This is flight 16 of 33 from my recent trip where I flew around the world. At the end of September through the beginning of October, I set out to fly around the Earth, and after 16 days, 13 airlines, 33 flights, and over 38,000 miles, I landed back in Kansas City, Missouri after visiting 13 different countries. Over the next 5 weeks I'll be posting these flights in order, so you too can take this incredible journey, exactly as I did! The flights will be posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday until all 33 flights are live! So, check back three times every week to take this incredible journey with me! Full Trip Playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PL6poUgHngiIF2lk7pJTExalaFQTnWwK2E.html
I'm glad you're enjoying it my friend. It certainly took a lot of investment. Both in monetary terms and time/work terms. You know, I often get comments like "oh it must be nice to just fly all over the world..." You know, that kind of comment haha. And I'll be the first to admit that it is a blast. No question about it. I absolutely love it. But... That said, the people who comment things like that often fail to realize the amount of money, time, energy, and dedication it takes to make it all happen. I could do this and just keep it all to myself. I'm certainly not the only person in the world who takes trips like this. But I don't... I remember what it was like when I was younger and couldn't afford to do stuff like this. The longing to fly more and take trips like this, but I just couldn't afford it. I remember as a kid just sitting on Oneworld or Star Alliance's website building around the world trips, that I knew I'd never take, but it was a goal to work towards. So I've always thought, that the least I could do now that I can afford it, is document it and share it with everyone else. Because the fact is that not everyone will get to a point where they can do something like this. Maybe a medical issue prevents them from traveling. Maybe they just can't afford it and have not been granted the same opportunities as me having been born and raised in a first world country with awesome opportunities to make a good living. No matter the reason, I want everyone to be able to experience these types of trips, even if it's through a screen. I've always wanted this channel to be a place where aviation enthusiasts and travel lovers can come to simply share that love. And the larger it has gotten, the more it's changed into a place where people can come to experience airlines, aircraft types, flights, cities, airports. etc. that they may never get to experience themselves. How many people will get the opportunity to fly on an extremely rare De Havilland Dash 7 from Yellowknife, Canada to an active arctic mining site? Probably not very many... But, I had that opportunity, so now anyone is always welcome to take that flight with me through the channel. So my friend, or anyone else reading this... Know that I truly do appreciate everyone who takes the time to watch, comment, like and subscribe. I wouldn't be able to afford to do all of this if it wasn't for everyone's continued support. So I mean it when I say thank you for watching!
@@sla31 wow very detailed reply! Don’t worry me and lot of others understand the time and dedication it takes to pull off something like this!! It’s not easy to do, the amount of sleep you lose, the amount of walking you have to do at airports is also crazy. Thank you for making these videos available for us to watch! We truly appreciate it 👍
Happy Monday morning from Montreal QC ! .. and welcome back my friend ! .. and there you go again absolutely another spectacular beautiful shooting filming footage compilation travel trip reports and you nailed it again and doing such an amazing job ! .. stunning footage views and best camera work catch ! .. TQSM ! ..
I miss the 2010s Kong Kong 😢 and HKG/VHHH. I remember, until 2019, we saw so many airlines and cargos from all around the word at HKG and the Cathay "Brsuhwing" livery which disappeared in 2023 when B-KQX (777-300ER) received the new livery after being grounded at Alice Spring for 3 years. What a shame Cathay removed this iconic livery.
For this trip, did you went on their A350-1000 and 777-300? The 777-300 (Non-ER) is a rare aircraft and only around 20 are still flying today. It would be good if you went on an aircraft that is slowly getting into the desert. On the other hand, their long haul flagship is the A350-1000 with comfortable interiors and spacious cabins.
I did both of those. Later in this trip I flew the 777-300 from HND-HKG, and yes it was one of the non-ER versions. And then I flew their A350-1000 from HKG-BKK. So those are both coming up after we finish the Japan portion of the trip.
No, I always sell of my old equipment (which is pretty much only iPhones) via eBay or locally through Facebook Marketplace. The value they hold after I'm done using them is far more than what Apple will give me in trade. So, I always sell them privately to maximize my return on what is essentially a business investment. I just sold both of my aging iPhone 14 Pros. One to a relative and one via eBay, and I got over $700 for each of them. The best Apple would do was $400. Keep in mind that mine are always the 1TB versions and they're always in excellent condition. I don't use my cameras for anything but filming. So they live a pretty easy life. And they're often plugged in when using them. So the 14 Pro I just sold to a relative still had a 100% battery health/condition even though it'd been used for well over a year filming flight after flight. They're basically as close to being NIB as possible without actually being "new" when I'm done with them. So the resale value is much higher than what Apple offers.
