Sun 8 Aug 2010
Since I travel a lot, I have taken an interest in civil aviation. It turns out that Grand Cayman (GCM is the airport code for airline buffs …) is a pretty good place to do some plane spotting.
The runway at our airport is very short by international standards ; its only 7000ft. Normal runways are 10,000ft. If you have ever flown into Cayman, you will notice that the pilots “slam” on the brakes as soon as you touch down since at the end of the runway is the ocean! Its part of the Cayman experience when you visit our lovely island.
Also, the airport is right in town, so very convenient. If I fly out on the AA 1250 PM flight, I can have a decent morning of work at the office and leave at around 11:15 and be there at 11:20. Very practical. I know some people that when they are expecting guests, they just check for the plane out of their office window approximately at the time it should arrive and once they see it on approach they hop in their car and go pick them up.
The runway is also very close to the road. Here is a picture of an AA 737 aircraft leaving for Miami. This picture was taken along Crew road.
The rich guys also like our airport ; cant really blame them. Here is a lovely Dassault Falcon 2000 that is registered to a Canadian petroleum firm.
This lovely Gulfstream-V is owned a by a corporation that is owned by Internet billionaire Mark Cuban. He apparently has a place in Grand Cayman. I like this guys style and choice of jet.
Now off to sunset house. An amazing place to go for a shore dive. The water is blue and inviting. But keeping with the theme of this post … see next picture.
Sunset is right on the approach to the airport. Great place to do some spotting while enjoying a fish & chips and a beer and why not a shore dive also 🙂
Last word .. that tropical system (see last post) just fizzed away and we had a brilliant week-end.
Hi Micho,
Great planes ! Must be some rich guys around 😉
Aux nouvelles ils montraient des photos de Moscou couverte d’un nuage de poussières causé par les feux de broussailles. L’aéroport a demandé aux compagnies aériennes d’envoyer des pilotes qui peuvent atterrir avec un minimum de visibilité…
Have you ever been to Toronto Island ? Flight from Montreal to downtown toronto land on a small island on Lake Ontario. Thr runway is short, but they don’t get 747s in there ! You just see water by the window, and the plane touches the ground half a second after you see the runway below. If the plane ends up in the lake it’s probably closer to swim to the shore than to the island 😉
I used to fly a lot for work, so I noticed the brake slamming in Cayman. My girlfriend (now my wife…) didn’t notice. At takeoff, I remember we were still close to the ground when we reached the end of the runway…
Yves
Salut Yves,
Merci pour ton commentaire!
I have flown out of Toronto island a few times. Lots of fun. Its especially great not to have to go from downtown Toronto all the way to Pearson. That one is less than 10 minutes from Bay St.
Congrats on the wedding! I think you were getting (or got?) a new place?
Ciao
Micho
Micho,
Yes, Mark Cuban owns a home on Grand Cayman, not too far from Morritt’s Tortuga Club. Apparently, he does not have a pool at his place because I have seen he and his family swimming at Morritt’s Grand pool. I actually talked to him for a few minutes, much nicer than the tabloids make him out to be, but then he was on holiday.