As I mentioned in previous shots, Shep's Mound is good for getting some close in shots of aircraft noses and tails as they taxi past.

In this case, we see the nose of Qantas (QantasLink) Boeing 717-2K9 VH-YQX (alias Bouddi National Park, after a park that is located on the NSW Central Coast near Gosford), which I described in image 0420 of today's shoot, along with the history of the 717 itself.

It's flight QF1503. Sydney to Canberra.

Why on earth anyone would fly from Sydney to Canberra (unless they were going just for a day or don't own a car) I have no idea. I did it once (mainly because there was a rental car down there that I wanted to test drive for a couple of days) back when I lived in Sydney, but given the time that it took to get to the airport, check in, wait for the flight, board, fly there (that bit didn't take long, by the time you reach cruising altitude the pilot makes the call to prep the plane for landing), disembark, get your luggage, get from the airport to where you're staying.... I could have driven there, had lunch, and been relaxing in the hotel swimming pool.

I sure as HELL would never fly to Canberra from Wollongong where the trip to Sydney to catch the flight would be longer than the flight.

The only exception would be if it was a day trip. Driving there AND back in one day, or even on the next day, is not a lot of fun.

Still, there's clearly a market for it, and it keeps VH-YQX in a job.