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By Chris Smith

I went on a stag do over the weekend and it goes without saying that this was a non-spotting trip, yet the more hardened spotters amongst us know that such trips tend to yield unexpectedly good results and this occasion was no different. Clear skies meant some overflights were picked up from the train, and it was cheaper to get a connecting rattler in Edinburgh than it was to go direct and this took us right past the end of Edinburghs 06 (the ECML passes even closer to the 24 end). In Glasgow, an unexpected free hour on the Saturday took me to the city heliport (after first visiting some of the cities more infamous spots such as the Clutha Bar not two days before an official enquiry opened and the School of Art Mackintosh building) run by Babcock MCS Onshore where two were bagged, and chatting to a security guard it seems this was a good haul for the place. I figured with Celtic playing at home if not Rangers as well, there might be a few private charters in but apparently such flights don't use the facility, and the local air ambulance moved out recently too. The next day, there was enough time between breakfast and the train home to visit Glasgow Airport itself for a very quick walk-around. Being a Sunday it was very quiet but it was a case of a little bit of something is better than a whole lot of nothing and I was more than content with what went in the bag. Due to a lack of camera (the two shots are taken on my phone) or binoculars, a number of resident tins on the far side of the airport went begging. Thanks go out to Dave Rose for assistance with the layout of GLA. Finally, I had the taxi driver taking me back to the city centre make a detour via a go-kart track after I accidentally discovered a 737 forward fuselage protrudes from the facade, with the industrial estate adjacent to the airport being a former Rolls-Royce complex and whilst they do not power 737s perhaps it's just there to acknowledge the aviation connection?