Somewere nice and warm to spot aircraft Please.

[studentpilotmcuk]

Hi all sorry for the rant and rave.

this is now really starting to get on my nerves.

I spot aircraft. I love the hobby, I started the hobby when I was in my early teens, whilst other people my age were becoming parents at 16 and getting hooked on drink and drugs, I would be seen at Heathrow busy writing down the numbers of the aircraft that were coming in. I love the banter, the people are great and I had a fantastic time.:D :O :ok:

Move on 15 or so years. Because of the Job that I do, I have to have an enhanced CRB check.

I work mainly with the Police but for my local council. On my days off you can now see me at airports throughout the uk.....BEING MOVED ON BY SECURITY STAFF AND WARNED THAT IF THEY CATCH ME AGAIN "ACTING SUSPICIOUSLY" I WOULD BE ARRESTED!!!!!!!!!!!. :ugh: :{

All I am trying to do is find a nice place on the airport were I can view aircraft.

To my knowledge this does not exist. I think y ou can blame the attacks on America for that.

So I have a question

Why can't airports build a viewing lounge with a nice cafe were we can spot aircraft?

To gain a membership, you have to be CRB checked, You have to pay the necessary fees. I agree it could be expensive but worth it. (It all depends on how much you love the hobby.

With the proceeds BAA and other airports could provide us all with a nice environment to spot aircraft.

Surely, this would give us (the spotter) a nice warm place to meet with friends and spot aircraft and create hardly any worry to security.

Like I said previously I love my hobby, but I would not like to risk my career over it.

Any thoughs on this

And very sorry for the rant and rave I do feel slightly better. :)

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

I'm a lifelong spotter, so is my wife. Few things I enjoyed better than when my wife drove the kids up to Heathrow and we'd meet up after my morning watch and enjoy an hour or two on the Queen's Building. Sadly, it is no more. When I first used to visit, back in the 50s and 60s, the place would be full of spotters and Joe Public because aviation was all "the thing" and everyone wanted to watch aircraft. Unfortunately, diminishing interest made the roof gardens too costly to run for fun, plus the possibility of terrorist activities became very real.

Real estate on a major airfield is worth gold and there are plenty of commercial outfits willing to fork out the money for a piece. The income from spotters compared to the cost of providing facilities would be tiny. For Heathrow, there are a good few places off-airport where you can watch aircraft in total freedom.

I know other major airfields do provide for spotters and there are countless smaller places (eg Popham) where spotters have free access.

Just accept that things are the way they are. We derive as much fun sitting in the garden on a clear day doing our spotting with the help of our binoculars and SBS.

[aviatordom]

I agree with you, there needs to be more places at airports that offer good or unrestricted views of the taxiways/runways and also places that are protected from the elements.

Sadly though, BAA don't seem to be very sympathetic too spotters, they've closed the Queen's building at Heathrow for example which is now closed.

I understand that from managements point of view, spotters aren't going to be high on their priorities but if there were more locations to spot then a great atmosphere would be generated back towards the airport, the average person would walk past, see all the cameras and then realize that there truly is something special about aviation:ok:

[con-pilot]

Try the Sunset Beach Bar on St. Maarten Island.

[Avman]

On my days off you can now see me at airports throughout the uk.....BEING MOVED ON BY SECURITY STAFF AND WARNED THAT IF THEY CATCH ME AGAIN "ACTING SUSPICIOUSLY" I WOULD BE ARRESTED!!!!!!!!!!!.

That surprises me. I have certainly been i/d checked by police on occasions but never told to move on. If you are on public land there is no law restricting you from being there. I can only assume that you were truly off piste and possibly a little too exposed. This can cause members of the paranoid public (made paranoid by government bodies and the media) to report "suspicious" activity to the police. Understandably, they have to investigate and that can become a little tiresome after a while. I sympathise with the police, but it does not give them the right to take away basic liberties we enjoy. If anyone argues that point then as far as I'm concerned the terrorists have won the battle.

[smudgethecat]

Get a grip man, freezing yer nuts off on some draughty airport car park roof whilst furiously scribbling down reggies is all part of the essential spotting experience ,its what makes spotting so much fun.:uhoh:

[iain mchenry]

studentpilotmcuk,

I really do sympathise with your post, especially if you have nothing to hide or are not breaking the law.
This is just a thought and i'm not sure how it would work, but if you popped along to your nearest airport police station with a copy of your passport/ID and also details of your vehicle and let them know where and when you will be spotting, and then if you are pulled up by any jobsworth security guard you could inform them that you have already informed the police of your presence. Would this work? just a thought.

