Hello VFE,
I flew the Boeing 747-300 for almost 15 years and in that time flew into St. Maarten on average twice a year. It was part of a triangle through to Curacao that we still fly today. I know of the pictures, and I must say that I never found the approach into St. Maarten particularly difficult. The thing that is essential is that you touch down in the touchdown zone. Always important, but when you have only a little over 2100 meters (less than 7000 feet) it makes it doubly so. For most aircraft these lengths don’t pose much of a restriction, but for the older version of the 747 the amount of braking that is required makes the cooling time part of the operational equation. The pictures that are pretty well known are of aircraft that dip below a normal approach path. The fence at the beginning of the runway has been knocked down twice by a certain French airline. So I can confirm the pictures are real. There is a lot of opportunity to take pictures from the road or the beach and there are always people there. The instrument approach is a VOR/DME but usually it boils down to a visual.
The take-off has more restrictions than the arrival. You take off right towards the hills, and it requires an early right turn to avoid. An engine failure requires a visual climb-out between two of those hills, to guarantee obstacle clearance. Usually you have a nice little headwind to help you out.
Take-off’s by big aircraft usually get a lot of attention, you backtrack onto the main runway, do a 180. Right behind the aircraft there is a fence followed by a small road and than a public beach. Some to the more adventurous souls think it is a good idea to get up to the fence and hang on as we bring up the power. The road closes during these take-off’s. Several of these brain surgeons have been hurt in the past. Having been blow back across the road and the beach into the water. Worth your time if you want to visit a nice tropical location and aircraft are your passion. BUT as far as pucker factor goes this airport only brings slight tension to the muscle, there are others that make it clench a lot more.
Regards, O.