WOOO SKY! How did you like Hong Kong? Have you ever been into mainland China? Their airports are UNBELIEVABLE. Simply *the nicest*, cleanest, and most beautiful in the world. In particular, I recommend Beijing Daxing (DAX), Shenzhen Bao'an (SZX), and Chengdu Tianfu (TFU). Absolutely worth getting the $140 tourist visa to go fly through those. My mouth hit the floor when I thought that all of those MASSIVE terminals opened in the last 3 years, compared to the US taking 15 years to upgrade a terminal and a half at LaGuardia HaHa.
Well, I didn't really get to spend much time there. In fact, I only made this connection because of my Oneworld Sapphire status. My flight from SYD-HKG was delayed. On top of the delay leaning Australia we were put in a hold once we got close to HKG. So, my flight was met by a Cathay representative who escorted me to my next flight, including using priority and staff only security lines haha. Honestly it was amazing to watch. This lady couldn't have been more than 5' 3" tall and she was leaving me in the dust and I'm 6' 2" 😂. It was impressive. Anyway, the gate for this flight called her on her phone and she literally yelled "we're right around the corner." She ushered me down the jetway and they closed the door behind me. I had literally already started looking for hotels at or near HKG because I was sure I wasn't making this connection. Anyway, that delay out of SYD erased all the extra time I had in Hong Kong so getting to explore more outside of the airport will have to wait for another trip. Also, no. I have never been to mainland China.
I haven't done that specific flight, no. But I have flown over Greenland before on other flights. This being a good example: ua-cam.com/video/CaYE-fBowao/v-deo.htmlsi=EeQJgVzTzzL1gF-4 it's an older video, but it had some amazing views.
no more 07R Victoria Habour Departure anymore, as Chek Lap Kok is operating in "3 runway mode departure route" now, after 28/11, this departure stop to use.
What are those yellow numbers on that tall blue sign in the terminal -- 40-80, 201-230, 511-530 ?? Are those gate numbers?? Holy crap. If those are gate numbers, and how that airport continues to expand, it won't be long until they have to use 4 digit gate numbers. Whatever happened to A22, B36, C52 etc.
Yes, those are the gate numbers. Thankfully there's not actually 530 gates. I think the different wings of the terminal are the first number. Almost like a terminal number. So like, there's actually only 20 gates in the 500's. I'd imagine they can be daunting though for novice travelers.
It appears that a huge fleet of Cathay aircraft are "parked" at HKG - parked aircraft are not making money. IE - 3 United aircraft parked at what appeared to be a hanger - which would mean a mechanical problem. Scenic take off and flight to Incheon. Tks.
I believe United contracts with that company to perform heavy maintenance on certain aircraft types. So heavy C and D check type stuff. So, it's more likely they're there for scheduled maintenance overhauls vs. one single mechanical problem that required them to be there. I can't remember where I saw this now, but I'm pretty sure I read an article or something about it them sending planes the Hong Kong for that.
@ Right before I retired from UAL the mechanics were up in arms about contracting out aircraft maintenance to third parties-SFO was especially concerned about that and UAL eventually did contract out some maintenance to third party’s - I didn’t know that HKG was one of them-makes sense of why those 3 aircraft were parked there - Tks!
Many planes sound like they're falling apart when taxiing and taking off. There's just a lot vibrations during this phase of the flight and what you're hearing is mostly just the cabin fittings rattling around. Nothing structurally important to the plane.
Who are you? You've never identified yourself. I'm most curious to find out how you finance all your trips and where you find the find time. Are you retired?
Well, it's not that I don't want people to know who I am. It's just that I'm not really the focus of the channel. The aviation is the focus of the channel, and I don't really have any desire to be front and center. I'm always happy to tell my story for anyone who asks, and although rare, I have posted pictures of myself before in community posts. So, no I'm not retired and it's really a pretty interesting, long story on how I go about doing all of this. I'll try to give you the brief version, but you've been warned, as it's been a lot of years in the making haha. I've always loved aviation. Growing up as a kid in the 90's, I would find myself actually looking looking forward to flying to and from vacation or trips, more than the actual trips themselves. In fact, I'd ask my parents pick certain flights or routings that weren't necessarily the quickest or cheapest because I wanted to fly on cortina planes. I flew on a lot of cool planes as a kid... If only iPhones existed back then... Saab's, BAe 146's, Jetstreams, DC-9's, 727's, 737-200's, 300's, 500's, etc. Man I really wish I could've filmed those. I have some still pictures I took but even they are not great. Anyway, I've loved aviation since I was a kid, so naturally when I went to college in the later 2000's, I went the aviation route. I started college in a professional pilot program, but at the time... We're talking 2008.... The Great Recession... New pilot job opportunities were few and far between, and if you were lucky enough to get a job once you had all your licenses, you would be lucky if you got a job at a regional airline, working reserve, for less than 20K a year. Because of that I decided it was probably better if I went a different direction. After my first semester, I had already gotten my private pilots license, and I switched from a professional pilot program into an aviation management program. Three and a half years later I graduated with my PPL, and two bachelors degrees. One in aviation management, and one in airport management. After I graduated I got a job with Envoy Air (at the time it was still American Eagle Airlines), as a station agent at their station in Joplin, Missouri. Joplin Missouri is basically home for me. I grew up in, and actually still live there today, in Southeast Kansas. Even though I fly out of Tulsa and Kansas City most frequently, Joplin is actually my true home airport. Anyway, I wasn't making much money working for Envoy, but having just graduated college with zero student loan debt, I wasn't really looking for a long term thing. I really just wanted to have some flight benefits so I could travel some. Well, it wasn't long before I was a supervisor at the station, and because it was a "shared" station with Fort Smith, Arkansas, our General Manager wasn't actually on site. He worked in Fort Smith and would occasionally come up to Joplin. So, as the supervisor you kind of became the