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-   -   Somewere nice and warm to spot aircraft Please. (https://www.pprune.org/spectators-balcony-spotters-corner/409231-somewere-nice-warm-spot-aircraft-please.html)

studentpilotmcuk 17th Mar 2010 16:15

Somewere nice and warm to spot aircraft Please.
 
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 17th Mar 2010 17:27

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 17th Mar 2010 17:29

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 17th Mar 2010 17:35

Try the Sunset Beach Bar on St. Maarten Island.

Avman 17th Mar 2010 18:01


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 17th Mar 2010 18:41

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 17th Mar 2010 18:57

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 17th Mar 2010 20:13


Originally Posted by aviatordom (Post 5577286)
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 17th Mar 2010 20:43

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 17th Mar 2010 21:12

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

Nopax,thanx 18th Mar 2010 10:40

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 18th Mar 2010 13:05

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 18th Mar 2010 13:58

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 18th Mar 2010 15:44

Somewere nice and warm to spot aircraft Please.
 
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 18th Mar 2010 17:05

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 18th Mar 2010 17:16

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 18th Mar 2010 20:21

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 18th Mar 2010 23:12

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

lbalad 18th Mar 2010 23:49

Corfu
 
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 19th Mar 2010 00:18

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!


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