MAN 28th February 2014 - RAF C.17 ZZ178

Making its first visit to Manchester in the early hours, Royal Air Force C.17 ZZ178 was only on the ground for just under an hour.

Birmingham 24th February 2014 - Flying the Biman Bangladesh DC10 S2-ACR

Having never flown on a DC10 before I couldn't pass up the chance to fly on the world's last operational passenger carrying example, Biman Bangladesh Airlines DC10-30 S2-ACR. The aircraft arrived at Birmingham a few days ago to carry out the final ever fare paying DC10 passenger flights, a total of nine "1 hour scenic flights" full of enthusiasts from all over the world.

Time was allowed for full photography access both inside and outside the aircraft in the air and while on the ramp at Birmingham and the following photos are the result of my trip, the first flight on the last ever day of operation.

A distant night shot of S2-ACR parked up early morning before the flight.

The Check-In desks were suitably marked in honour of the day!

Time was allowed to photograph the aircraft from all angles before the flight.....

The aircraft still has it's classic 1980's style interior!

Our "in-flight refreshments" !!

We were airborne off runway 15 at 09.10........

Sadly all the window panes were very scratched or dirty making decent wing shots difficult.

Touchdown on a rather wet Runway 15 was at 10.10, exactly one hour after lift off.

Finally the sun appeared and the penultimate flight (the 12.00 departure) departed in great light.

A few of my "goodies" to remember the fantastic day ..........

MAN 21st February 2014 - UAE Air Force A330 '1302'

Arriving early morning, United Arab Emirates Air Force A330 Tanker '1302' was making its first visit.

MAN 19th February 2014 - Brussels Airlines "Red Devils" A320 OO-SNC

Making its first visit to Manchester on the night stopping flight, Brussels Airlines A320 OO-SNC wears this special scheme for the Red Devils, the Belgian national football team.

The aircraft departed back to Brussels early morning.

MAN 14th February 2014 - American B767-300 N391AA diverts in from Heathrow

Arriving very late evening, American B767-300 N391AA diverted in from Heathrow due to the very strong winds. This was the most interesting of the of twelve diversions we recieved, the remainder of which were BA, Easyjet, Flybe, Ryanair and Aer Lingus.

MAN 14th February 2014 - Estonian Emb.170 ES-AEA

Parked up for the night after arriving earlier in the day, Estonian Emb.170 ES-AEA is currently based in the UK operating VIP Charters.

MAN 12th February 2014 - JCB Gulfstream G650 M-JCBB

Making its first visit to Manchester after diverting from East Midlands due to the strong winds, JCB's brand new Gulfstream G650 M-JCBB remained parked up overnight.

MAN 2nd February 2014 - Delta "Skyteam" 767 N175DZ

I finally managed to catch the Delta "Skyteam" B767-300 N175DZ this morning when it arrived on the Atlanta flight at sunrise.