defacto GM most of the time too. That's where I really learned airline systems and how to best use them when traveling. I ended up working there for 5 years, which was FAR longer than I planned, but once my wife and I had those flight benefits.... Boy, was it hard to let them go. This was before we had any kids so we made good use of those free flight benefits. It was during my time at Envoy that I started this channel. Towards the end of my 5 years there. So we're now talking 2015. So I was flying a lot thanks to those benefits, and I had started filming short portions of my flights. It was really just for my own purposes. And we're talking like 5-10 minutes of a flight. Just the few minutes around takeoff and landing. Keeping in mind that this was 2015. A year before the FAA and airlines in the US lifted the "no electronics during taxi, takeoff, and landing." So, it technically wasn't allowed at all back then. That changed in 2016. So I started filming short bits of flights. Even just short bits though, I quickly realized my 40GB hard drive on my computer was quickly going to be gone at that rate. So believe it or not, the very first reason I started this channel for was simply because I was running out of storage space and I could upload it all here for free. In fact, I almost marked all my uploads as private, but I ended up deciding that if other people wanted to watch them, then I didn't care if they did. So there was a decision I made very early on that could've drastically changed what the channel grew into. I could've decided to just keep them all private, but I didn't. And now I'm glad I didn't, but back then I really didn't think anyone else would want to watch them haha. I left Envoy in 2016 as I was given the opportunity to take a job with the City of Joplin, working for their airport operations team and their airport fire department. Small airport equaled getting to do multiple jobs for the pay of one haha. But this was more in my educational wheelhouse. It offered a clear path to a potential airport management job down the road, so I took it. It paid better, had better benefits, and was all around a better job than the one with Envoy. But I lost my flight benefits... So, I always point that out because I want people to know that I hav paid for every flight you've seen on here since 2016. And I don't point that out because I want to brag or something. I point I out because I want people to understand that I truly do appreciate them for taking the time to watch my videos. It has been a very expensive endeavor to keep this channel running since I lost flight benefits. And because everyone continues to watch and comment, I'm able to continue making new content. Financially, I couldn't keep this channel running at the level I do now without the ad revenues that come in from everyone watching and interacting with my content. I have poured a ton of my own disposable income into this channel over the years and the simple fact is that I wouldn't be able to do it at this level without everyone's continued support. So financially speaking, over the years, it's been a lot of my own disposable income, and then the ad revenues from everyone watching and channel members/Patreon supporters that have really been how I afforded to do it all. As for how I had the time, it was because of the jobs I decided to take that allowed everything. Especially my job with the City of Joplin that started in 2016. Because that included being the fire department for the airport, I had a pretty nice schedule. I would work 3 on, 4 off... 4 on, 3 off. So I had a minimum of 3 days off in a row, and every other week I'd have 4 days off. It was those extended days off that allowed me to travel to farther away places like Hawaii even though I was doing it all just one my regular weekend. So, at this point in the timely is where things really started to change. I've been with the city now for 3-4 years. So, we're talking 2019-2020 now... The channel has grown into a descent sized channel. I don't remember how many subscribers it had, but it was a good chunk. I think it had like 20-30K subscribers, but I don't remember for sure. Anyway, I still wasn't making any money off it at this point though. So we're talking 4+ years in and I'm still doing it all solely with my own disposable income. Anyway, there were a series of events that took place between September of 2019 and December of 2020 that really changed the course of my channel. First, in September of 2019 I took American Airlines' final MD-80 flight. Which was really my first "viral" video. On that same trip, I was on an Envoy ERJ-140 that had an electrical failure in the Captain's instrument cluster that caused the whole cabin to fill with smoke. That video also went "viral." And those two videos being basically published back to back really vaulted my channel into a new level. Then shortly after after I was on another Envoy ERJ-175 where a severe downdraft on short final nearly pushed us into the ground prior to getting to the runway threshold. That video, plus the other two mentioned, just made my channel's numbers and viewership skyrocket. And it was at that time when I actually started making some money off the channel. My first check from UA-cam was $139.00 and I remember being so amazed. I actually made money doing this??? So I didn't make a penny off the channel until the end of 2019. 4.5 years after I started it. Then Covid happened... And you'd be justified in thinking... Well, a travel based channel... It must've hit you hard... And under normal circumstances you'd probably be right. And this sounds weird, but it's true. Covid was the best thing that ever happened to my channel. Now obviously Covid itself was bad, and I'm not happy about Covid, but there was a very specific and crazy reason why it actually benefited my channel more than anything else ever before. So my wife and I were expecting our first child in April of 2020. And our first daughter came on April 6, 2020. Just a few days after the United States shut down for 2 weeks. Remember the 2 weeks to stop the spread deal. Yeah, that is when she decided it was time to come haha. What a crazy time that was. My wife actually had to have a c-section and there was talk that I might now be able to attend the birth... Like it was that time. When New York City was baring husbands from briths and stuff. Luckily I did get to be there, but I was the only one. No other family was allowed to visit for the 4 days we stayed at the hospital before going home. It was rough. But anyway... I'm digressing. Because our daughter was due then, I had been flying like a madman prior to her birth. I knew that I wasn't going to have time to fly much for the first 6 months of her life. I just knew that my focus was going to have to be on her and my wife. But the channel had become a very important part of my life too as this point. So...
