Since I did not venture to any spotting locations away from the terminals, the below should give you a good idea of what you can expect if you want to do some plane spotting at any of the three airports before or after your flight.

Johannesburg Airport Viewing Deck

The first airport in South Africa where I had a chance to do some plane spotting was Johannesburg O. R. Tambo International Airport, the country’s busiest and the continent’s second busiest after Cairo International Airport in Egypt.

I spent about two and a half hours at the “aircraft viewing deck” in the airport’s domestic terminal after visiting the South African Airways Museum. While located behind (not the cleanest) windows, the deck offers good views of a part of the apron, as well as most of the movements, both domestic and international. There seems to be another deck in the international terminal, however, I did not visit that one.

The decks are located landside, i.e., before clearing security and immigration, and so can be used regardless of whether you are flying out of the airport or not.

With this being my first time plane spotting in Africa, essentially every aircraft that passed in front of my eyes was a highlight.

The traffic was dominated by Airlink, which operates a fleet of over 60 Embraers ranging from ERJ-135s and ERJ-140s all the way to E190s and E195s on routes within South Africa and to neighboring countries.

I could also spot a couple of CemAir aircraft during my stay. Similar to Airlink, but smaller, the airline operates domestic and regional flights.

Rather than Embraers, however, it primarily uses Bombardier CRJs of all sizes, including the now-rare CRJ-100s and CRJ-200s. The next time I visit South Africa, I’d love to fly on one of those!

Aircraft operated by other airlines from South Africa were abundant too. Among others, they included Safair, Lift, and, of course, South African Airways.

As far as airlines from other countries are concerned, I was by far the happiest to see a RwandAir 737, which can only be seen in the region. While a bit too small for my liking and lacking full-scale livery, it was also nice to see a FlyNamibia Cessna 425.

Larger aircraft operated by African airlines included an Ethiopian Airlines A350-900 operating a flight from Addis Ababa and a TAAG Angola 777-300ER operating a flight from Luanda.

While far from being unique to Africa, I also spotted a Turkish Airlines 787-9 arriving from Istanbul.

Lastly, there were some aircraft stored in the distance. While taking photos of them was difficult, I at least managed to get a photo of ZS-MFC, a World Cargo preighter A340-600.

Johannesburg Airport from a Bus and a Plane

The day after my “proper” spotting session at Johannesburg Airport, I had a chance to see a few more interesting aircraft at the airport including stored ones from a bus that took my dad and I to the Embraer that we took to Nelspruit and from the aircraft itself after take-off.

Without a doubt the aircraft I was the most excited to see was a Boeing 737-700 wearing a Zambia Airways livery. The aircraft is the airline’s sole aircraft and it wears an Ethiopian registration as it is leased from Ethiopian Airlines.

It was also exciting to see a Lufthansa 747-8 wearing the airline’s new livery up close.

After take-off from runway 21R, it was cool to see four European heavies parked next to each other waiting for their flights back.

What was even more interesting to see, however, were some of the aircraft – A340s in particular – stored at Johannesburg Airport.

Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport: A Quiet Airport in a Beautiful Setting

The second airport in South Africa I did some plane spotting at was Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, also referred to as Nelspruit Airport, which is a short drive away from Kruger National Park.

Airlink connects the airport multiple times a day with Johannesburg using Embraer ERJ-135s and ERJ-140s, and with Cape Town using both the smaller Embraers, as well as the E190. Safair offers two weekly flights to Johannesburg and three weekly flights to Cape Town, making its 737-800s the largest aircraft currently serving the airport. Federal Air offers flights to the national park and to private reserves.

The only international airline serving the airport at the time of my visit was Fastjet Zimbabwe. In the past, however, it was briefly even served by the German Eurowings Discover from Frankfurt via Windhoek. In November 2024, Air Botswana plans to launch flights to the airport.

I only took some photos before my dad and I took our flight back to Johannesburg. The first location I used was the airport’s Bidvest Lounge, which can be accessed using Priority Pass and offers good views of the apron and runway from its terrace, albeit through windows. The second was an are to the right of the terminal that mostly offered view of landing aircraft with excellent scenery in the background.

The Highlight: Eswatini Air in Cape Town

Lastly, I took some photos in Cape Town before we boarded our flight to Addis Ababa.

While the conditions were far from ideal with fairly dirty windows and the lack of nice light, I was still more than happy to be able to capture an Eswatini Air Embraer ERJ-145. The airline only operates two airframes and only serves South Africa and Zimbabwe outside its home country.

Summary

The main purpose of my trip to South Africa was to enjoy safari with my dad. That said, I managed to squeeze in a bit of aviation including flying a number of products I haven’t reviewed before, visiting an aviation museum, and even doing a bit of plane spotting.

While I didn’t spend more than a few hours at any of the airports we visited, I am glad to have been able to see airlines like Air Zambia and Eswatini Air that are more or less impossible to see outside Africa and to have been able to see a lot of Embraer ERJ-135s, ERJ-140s, and ERJ-145s, which are a rare breed nowadays.

The post Airport Terminals of South Africa: Spotting in Johannesburg, Nelspruit, and Cape Town appeared first on KN Aviation.

Not having done much research beforehand, I was surprised to find a number of aircraft on display on top of the deck.

Plane Spotting at Stuttgart Airport’s Observation Deck

Like many other airports in Germany, Stuttgart Airport has a rooftop observation deck. It is open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. spring through fall and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in winter.

The deck spans the entire width of the main terminal building and offers solid views of some of the parking spots at the terminal and the taxiways leading to them. It also offers distant views of the airport’s sole runway.

Stuttgart Airport’s deck is equipped with some seating, vending machines, as well as a children’s playground.

