Rise to the challenge!
It was a challenge to get there in time!
The Formula 1 race in Monaco had just finnished, the drivers were getting out of their cars and the podium ceremony was fast approaching. That’s the moment I decided to sneak a quick look at the Flightradar24 app on my phone. My eyes immediately zeroed-in on a nearby Challenge Airlines Boeing 747F flying out of Maracaibo, Venezuela (MAR/SVMC) at 17000 feet and heading toward Curacao. The cargo jet, OE-LRG, had flown in from Liege, Belgium earlier that day, so I just assumed it was heading back.
16500 feet…….16000 feet……15500 feet…..15000 feet….
Grabbing my camera bag, I rushed out the door and drove to the airport. It was possible that the aircraft was going to land elsewhere, but I decided not to take a chance. having encountered significant traffic on the road, including a fair number of unusualy slow drivers, I made it to my spot just in time to see the jet on final for runway 11. OE-LRG was the first civilian Boeing 747 to come to Curacao since KLM retired theirs in 2020.
The cargo queen departed for New York John F. Kennedy international airport (JFK/KJFK) early the following day.
(Click on an image to enlarge)