...I flew like crazy leading up to her brith because I wanted to still be able to post new content, even though I wasn't going to be able to fly much in 2020... I think you can probably see where this is going. I ended up with a huge backlog of new content. Tons of unpublished flights. And then the world shut down. I didn't know Covid was going to happen, but because I was planning for the brith of my daughter, I had a ton of new content to post going forward. I didn't step foot on a plane for months. Like half a year... But I never once stopped posting new content. Which meant I was not only one of the only aviation channels consistently posting during Covid, but one of the only travel channels posting new content. I had the crazy fortune on inadvertently planning for a global shutdown... I had basically lucked into perfectly planning for something that no-one could've seen coming. By pure chance... So again, as crazy as it sounds, Covid was actually what elevated my channel to where it is today. Because I was the only channel still posting new content, tons and tons of people flocked to my channel as they wanted to fly and travel but couldn't because everyone was shut down. My channel, a travel channel, has never performed better than it did during Covid. And specifically during the peak of Covid. It's crazy how things work out sometimes... Covid was horrible, but at the same time without it... My channel wouldn't be what it is today. So Covid elevated my channel to new levels and by the fall of 2021, I was not only making enough off the ad revenues to cover all of my travel expenses, but I was actually making money. In December of 2021, December 31, 2021 to be exact, I resigned from my job with the City of Joplin, and I have run this channel full time since January 1, 2022. So, for 2.5 years now, this channel has been my full time job. And I couldn't be more happy. I enjoyed my job at the City of Joplin, but man... I get to fly around the world filming aviation content now. That's a pretty sweet gig. And don't misunderstand... I'm certainly not breaking any records with my income now, but it's enough to get by and do this as a job. So I still rely on and greatly appreciated everyone who helps support the channel by watching, liking, commenting, subscribing, etc. None of it would be possible without everyone's continued support. But I have been pleasantly surprised with the way everything has worked out. I'll tell you what... I never would've imagined that my two college degrees would be in a box in my closet, and my Silver Play Button would be proudly displayed in my office, but hey... That's where I'm at haha. Anyway, I greatly appreciate you and everyone else who watches my friend. I am extremely lucky to be able to something like this as a job now, but I don't take it for granted. I strive to post the best quality aviation content and it's my honor to be able to share my experiences with everyone else. So thanks for watching, commenting, and being a member of the community!
![[4K] - Full Flight - Fiji Airways - Airbus A350-941 - NAN-SYD - DQ-FAJ - FJ911 - IFS 938](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5vwp3gBS5vI/mqdefault.jpg)
![[4K] – Full Flight – Fiji Airways – Airbus A350-941 – NAN-SYD – DQ-FAJ – FJ911 – IFS 938](/img/tr.png)
![[4K] - Full Flight - Korean Air - Airbus A330-323 - ICN-KIX - HL7710 - KE725 - IFS 946](/img/n.gif)
This is flight 16 of 33 from my recent trip where I flew around the world. At the end of September through the beginning of October, I set out to fly around the Earth, and after 16 days, 13 airlines, 33 flights, and over 38,000 miles, I landed back in Kansas City, Missouri after visiting 13 different countries. Over the next 5 weeks I'll be posting these flights in order, so you too can take this incredible journey, exactly as I did! The flights will be posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday until all 33 flights are live! So, check back three times every week to take this incredible journey with me!
Full Trip Playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PL6poUgHngiIF2lk7pJTExalaFQTnWwK2E.html
I’m glad that you made it safe to South Korea. 😃
Halfway through and this series has already been top notch!