Iain

[K.Whyjelly]

Sadly though, BAA don't seem to be very sympathetic too spotters, they've closed the Queen's building at Heathrow

They've gone even further than closing it down......they've demolished the whole building!

[Mr Angry from Purley]

Studentpilot

Manchester covers the nice place to spot aircraft, but warm might be pushing it.....
If all Airports in the UK acted like Manch then you'd be happy :\

[daz211]

LPA on the roof garden in departures also know as the smoking area.

[Nopax,thanx]

You can see the 27 approach at Heathrow from my daughter's kitchen if that's any help...


FWIW, I have also been questioned a couple of times whilst at Stansted. My argument is if you're in a public area and "carrying out your lawful business" (i.e. plane spotting is not illegal) then you cannot be threatened with arrest.

Never had any real problems, the airport police have got more important things to do than to haul spotters off to the pokey. Be nice to them and they'll be nice back. As for airport security staff, just a bunch of jobsworths with no real authority. They would still have to call the police to do anything to you, and the police wouldn't do it if you've done nothing wrong.

[GK430]

con-pilot offers the perfect solution. Warmth, something to drink and action all afternoon long.

On the south side at Malta, there is a viewing area that is raised above the security fence level for photographers.

A public beach runs almost the entire length around one side of Lanzarote's runway and approach.

There's a hotel that overlooks one end of Corfu's runway and they used to offer 'breaks' for spotter's / photographers - never been though.

There's an area on one end at Brisbane where you can - maybe past tense - view and take photographs. Melbourne's good too - but no drinks and no shade!

[rcowan]

Totally agree with you comments. Spent many a happy day on top of the Queens Building as a youngster, trundle down to Heathrow on the 140 Bus and spot-away...would love a similar venue to bring the kids to but since the demise of the Heathrow Visiters Centre (unless they have reopened it...) there has been nothing of a similar nature to use...pity....:(

[ericlday]

My roof terrace at Palm Mar on approach 08 at GCTS where current weather is


GCTS 181500Z VRB02KT 5000 HZ NSC 26/04 Q1022 NOSIG

[studentpilotmcuk]

Thanks for those comments. Its wonderful to see that people generally feel the same way. My father worked in london and had to be at work early, I used to get up with him at 6am to be down at Heathrow to watch concorde take off.

For all pilots/peple flying into Corfu.

what is the name of the bar, from which, you can sit on the balcony and spot aircraft? ( you can see Mouse Island as well) Aparently Corfu boasts the shortest runway is this true.:)

[compton3bravo]

How about by the holding point at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood Airport when they are landing on easterlies which is most of the time.
Nice clean car park, lovely warm weather and you can listen to the tower frequency over a tannoy - and a Dennys is not too far away!

[Golf Charlie Charlie]

Washington Reagan National has a small public park at the north end which offers excellent and close shots of aircraft landing or taking off (depending on wind etc...).

Is the old US Customs car park at JFK still open - very close alongside the middle of 13L/31R ?

[ConstantFlyer]

Buy a loco ticket, and just don't take the flight. Spend all day airside.

[lbalad]

It used to be the Royal Hotel in Kanoni,don't know if it's still open?.The views from the bar/terrace were amazing.I once stayed at the Ariti hotel,and I had a runway view from bedroom,I know that is still open.

Would love to go back there!.

[Tom the Tenor]

Lisbon, Faro, Funchal, Barcelona, Zurich, Geneva, Dusseldorf, Warsaw, Hong Kong, Sydney, San Jose in Costa Rica. Some of the above are dependent on the season, of course! All non-stop from Heathrow except for San Jose - you can get there via Miami, another spotting favourite and near to Fort Lauderdale. The world is your oyster!

[Wycombe]

All non-stop from Heathrow except for San Jose

....which is only a fairly short drive (45 mins) down the Highway 101 from San Francisco Int'l.

A bit far, but Christchurch in NZ has a nice viewing terrace on top of the terminal overlooking the runways with the Southern Alps as a backdrop. Was still open when I was there a year ago.

[student88]

I was parked up on the verge, completely off the road. LGW

Lowfield Heath Road, 100m south of the extended centre line of RWY 08R.

BAA 4x4 drives past, stops, rolls down window and tells me I'm not allowed to be there. Does he have the right to tell me I'm not allowed to be there? The spotters standing there were fine but I wasn't? Made my blood boil!

I wouldn't mind but I'm cabin crew for Gatwick's biggest airline and if I really wanted to take down an aircraft I would have done it by now!

[Tom the Tenor]

La Candela Bar/Restaurant, San Jose, Costa Rica, America Central. MROC/SJO. Not referring to the one in California, good ol' USA!

