[QUOTE=spotter in the cabin]The ideal place to build a new Observation Deck at Heathrow would be on the site of the former Texaco Petrol Station to the south of the 09R threshold. This area has been a blocked off empty piece of land for some years now. We need someone with entrepreneurial desire, loads of money and good negotiating skills to approach the BAA or whoever owns the land. It is sufficiently set back from the perimeter not to be a security risk and I reckon with the number of UK spotters, if it had descent facilities such as a restaurent, toilet and reasonably high observation platform, the owner could make a killing. (Maybe five quid entrance fee for the day)./QUOTE]
I'd love to invest in it, however the problem is its overlooking 09R, a runway that gets used for departures only, and even then only about 25% of the time. The only people who use the petrol station location when 27s are in use are the photographers with very long lenses and uber expensive cameras, and even that they can only usually manage to photograph slow climbing heavies.
It would be very difficult to make any money out of that end of the airport due to the fact that the pre-exisitng spaces at the 27s end of the airport are always going to be used when 27s are in use. Sadly there isnt really any opportunity to build anything in those areas.