I'm glad you're enjoying it my friend. It certainly took a lot of investment. Both in monetary terms and time/work terms. You know, I often get comments like "oh it must be nice to just fly all over the world..." You know, that kind of comment haha. And I'll be the first to admit that it is a blast. No question about it. I absolutely love it. But... That said, the people who comment things like that often fail to realize the amount of money, time, energy, and dedication it takes to make it all happen. I could do this and just keep it all to myself. I'm certainly not the only person in the world who takes trips like this. But I don't... I remember what it was like when I was younger and couldn't afford to do stuff like this. The longing to fly more and take trips like this, but I just couldn't afford it. I remember as a kid just sitting on Oneworld or Star Alliance's website building around the world trips, that I knew I'd never take, but it was a goal to work towards. So I've always thought, that the least I could do now that I can afford it, is document it and share it with everyone else. Because the fact is that not everyone will get to a point where they can do something like this. Maybe a medical issue prevents them from traveling. Maybe they just can't afford it and have not been granted the same opportunities as me having been born and raised in a first world country with awesome opportunities to make a good living. No matter the reason, I want everyone to be able to experience these types of trips, even if it's through a screen. I've always wanted this channel to be a place where aviation enthusiasts and travel lovers can come to simply share that love. And the larger it has gotten, the more it's changed into a place where people can come to experience airlines, aircraft types, flights, cities, airports. etc. that they may never get to experience themselves. How many people will get the opportunity to fly on an extremely rare De Havilland Dash 7 from Yellowknife, Canada to an active arctic mining site? Probably not very many... But, I had that opportunity, so now anyone is always welcome to take that flight with me through the channel. So my friend, or anyone else reading this... Know that I truly do appreciate everyone who takes the time to watch, comment, like and subscribe. I wouldn't be able to afford to do all of this if it wasn't for everyone's continued support. So I mean it when I say thank you for watching!
@@sla31 wow very detailed reply! Don’t worry me and lot of others understand the time and dedication it takes to pull off something like this!! It’s not easy to do, the amount of sleep you lose, the amount of walking you have to do at airports is also crazy. Thank you for making these videos available for us to watch! We truly appreciate it 👍
My goodness. That was the most beautiful take off I have ever seen!!!
It was very pretty, wasn't it? Sometimes the weather and everything just works out perfectly. Thanks for watching!
This series keeps getting better with each flight. What an amazing spectacle!
Thanks my friend. Plenty more to come! Thanks for watching!
Love that intense engine buzz!!
What an amazing landing! So clear. The lights of the city are mesmerizing.
THIS IS PERFECT FOR SLEEPING. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Great Series! 👍👍
Great vid, and nice view of Hong Kong Disneyland on the climb out!
Glad you enjoyed it my friend! Thanks for watching!
Happy Monday morning from Montreal QC ! .. and welcome back my friend ! .. and there you go again absolutely another spectacular beautiful shooting filming footage compilation travel trip reports and you nailed it again and doing such an amazing job ! .. stunning footage views and best camera work catch ! .. TQSM ! ..
Thanks my friend. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Nice flight SP good job 👍
Very nice trip report SP nice plane A330 Cathay Pacific, every airline
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK
Cathay used to be the biggest operator of that type. This A 333 is one of the very first produced. Still flying. Reliable.
Wow! ❤great video
Thanks my friend. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I miss the 2010s Kong Kong 😢 and HKG/VHHH. I remember, until 2019, we saw so many airlines and cargos from all around the word at HKG and the Cathay "Brsuhwing" livery which disappeared in 2023 when B-KQX (777-300ER) received the new livery after being grounded at Alice Spring for 3 years. What a shame Cathay removed this iconic livery.
For this trip, did you went on their A350-1000 and 777-300? The 777-300 (Non-ER) is a rare aircraft and only around 20 are still flying today. It would be good if you went on an aircraft that is slowly getting into the desert. On the other hand, their long haul flagship is the A350-1000 with comfortable interiors and spacious cabins.
I did both of those. Later in this trip I flew the 777-300 from HND-HKG, and yes it was one of the non-ER versions. And then I flew their A350-1000 from HKG-BKK. So those are both coming up after we finish the Japan portion of the trip.
Wonderful video of Cathay A330 take off out of Hong Kong
Glad you enjoyed it my friend. Thanks for watching!
Que Top Amigo Vídeo Espetacular 😊. like Pra o Canal ❤
Nice job SP
Great fly! Have you ever traded in your old iPhone when upgrading it through Apple Store or the carrier store for a discount?
No, I always sell of my old equipment (which is pretty much only iPhones) via eBay or locally through Facebook Marketplace. The value they hold after I'm done using them is far more than what Apple will give me in trade. So, I always sell them privately to maximize my return on what is essentially a business investment. I just sold both of my aging iPhone 14 Pros. One to a relative and one via eBay, and I got over $700 for each of them. The best Apple would do was $400. Keep in mind that mine are always the 1TB versions and they're always in excellent condition. I don't use my cameras for anything but filming. So they live a pretty easy life. And they're often plugged in when using them. So the 14 Pro I just sold to a relative still had a 100% battery health/condition even though it'd been used for well over a year filming flight after flight. They're basically as close to being NIB as possible without actually being "new" when I'm done with them. So the resale value is much higher than what Apple offers.
