'll hereby appoint Queen of the Skies, even if that title technically belongs to the 747. I tried to capture the landing – didn't work, the airport buildings were in the way. At least I got the approach, even if it was very far off. Sometimes even 600mm isn't enough.
Better results with the departing planes taking off practically right in front of me. One after another, larger and smaller passenger jets climbed into the sky. Every single takeoff was impressive – you felt the energy and the mass, even from the smaller ones. And something that struck me every time: they look so slow. Almost lazy. Until you realise how quickly they're gone.
Over time I felt the weight of the lens – nearly four hours had passed. Time had truly flown. A good moment to check the schedule again. My eye landed immediately on the A380 departure in just under an hour. The waiting began.
560 Tonnes and 260 km/h
Nothing happened. I slowly started getting nervous. Was it departing from the south runway? Just as I was about to check my phone again, it was finally time: the A380 was rolling toward the runway. I tracked it through the viewfinder and didn't let it out of my sight. While the pilot was (presumably) running final checks, I made my final adjustments – and then we were both ready.
The aircraft accelerated. I tried to suppress my excitement and focus on shooting. No more than 50 metres in front of me it lifted off – and you felt it. Less loud than expected, but the energy and mass were there. I followed it until it grew smaller and smaller on the horizon. Not even the rain that had started falling could put me off.
I've been out there twice so far. The second time from the official visitor mound. Next time I'd approach it differently: wait specifically for certain planes, go for shots like the Alpine panorama more deliberately. But in the end it's the activity itself that fascinates – these giants taking off and landing minute by minute, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Which it kind of is. And still impressive every single time. And absolutely worth capturing.
Metal Birds over Munich
