Antonov again!

I decided to go to the 2nd Antonov loading "event" at Prestwick tonight.
(1st one here.)
There were a few shots that I wanted to get that I missed last time AND I had the fisheye I wanted to use there.
I also hoped that loading would go a bit quicker the second time.
This meant a hard stop at 5 pm and rushing into the car to get to the airport at 6 pm.
There things were dragging on and we did not get out to the airfield before 8pm! When we arrived it looked like the ramp was not built up yet and things would take much longer.
But when they got started it was much more efficient then last week, despite it being a different plane and different crew!
It started raining and I could not use the fisheye much as there is no way to protect the optic against the rain. 
The shots I wanted were unfortunately at the very end of the loading and I had to be patient and try not to do too many shots I had done already out of sheer boredom.
Once loading was finished and the Russians dismantled the ramp and stowed their equipment away, I was exited to see the nose coming down and the Antonov's impressive shape.
Well, they folded the ramp in, and it did not hatch!!! Huge excitement with the crew, as an open plane will not fly. Huge excitement with Russians is by the way very quiet and serious! They tried with some rough tools (!!!) then called the "Hotline" :). I felt sorry for them. After all that work such a downer. And a plane like this cannot be on ground. And the cable rolls also need to go. If they were not urgent there would not be 4 charter flights!!!
After half an hour or so, the hatch finally closed! Even the crew showed some happiness in their usually unemotional faces.
In the meantime it was almost midnight and I did have enough! But now the nose closed and the back opened :)
But those are the pictures for tomorrow :)
I was home at 1:30 am, hungry, cold and tired.


Blip with Extras:
Antonov 124 - loading the second wheel.
Up! Precision work with the crane
Lashing of the wheels with chains (a lot of chains)
Hatch not closing - Crew inspecting the mechanics.