WOOO SKY! How did you like Hong Kong? Have you ever been into mainland China? Their airports are UNBELIEVABLE. Simply *the nicest*, cleanest, and most beautiful in the world. In particular, I recommend Beijing Daxing (DAX), Shenzhen Bao'an (SZX), and Chengdu Tianfu (TFU). Absolutely worth getting the $140 tourist visa to go fly through those. My mouth hit the floor when I thought that all of those MASSIVE terminals opened in the last 3 years, compared to the US taking 15 years to upgrade a terminal and a half at LaGuardia HaHa.
Well, I didn't really get to spend much time there. In fact, I only made this connection because of my Oneworld Sapphire status. My flight from SYD-HKG was delayed. On top of the delay leaning Australia we were put in a hold once we got close to HKG. So, my flight was met by a Cathay representative who escorted me to my next flight, including using priority and staff only security lines haha. Honestly it was amazing to watch. This lady couldn't have been more than 5' 3" tall and she was leaving me in the dust and I'm 6' 2" 😂. It was impressive. Anyway, the gate for this flight called her on her phone and she literally yelled "we're right around the corner." She ushered me down the jetway and they closed the door behind me. I had literally already started looking for hotels at or near HKG because I was sure I wasn't making this connection. Anyway, that delay out of SYD erased all the extra time I had in Hong Kong so getting to explore more outside of the airport will have to wait for another trip. Also, no. I have never been to mainland China.
That’s the airport I got to fly business class in and I believe you landed on the same runway as I did
I’m curious have you ever done LAX to BCN flight??? Flying over Greenland would be fun
I haven't done that specific flight, no. But I have flown over Greenland before on other flights. This being a good example: ua-cam.com/video/CaYE-fBowao/v-deo.htmlsi=EeQJgVzTzzL1gF-4 it's an older video, but it had some amazing views.
no more 07R Victoria Habour Departure anymore, as Chek Lap Kok is operating in "3 runway mode departure route" now, after 28/11, this departure stop to use.
That's too bad because this one was pretty scenic.
What are those yellow numbers on that tall blue sign in the terminal -- 40-80, 201-230, 511-530 ?? Are those gate numbers?? Holy crap. If those are gate numbers, and how that airport continues to expand, it won't be long until they have to use 4 digit gate numbers. Whatever happened to A22, B36, C52 etc.
Yes, those are the gate numbers. Thankfully there's not actually 530 gates. I think the different wings of the terminal are the first number. Almost like a terminal number. So like, there's actually only 20 gates in the 500's. I'd imagine they can be daunting though for novice travelers.
It appears that a huge fleet of Cathay aircraft are "parked" at HKG - parked aircraft are not making money. IE - 3 United aircraft parked at what appeared to be a hanger - which would mean a mechanical problem. Scenic take off and flight to Incheon. Tks.
I believe United contracts with that company to perform heavy maintenance on certain aircraft types. So heavy C and D check type stuff. So, it's more likely they're there for scheduled maintenance overhauls vs. one single mechanical problem that required them to be there. I can't remember where I saw this now, but I'm pretty sure I read an article or something about it them sending planes the Hong Kong for that.
@ Right before I retired from UAL the mechanics were up in arms about contracting out aircraft maintenance to third parties-SFO was especially concerned about that and UAL eventually did contract out some maintenance to third party’s - I didn’t know that HKG was one of them-makes sense of why those 3 aircraft were parked there - Tks!
Ah we got an A330 bois, its buttery time!
Crosswind productions do you have a TikTok skylight productions
No, I do not.
How come the flaps were down when in the gate, not just on your plane, but on every other A330 nearby?
That is a good question. One that I do not know the answer too. Hopefully someone else that knows can chime in.
What did they surve you on a Cathey pasfic
It is shown in the video. Go to the “onboard service” timestamp to see it which is at 57:48.
@@AdenVo-t4jwhat question does that need to do with this video 😂💀
@AdenVo-t4j someone called me on Instagram, but I didn't answer it haha. Was that you? I don't really take "calls" 😂
why does the plane sound like she will fall off into pieces while taxing and takeoff...
Many planes sound like they're falling apart when taxiing and taking off. There's just a lot vibrations during this phase of the flight and what you're hearing is mostly just the cabin fittings rattling around. Nothing structurally important to the plane.
Who are you? You've never identified yourself. I'm most curious to find out how you finance all your trips and where you find the find time. Are you retired?
Well, it's not that I don't want people to know who I am. It's just that I'm not really the focus of the channel. The aviation is the focus of the channel, and I don't really have any desire to be front and center. I'm always happy to tell my story for anyone who asks, and although rare, I have posted pictures of myself before in community posts. So, no I'm not retired and it's really a pretty interesting, long story on how I go about doing all of this. I'll try to give you the brief version, but you've been warned, as it's been a lot of years in the making haha.
