Thundering ghost from out of the clouds

Having lived in close proximity to Okęcie airport for 15 years (and not too far from London Heathrow for many more), the sound of an aircraft taking off is rather commonplace. But this one was quite something. At P+R Al. Krakowska bus stop, at the end of Runway 29, where the drivers are inured to the noise of take offs, this sounded extraordinary. They ran out into the street, mouthing expletives of awe.

I readied my camera... Lens zoomed out to 200mm in the general direction of the racket... SNAP! and this (below) is what I caught... Out of focus, blurred, but clearly a huge four-engined beast...

Below: the plane pops through clouds. It is, of course, an Antonov An-124, one of the world's largest aircraft, which does visit Okęcie every now and then. Unlike the Airbus A380, this beast (which had its first flight nearly 30 years ago - December 1982, when the Soviet Union was still a major threat to mankind, is powered by engines designed without regard for noise limits or people living near airports.

Below: the evening was cloudy; within a second or so the sky closed in upon the giant freighter; the sound remained ringing in everyone's ears for some minutes afterwards. Awesome, in the truest sense of the word.

The annoyance factor is easily eclipsed by the sight and sound of the thing ponderously, thunderously, making its way up into the heavens, engines on full blast. Really quite something.

This time last year:
Push-pull for Mazowsze

This time two years ago:
Okęcie runway repairs are complete

This time four years ago:
I know that painting from somewhere...

This time five years ago:
The March of Progress, ul. Postępu