#avgeeks and FlightRadar24 visit

FlightRadar24 and a group of aviation enthusiasts visited the View Heathrow Observation Deck yesterday to test out the new facility in T4 and its spectacular views.

A whir of camera shutters filled the air as the yourHeathrow hosted group was treated to a wide-array of aircraft touching down on the Southern Runway in front of them.

Aircraft such as the China Southern Boeing Dreamliner 787, a KLM Fokker 70 and the British Airways A380 (One World) were favourites of the group as they took advantage of the deck’s location only 250 metres away from the centre of the runway.

FlightRadar24 founder Mikael Robertsson was on hand to answer questions about the popular smartphone and tablet app (which is displayed on three Dixons iPads in the viewing area), and how it began as a hobby.

Robertsson also showed despite all his success, his simple passion for aviation remains as strong as ever with the founder taking just as many photos as the other guests.

Airliners.net senior moderator Gary Claridge-King and Airliner World Magazine Editor Tony Dixon were among the other enthusiastic guests.

One lucky enthusiast, Henry Heming, even managed to add photos of the Qatar Emiri Flight Aircraft (an A320 CJ) – used to transport the Qatari Royal Family and Government- to his collection after six-months of trying, prompting an emphatic celebration.

The lead on the Observation Deck project and brains behind it, Heathrow’s Paul Springthorpe, was also on hand to answer questions about the concept design and fit-out. 

#avgeeks to go head to head in View Heathrow social media photo comp

All the guests at the photo opportunity have been asked to submit their two best photos for the day to go head-to-head online for bragging rights and to win an iPad mini. The competition will launch on Friday afternoon and run for a week.

Keep an eye on the Heathrow Airport Facebook page and the @yourHeathrow Twitter feed for more information!