I've always loved aviation. Growing up as a kid in the 90's, I would find myself actually looking looking forward to flying to and from vacation or trips, more than the actual trips themselves. In fact, I'd ask my parents pick certain flights or routings that weren't necessarily the quickest or cheapest because I wanted to fly on cortina planes. I flew on a lot of cool planes as a kid... If only iPhones existed back then... Saab's, BAe 146's, Jetstreams, DC-9's, 727's, 737-200's, 300's, 500's, etc. Man I really wish I could've filmed those. I have some still pictures I took but even they are not great. Anyway, I've loved aviation since I was a kid, so naturally when I went to college in the later 2000's, I went the aviation route. I started college in a professional pilot program, but at the time... We're talking 2008.... The Great Recession... New pilot job opportunities were few and far between, and if you were lucky enough to get a job once you had all your licenses, you would be lucky if you got a job at a regional airline, working reserve, for less than 20K a year. Because of that I decided it was probably better if I went a different direction. After my first semester, I had already gotten my private pilots license, and I switched from a professional pilot program into an aviation management program. Three and a half years later I graduated with my PPL, and two bachelors degrees. One in aviation management, and one in airport management.
After I graduated I got a job with Envoy Air (at the time it was still American Eagle Airlines), as a station agent at their station in Joplin, Missouri. Joplin Missouri is basically home for me. I grew up in, and actually still live there today, in Southeast Kansas. Even though I fly out of Tulsa and Kansas City most frequently, Joplin is actually my true home airport. Anyway, I wasn't making much money working for Envoy, but having just graduated college with zero student loan debt, I wasn't really looking for a long term thing. I really just wanted to have some flight benefits so I could travel some. Well, it wasn't long before I was a supervisor at the station, and because it was a "shared" station with Fort Smith, Arkansas, our General Manager wasn't actually on site. He worked in Fort Smith and would occasionally come up to Joplin. So, as the supervisor you kind of became the defacto GM most of the time too. That's where I really learned airline systems and how to best use them when traveling. I ended up working there for 5 years, which was FAR longer than I planned, but once my wife and I had those flight benefits.... Boy, was it hard to let them go. This was before we had any kids so we made good use of those free flight benefits.
It was during my time at Envoy that I started this channel. Towards the end of my 5 years there. So we're now talking 2015. So I was flying a lot thanks to those benefits, and I had started filming short portions of my flights. It was really just for my own purposes. And we're talking like 5-10 minutes of a flight. Just the few minutes around takeoff and landing. Keeping in mind that this was 2015. A year before the FAA and airlines in the US lifted the "no electronics during taxi, takeoff, and landing." So, it technically wasn't allowed at all back then. That changed in 2016. So I started filming short bits of flights. Even just short bits though, I quickly realized my 40GB hard drive on my computer was quickly going to be gone at that rate. So believe it or not, the very first reason I started this channel for was simply because I was running out of storage space and I could upload it all here for free. In fact, I almost marked all my uploads as private, but I ended up deciding that if other people wanted to watch them, then I didn't care if they did. So there was a decision I made very early on that could've drastically changed what the channel grew into. I could've decided to just keep them all private, but I didn't. And now I'm glad I didn't, but back then I really didn't think anyone else would want to watch them haha.
I left Envoy in 2016 as I was given the opportunity to take a job with the City of Joplin, working for their airport operations team and their airport fire department. Small airport equaled getting to do multiple jobs for the pay of one haha. But this was more in my educational wheelhouse. It offered a clear path to a potential airport management job down the road, so I took it. It paid better, had better benefits, and was all around a better job than the one with Envoy. But I lost my flight benefits... So, I always point that out because I want people to know that I hav paid for every flight you've seen on here since 2016. And I don't point that out because I want to brag or something. I point I out because I want people to understand that I truly do appreciate them for taking the time to watch my videos. It has been a very expensive endeavor to keep this channel running since I lost flight benefits. And because everyone continues to watch and comment, I'm able to continue making new content. Financially, I couldn't keep this channel running at the level I do now without the ad revenues that come in from everyone watching and interacting with my content. I have poured a ton of my own disposable income into this channel over the years and the simple fact is that I wouldn't be able to do it at this level without everyone's continued support. So financially speaking, over the years, it's been a lot of my own disposable income, and then the ad revenues from everyone watching and channel members/Patreon supporters that have really been how I afforded to do it all.
As for how I had the time, it was because of the jobs I decided to take that allowed everything. Especially my job with the City of Joplin that started in 2016. Because that included being the fire department for the airport, I had a pretty nice schedule. I would work 3 on, 4 off... 4 on, 3 off. So I had a minimum of 3 days off in a row, and every other week I'd have 4 days off. It was those extended days off that allowed me to travel to farther away places like Hawaii even though I was doing it all just one my regular weekend.
