Remarks: Arriving over beautiful Maho Beach after a flight from New York's Kennedy Airport. Photo taken from the roof of the Maho Beach Hotel & Casino.
Remarks: It's not a 747... but this was the lowest arrival I have ever seen in St. Maarten! 636MF is no more than 10 feet above the beach at this point, and would just barely clear the fence on its way to a 'quick' landing on runway 09. This one got a few screams out of beachgoers and barflies at the Sunset Beach Bar!
Remarks: Beautiful overview of Juliana Airport from Caribbean Sun flight 724 bound for San Juan. After several days of clouds and periodic rain, the waters of the Caribbean Sea were as brilliant as I've ever seen!
Remarks: I received a ton of requests after posting my initial photo of this hairy landing asking for more, so here it is! While this shot doesn't show the waters of Maho Bay, it does show just how low this G-V was as it crossed Rhine Road and the airport perimeter, as well as the stunned reaction of everyone on Maho Beach who couldn't believe what they were witnessing!
Remarks: The Sunset Beach Bar now features an 'attractive' surfboard showing the estimated arrival times of the more noteworthy flights at Juliana for the day. It also features another very important message .. open the large photo to see what it is! ;-)
Remarks: Having been to St. Maarten five times over the last five years, I've become quite weary of the standard 'over the beach' shot that's become so popular from one of the most scenic places to view aircraft in the world. On this trip, I really concentrated on trying to capture angles and compositions I'd never seen from St. Maarten before. This photo captures, I feel, the greater essence of St. Maarten: people enjoying the pool, sunning on lounge chairs, enjoying lunch at the Tortoga Beach Cafe, and even a single person snorkling just off shore in the beautiful waters of Maho Bay. There is so much more to St. Maarten than taking airplane pictures, and it's a shame some people don't ever take the time to realize that.
Remarks: Classic, noisy, and smoky, four JT3D turbofans power our ex-Pan Am Boeing 707 away from McCarran Airport over the Las Vegas strip! The sound of these four buzzsaws screaming is something I'll never forget!
Remarks: Showers are in the area as Windward 668 approaches Juliana Airport on the short flight from St. Barthelemy in the late evening. Thanks to the flight crew for such a wonderful, albeit, short flight. [1200x842]
Remarks: The dreary overcast which had engulfed Anchorage for most of the day has faded to just a few clouds clinging to the Chugach Mountains at the inversion layer as a beautifully painted 185 approaches Lake Hood west for landing in the midnight sunlight.
Remarks: Air France 488, daily service from Paris, passes quietly in the distance as folks at the Maho Beach Resort go about their business with nary a glance. One benefit of visiting St. Maarten in the summer is that many of the hotels are nearly vacant, meaning that, often times, you have the whole swimming pool, bar, or what have you, totally to yourselves.
Remarks: Having just completed fueling, two Marine Corps F-18s from MCAS Beaufort, SC hover just off our right wing high above the California desert near Lake Havasu. The unmistakable profile of the beautiful 707 wing, still fitted with P&W JT3Ds, will stick in my mind for a long, long time!
