Series: While I wait for takeoff ...

S27R: Hong Kong International Airport
Nikon D80

Let's Get Some Shade: Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Nikon Coolpix 7900

Pin's off now: Tan Son Nhat International, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Nikon Coolpix 7900

Work's done: Hong Kong International Airport
Nikon D80

Cleared for takeoff ! Hanoi International Airport

Nikon D80

Goodbye ! Narita International Airport, Japan
Nikon D80

Traveling as much as I do, I do spend a lot of time gazing out of the window in ever shrinking economy class seats in airplanes.

All that tarmac time has resulted in a modest collection of photos capturing the work that goes on in ensuring all of us gets to take off. There is an amazing amount of support work that goes into preparing every flight for takeoff. Here, the lens captures some of the work that goes into making sure we're all good to go.

There's nothing technical at all to share in this series, just some notes on the photos themselves.

"Let's Get Some Shade" shows a refuelling personnel taking refuge from the hot midday sun in KLIA, while waiting for refuelling to complete. Airplanes take a lot more time than F1 cars to refuel !

Planes do not have reverse gears, so they are pushed out by little tow trucks. Once in position, the tow trucks will have to be released, and this is done by removing a certain pin. Once the pin's removed, the engineer will stand and show the pin to the pilot.

This is where you get the waving in the photo "Cleared for takeoff ! ".

In "Pin's off now", the engineer is seen walking away from the plane after removing the pin. I meant to take a photo of the engineer waving, but the point and shoot I had wasn't responsive enough to photograph the quick wave the engineer gave the pilot.

In "Goodbye !", the engineer is waving, while support staffs give the traditional bow. I love this photograph for what it reminds me of Japanese society.

My personal favorite in this series is "Work's Done". The composition just feels right to me !