So, at this point in the timely is where things really started to change. I've been with the city now for 3-4 years. So, we're talking 2019-2020 now... The channel has grown into a descent sized channel. I don't remember how many subscribers it had, but it was a good chunk. I think it had like 20-30K subscribers, but I don't remember for sure. Anyway, I still wasn't making any money off it at this point though. So we're talking 4+ years in and I'm still doing it all solely with my own disposable income. Anyway, there were a series of events that took place between September of 2019 and December of 2020 that really changed the course of my channel. First, in September of 2019 I took American Airlines' final MD-80 flight. Which was really my first "viral" video. On that same trip, I was on an Envoy ERJ-140 that had an electrical failure in the Captain's instrument cluster that caused the whole cabin to fill with smoke. That video also went "viral." And those two videos being basically published back to back really vaulted my channel into a new level. Then shortly after after I was on another Envoy ERJ-175 where a severe downdraft on short final nearly pushed us into the ground prior to getting to the runway threshold. That video, plus the other two mentioned, just made my channel's numbers and viewership skyrocket. And it was at that time when I actually started making some money off the channel. My first check from UA-cam was $139.00 and I remember being so amazed. I actually made money doing this??? So I didn't make a penny off the channel until the end of 2019. 4.5 years after I started it.
Then Covid happened... And you'd be justified in thinking... Well, a travel based channel... It must've hit you hard... And under normal circumstances you'd probably be right. And this sounds weird, but it's true. Covid was the best thing that ever happened to my channel. Now obviously Covid itself was bad, and I'm not happy about Covid, but there was a very specific and crazy reason why it actually benefited my channel more than anything else ever before. So my wife and I were expecting our first child in April of 2020. And our first daughter came on April 6, 2020. Just a few days after the United States shut down for 2 weeks. Remember the 2 weeks to stop the spread deal. Yeah, that is when she decided it was time to come haha. What a crazy time that was. My wife actually had to have a c-section and there was talk that I might now be able to attend the birth... Like it was that time. When New York City was baring husbands from briths and stuff. Luckily I did get to be there, but I was the only one. No other family was allowed to visit for the 4 days we stayed at the hospital before going home. It was rough. But anyway... I'm digressing. Because our daughter was due then, I had been flying like a madman prior to her birth. I knew that I wasn't going to have time to fly much for the first 6 months of her life. I just knew that my focus was going to have to be on her and my wife. But the channel had become a very important part of my life too as this point. So...
...I flew like crazy leading up to her brith because I wanted to still be able to post new content, even though I wasn't going to be able to fly much in 2020... I think you can probably see where this is going. I ended up with a huge backlog of new content. Tons of unpublished flights. And then the world shut down. I didn't know Covid was going to happen, but because I was planning for the brith of my daughter, I had a ton of new content to post going forward.
I didn't step foot on a plane for months. Like half a year... But I never once stopped posting new content. Which meant I was not only one of the only aviation channels consistently posting during Covid, but one of the only travel channels posting new content. I had the crazy fortune on inadvertently planning for a global shutdown... I had basically lucked into perfectly planning for something that no-one could've seen coming. By pure chance... So again, as crazy as it sounds, Covid was actually what elevated my channel to where it is today. Because I was the only channel still posting new content, tons and tons of people flocked to my channel as they wanted to fly and travel but couldn't because everyone was shut down. My channel, a travel channel, has never performed better than it did during Covid. And specifically during the peak of Covid. It's crazy how things work out sometimes... Covid was horrible, but at the same time without it... My channel wouldn't be what it is today.
So Covid elevated my channel to new levels and by the fall of 2021, I was not only making enough off the ad revenues to cover all of my travel expenses, but I was actually making money. In December of 2021, December 31, 2021 to be exact, I resigned from my job with the City of Joplin, and I have run this channel full time since January 1, 2022. So, for 2.5 years now, this channel has been my full time job. And I couldn't be more happy. I enjoyed my job at the City of Joplin, but man... I get to fly around the world filming aviation content now. That's a pretty sweet gig. And don't misunderstand... I'm certainly not breaking any records with my income now, but it's enough to get by and do this as a job. So I still rely on and greatly appreciated everyone who helps support the channel by watching, liking, commenting, subscribing, etc. None of it would be possible without everyone's continued support. But I have been pleasantly surprised with the way everything has worked out.
I'll tell you what... I never would've imagined that my two college degrees would be in a box in my closet, and my Silver Play Button would be proudly displayed in my office, but hey... That's where I'm at haha. Anyway, I greatly appreciate you and everyone else who watches my friend. I am extremely lucky to be able to something like this as a job now, but I don't take it for granted. I strive to post the best quality aviation content and it's my honor to be able to share my experiences with everyone else. So thanks for watching, commenting, and being a member of the community!
🇰🇷
🫡
😂😂😂
😂