[MAN777]

Student

The BAA member was right, Lowfield Heath Road is a clearway with no parking allowed, it is quite vigorously enforced. I remember years ago when it wasnt and to be honest it was chaos on a summer weekend. The road is the only route around the southern perimeter, connecting all the crash gates, its vital its kept clear for emergency vehicles. So you need to walk there to view.

If you want to watch movements from the comfort of your car its possible from the next road out on the centreline, not sure of its name but its slightly higher than the airport so you get a good if distant view of the runway.

[student88]

Would that be Ifield Road?

[c3pd]

I've sat in the car park at the Burger King (just around the corner from The Marriott Hotel at LAX) and enjoyed eating a burger and taking in the excellent views of all kinds of aircraft coming in from the East to land at LAX. They're close enough to get a great view and to hear the engines etc as they are just above touch down level as they pass the restaurant. If you like to watch landing aircraft, especially a fair share of 747's then that's a good spot to stop off for a burger and shake!:ok:

[piton]

studentpilotmcuk,

Corfu runway is short but not the shortest. Also the local terrain makes it interesting with hills on both sides and starting in the sea (Rwy35) and the traffic lights to stop cars at the 17 departure end. But it is 2300m whereas Chios (Greek island) is only 1400m (That the shortest we go to with a 737-700) and there is Skiatos (with slope making it somewhat like a ski jump) (shortest we use for a -800) which is - if I remember correctly 1550m.

Those last two are Captain only landings for us whereas at Corfu there is no problem with copilots landing - I actually had my final linecheck there back in 1989 on a 737-300!

[Skipness One Echo]

..BEING MOVED ON BY SECURITY STAFF AND WARNED THAT IF THEY CATCH ME AGAIN "ACTING SUSPICIOUSLY" I WOULD BE ARRESTED!!!!!!!!!!!.

Details please. This is bollocks and needs challenging urgently.

[Sleeping Freight Dog]

The In N Out Burger at the end of the 24 runways at LAX is even better. You can have your meal and the planes are about a 100 ft or less over your head as they make their final approach. Lots of variety there.

Also in Las Vegas, there is a viewing area along Sunset Rd
where they also pipe in the tower frequency over the radio for all to hear.

[Omlaaay]

st. maarten's.

it's my dream to go there plane spotting.

[Rhayader]

Spent a very pleasant few hours in Vegas just looking out from the hotel room over to McCarran airport. A cold beer, something to eat, binoculars to hand. Civilised spotting.

Jeez, is that place busy.

[KeMac]

Another one from days gone by was being able to walk out on the Gatwick Piers with the cafe reached by a footbridge off the South Pier.

[Matty J]

Finally got to Maho Beach, St Maarten a few weeks back. Stopped there for a day on a cruise ship and it was awesome!:ok:

The airport was amazingly busy with a real varity of traffic! We saw 737,757,A330,A340,A319,A320,A310,MD80,ATR,DHD8 and plenty of private jets including a lovely Citation X. All of that was in the space of around 4hrs.

Standing behind them for take-off is great fun but rather painful, sand hurts when its blasted that hard!:eek:

I agree 100% with the original post though, its so frustrating that there are no longer roof teraces etc at our airports.

Matt.

[Dan Winterland]

Go to Hong Kong. Spot aircraft for a bit (if you like) - lots to see. Then go down town, see the sights, have a party and experience life!

[Tom the Tenor]

Could not agree more. Hong Kong is just fantastic for the aeroplanes and for experiencing life. It is a great place. Everyone should be blessed with the opportunity to visit Hong Kong, the airport and the city & territories. You will not regret it.

[Egerton Flyer]

Tom,
I have to agree, if you don't go anywhere else you have to go to Hong Kong.
Although spotting was a lot better at the old Kai Tak. On top of the car park or the Hong Kong Aviation Club.:eek:
I still have my visitors permit from 1995:ok:

E.F.

[JEM60]

MATTY J.
Did the same thing as you 2 years ago. My wife, who doesn't particularly like aeroplanes, wants to go back for a proper holiday. I have no objection!!!!!
All contributions gratefully received ta!!.:):):)

[Economics101]

There is a road on the landward (NW) side of Funchal's runway, with a parking pull-in, from which you can look down on aircraft landing and departing. If 06 (or is that 05?) is in use you get to see them turning in and only getting finally lined-up on the centreline at what seems to be about 1 mile. Absolutely well worth the trip: and it's usually warm and with lots to do if you get bored with the spotting.

[G-BHEN]

I was parked up on the verge, completely off the road. LGW

Lowfield Heath Road, 100m south of the extended centre line of RWY 08R.

BAA 4x4 drives past, stops, rolls down window and tells me I'm not allowed to be there. Does he have the right to tell me I'm not allowed to be there? The spotters standing there were fine but I wasn't? Made my blood boil!

