Hello everyone. I’m planning a trip with my dad and was looking for some advice or suggestions.
We are looking for 2 or 3 good international airports to take pictures, would prefer a busy spot with plenty of traffic and some good vantage points to take pictures. This is basically just a leisurely trip just to spend time together and do something we both enjoy, flying and photography.
He’s retired, I have great flexibility in time off, so we were going to plan our trip and wait for decent rates, may end up leaving at the last minute.
LAX has a great spot to watch and photograph aircraft. It’s near the In-n-Out burger on the north side of the airport. I’ve seen Air Tahiti Nui, China, Air China, and other foreign carriers land there, along with the usual domestic stuff.
Not only do you get to watch the planes land when they are just a 100 or so feet away, you can get great hamburgers!
Do a Google search using the terms “LAX” “In-n-Out” and “Runway” to get some ideas on what goes on there.
The In and Out at LAX is really nice for airplane watching. Went there for a kids birthday party a few weeks ago, and the kids had a ball. The little ones did, too.
On the south side of LAX, along Imperial Highway, there is a little bluff that over looks the airport. There is a tiny park there called (I believe) Clutter Park. Couple of tables and benches. Nice view of the south side.
The best spot for watching departures (or arrivals during east traffic) used to be Sandpiper Street, which went over the dunes on the west side of LAX. (between Vista Del Mar and Pershing Drive). You can still see the outlines of the streets where houses used to be, and the view looks right down into the airport (along 6L-24R). It is a stunning view. Sadly, its been blocked off since 9-11.
Used to love that spot. An airplane watchers dream… The mechanical birds of LAX on one side, and the beach on the other.
Kinda silly (in a way) that it was closed, when you can go to other spots around the airport that can be of the same concern that precipitated the Sandpiper St. closure.
In the immediate post-9/11 panic, a bunch of other streets around LAX were closed but cooler heads eventually prevailed. Since Sandpiper has no buildings on it they didn’t see the need to reopen it just for 1 bus route. There is one other that’s still closed - a bit right beside the S. perimeter.
Silly ? Of course it is, but so are most things done in the name of “security”.
Pat206, do you know if you can still walk up there? I’ve driven by and seen the barriers that would prevent a car from driving up. Are there other warning signs or stuff like that?
While probably not meeting your needs, there is a place to watch the arrivals at Oakland (OAK). It’s the San Leandro Marina. It’s mainly Southwest aircraft but you also get JetBlue, American Eagle, Alaska, Horizon, United, United Express, FedEx (major base for them), UPS, US Airways, Hawaiian, Mexicana, and Ameriflight (and probably a couple of more that I can’t think of right now).
Unfortunately, the Mexicana flights are usually late at night.
OAK has three runways that are controlled by two different towers. The North Complex (commonly called North Field; runways 27L/09R and 27R/09L) is where the general aviation, Ameriflight, and Westair (using Cessna 208s in FedEx colors) operate. It’s worth the drive along this road just to see the original airport buildings.
The North Field also has the Western Aerospace Museum www.westernaerospacemuseum.org/ (the link doesn’t swork right now but keep givingit a try)). Among other aircraft, it has a Saunderland flying boat that you can tour.
The South Complex (runway 29/11) is what the airlines operate from. The viewing for this runway is from the San Leandro Marina as I mentioned above. As an addendum to that, if you want to catch departing airliners you can go to the area shown on this map. Not exactly an ideal location for picture taking.
Speaking of picture taking: if you are taking pictures, you’ll get best results in the morning because you’ll be looking at the aircraft towards the west. It’s also not unusual for it to be cloudy in the early morning hours (i.e. before about 10).
That is(was) a great spot if it’s the one I’m thinking of on the northwest corner of the property. When I was there last way back in 1992, I shot some great video of the heavies taking off. Very cool spot.
Unique among the fine aviation museums in Southern California is the Flight Path Learning Center, the only aviation museum and research center situated at a major airport and the only facility with a** primary emphasis on contributions of civil aviation** to the history and development of Southern California.
The Flight Path exhibits gallery, filled with memories of aviation’s golden years, is adjacent to the LAX airfield, where today’s aircraft and travelers arrive and depart the world’s busiest origin and destination airport. No other museum offers such a perspective on contemporary aircraft and aviation.
BOSTON: When I was last there, we took a harbor boat tour, which passed under the approaches to 9 and 4L/4R. (http://tinyurl.com/mr5ysf) Across the harbor under the 9 approach is the Institute of Contemporary Art museum, and nearby a string of others including the Boston Fire Museum, Children’s Museum, Boston Tea Party ship & museum, Lifesaving Museum, and the Museum of Dirt (seriously). Under/near the 4L/4R approach is Pleasure Bay (a lagoon and beach) and Fort Independence. http://tinyurl.com/lg8seb
My recollection is that sites across the bay are a bit far from the threshold (probably nothing is closer than the Proud Bird at LAX), and the flights were a few hundred feet up. So you might want to estimate the altitudes and decide whether it’s a worthy choice.
DULLES: Similarly, you could go to the new Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, Udvar-Hazy Center, which I’m told is wonderful. It’s just off Rte 28 and between the approaches for 1C and 1R. Or you could just park the car along the access road and have a picnic until airport security rolls up to hustle you along. (?)
I’ve always landed and departed heading north, so I assume that’s real popular. North of IAD I don’t see a destination like a museum or a park; it looks like farmland and a business park. If you catch a departure of an international heavy, they’ll climb slowly, enhancing your experience.
SAN DIEGO: Like Boston, the airport’s nestled in the city, so you can get fairly close on either end. The approach over the hill on the east is always low, but the departures to the west always seem to be generously high. I guess they’re very deliberate about getting wheels up and outta there. Plus they don’t get any heavy iron in KSAN.
I found a commuter park-n-ride lot north of the airport - great for catching traffic coming in on 19C. You can also see traffic going into 19L, albeit somewhat distant. Lat/Lon 38.99041 -77.45480
Alright, keep the suggestions for the Los Angeles area coming. I’m out here in Anaheim right now and the wife is in a “conference” all day so I’m bored out of my mind. I think I’m going to make the drive to LA tomorrow to do some spotting.
If you’re going to LAX, go on up to Typhoon at the Sant Monica Airport. Have lunch up on the balcony while getting your fill of biz jets and GA airplanes. It’s very airplane visceral from that vantage point. And the food is pretty good too. Whenever I have a trip to SMO…that’s where I like to go to watch planes, enjoy the view, and don the feed bag.