I have been moved on from there before with the car, but the police were very polite. He told me to drive 500 yards up the road and park in the big layby opposite the pub and walk back, which I did.

As long as you don't answer back and get funny, they are always polite back. I get really annoyed when you see some people giving it attitude "it's my right to be here" - just move on and get on with it. You don't have a right to be there and you get everybody a bad name.

I've never had any problem outside of London. I've spent ages chatting to the police as they come round at Manchester - so polite. They appreciate us being there a lot of the time and security always wave as they drive past.

Birmingham is the same really - it went a little bad when a new security firm took over, but they are very accepting now. Doncaster is the same as Manchester really.

East Midlands - well it depends on what day you catch them. They don't always like you standing on the mound - but if there's only one of you they don't object. When they see a huge group with stepladders and things - they move you on (and in a co-incidence a police car usually follows 10 minutes later, just to make sure you've gone). But there is rarely anything at EMA worth hanging around for anyway, especially during the daytime.

Only been moved on once at LHR, and that was by a big armoured Landrover. I wasn't hanging about, they didn't even speak to me - just drove past several times before pulling up very close behind me and putting his flashing lights on. I took the hint and shifted on :-p To be fair I was in my car in a bus stop :ugh:

[Crusher1]

Adelaide has a purpose built viewing area on Tapleys Hill Road, excellent spot. Don't need a building to keep warm either!

East Midlands has a good spot at the end of 27 just off the A453 and you can walk along the airport trail following the runway all the way to the Nags Head in Castle Donnington, never had any problems with security.

[Tarman]

I am not a Plane Spotter, but I am interested in aircraft and have a PPL(H).

I have a number of mates that are serious spotters and travel extensively in pursuit of their hobby. I know that they have, recently, had personal tours of both civil and military airfields in Europe and the USA. They visit America around the time of the Superbowl just to see all of the visiting Bizjets and regularly park around the perimeter of most civil airfields using binoculars, a scanner, a laptop and SBS equipment.
They have been spoken to countless times by Cops and Security guards but they have never been moved on or threatened with arrest. Why ?

Because they are street wise and know how to speak to people.
They contact the military sites well in advance and state their intentions / requests in time for checks to be conducted.
They don’t have a “ who do you think you are talking to” attitude.
They are “normal blokes” who like “normal bloke” things. (some were even parents at a young age)

The paragraph were you referred to your peers as alcoholic, junkies that reproduce at the age of 16 tells me a lot about your attitude and social skills.

Try not to look down your nose at people who maybe don’t understand your hobby. It will work wonders for you.

Enjoy you spotting :ok:

[the_fish@blueyonder.]

Mornington hotel in Bromma, Stockholm. One can relax in the sauna on the top floor and see all the departing and arriving traffic from Bromma airport which lies just a few streets away. :ok:

[The Civil Civillian]

What has happened to Dungeon Lane at the end of Speke airport?

I believe there used to be a mound/car park but when I was there a week or so ago, they'd either tipped soil aroud this car park or dug it up. Put it this way, you do need a 4/4 to get a car up there!

I'm not a spotter, I was in the area recently and had a look around the area to satisfy a long-held curiousity. :ok: I even went back a few nights later with my camera! :eek: though I resisted the urge to take a flask! :)

[MATaxi]

That must have happened at Speke of very recent times. I was there a fortnight or so ago and you could still get a Nissan Primera onto it. Police went by two or three times and never moved myself or any of the other half-dozen or so onto more "approved" pastures.

Nicest spots I have found with official areas are obviously Manchester here , Munich in Europe and that little cafe that someone mentioned further up in the thread @ San Jose in Cost Rica...very nice.

The Floatplane terminal at Male in the Maldives is also very nice but traffic gets a little repetitive although the tan is good :).

Only got in a bit of bother once about twelve or so years ago when airside at Colombo. Pulled out the binos to try and pot an Indian Learjet only to find a rifle or two stuck up my nose..........the Learjet went UNpotted ;).

[The Civil Civillian]

Re: Speke Airport 'spotting ramp' in Dungeons Lane.

I was there about 2 or 3 weeks ago and it wasn't like this:
http://s0.geograph.org.uk/photos/04/19/041948_fbaa6972.jpg


It looks like this flat car parking area has been tipped over with wagons of soil.

I saw a 4x4 up there and although I wanted to get on there myself, I thought it would have ended in tears... car-wise. I didn't fancy any dramas of getting stuck or whatever as knowing my luck, those type of incidents have my name all over them. :-)

Is this, the above image, what they mean by the ramp or is it this new 'higher' thing as this area has since been built up?