There are even three aircraft on display. More about those in the next section, though.

Considering the deck’s opening hours and the fact that it is facing south, it is mostly useful photography-wise on summer evenings.

Ranking number seven in the number of passengers served among German airports, Stuttgart Airport is not particularly busy. The airport is also not particularly exciting in terms of traffic with the only long-haul service being seasonal Delta Air Lines flights from Atlanta and a considerable portion of the movements being Eurowings aircraft.

That said, I still enjoyed my time on the deck, in particular once the sun came out.

The personal highlight during my short stay was an ITA Airways Airbus A319 arriving from Rome.

While I had photographed the airline’s A350-900s in Tokyo multiple times before, it was my first time seeing a narrow-body aircraft in the airline’s striking blue livery.

It was also nice to see a United States Air Force Dornier Do-328 (C-146A to be precise), albeit only taxiing in the distance on the other side of the airport after landing.

Other traffic I saw during the one hour or so I spent on the observation deck included a KLM Cityhopper E175 departing to Amsterdam, a Pegasus 737-800 departing to Istanbul, a Vueling A320 arriving from Barcelona, an Aegean A321neo arriving from Athens, a Turkish Airlines A321neo departing to Istanbul, and a Swiss A320 arriving from Zurich.

While none of those is exciting in and of itself in particular, it was still nice to be able to see a decent variety of European airlines given that I do not spend much time plane spotting at European airports these days.

Stuttgart Airport’s Small Aviation Museum

As mentioned above, the observation deck also serves as a mini museum with three aircraft on display.

The largest of those is a PZL-Mielec An-2 (a Poland-manufactured version of the Antonov An-2) wearing a dark blue livery. While in the past the aircraft appears to have worn SP-ANL as its registration, that might not have been the aircraft’s real registration given that there appears to have been another An-2 with the same registration.

The only other fixed-wing aircraft on display in the museum is a single-engine prop North American AT-6A Texan registered D-FOBY.

The last aircraft on display is a PZL-Swidnik Mi-2 Hoplite (a Poland-manufactured version of the Mil Mi-2) helicopter registered SP-SAW.

In addition to actual aircraft being displayed on the observation deck, there also some aircraft components on display in front of the observation deck entrance inside the terminal.

Summary

All in all, if you have a couple of hours to spare at Stuttgart Airport and enjoy watching aircraft then the observation deck is a fun place to stop by.

While the time it is useful for taking photos is limited (unless it is cloudy and the sun’s position doesn’t matter), it is still worth a visit to, if nothing else, see the three aircraft on display.

The post An Hour of Avgeeking at Stuttgart Airport: Plane Spotting and Museum appeared first on KN Aviation.

A smooth bus ride between the two airports left me with a few hours to spare before I had to check in for my flight to Germany. While I was hesitant about going plane spotting due to bad (read cloudy) weather, I decided to go anyways. A decision I certainly did not regret as it turned into a fun two-hour plane spotting session full of special liveries.

How Things Changed Since My First Plane Spotting Visit to Heathrow in 2007

Since runways 27L and 27R were in use, after getting off the bus from Gatwick at Heathrow’s Central Bus Station and buying a snack and a bottle of water at the station’s WHSmith (and being shocked at the 10+ GBP the two combined cost), I made my way to the Tube station to catch the Piccadilly line to Hatton Cross.

With aircraft landing on 27R in the morning, I then walked about ten minutes to a spot on Eastern Perimeter Road where aircraft approaching the runway can be seen.

Getting to the spot, I could not not remember my first plane spotting visit to London Heathrow (and third overall since I transferred at the airport twice as a kid) back in the summer of 2007 (and some of my later visits). So much remained the same. But so much was different.

By far the biggest difference was, of course, the average number of engines per aircraft that I saw.

Back in 2007, both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic operated large 747 fleets, with the latter also operating a good number of A340s. This time, the the British Airways 787s and A350s and Virgin Atlantic 787s, A350s, and A330neos were the most common UK-registered heavies, though, to be fair, there were a couple of British Airways A380s in between.

Most other airlines operating long-haul flights to Heathrow went from sending their quad jets to twin jets. Air India now sends 777s instead of 747s, Malaysia Airlines A350s instead of 747s, Kuwait Airways 777s instead of A340s, and Cathay Pacific A350s instead of A340s to name a few examples.

Other airlines, like Air Mauritius, Air Jamaica, and Olympics Airlines, all of which at some point used to operate their A340s to the airport, disappeared from Heathrow altogether. While the latter two went bust, Air Mauritius continues to fly to London but to Gatwick using A350s.

Yet some airlines, like Qantas and Singapore Airlines, went from once sending their Queens of the Skies to Heathrow every day to now sending the A380.

What I could not stop thinking about the most during my two-hour stay at the airport, though, was how monotonous the overall long-haul fleet composition has gotten worldwide.

Having regularly visited London Heathrow and other major European airports, as well as Tokyo in the late 2000s, there was a fairly clear distinction between the long-haul aircraft that could be seen in Europe versus in Japan, especially those from North America. While Europe was dominated by 767s and other smaller widebodies (and 777s in the case of Heathrow), Japan was dominated by 747s and 777s.

Now things have converged. Plane spotting at London Heathrow, I saw the exact same United, American, and Air Canada 787s, and Delta A330neos that I am used to seeing in Tokyo. Perhaps that’s good for airlines’ economics and the environment but it certainly makes things quite a bit less fun for plane spotters!

Gray But Colorful: Special Livery After Special Livery

In spite of what I wrote above, not all is doom and gloom (although the weather was close to that…). While the number of engines an airliner sports these days is generally two and the variety of types and shapes is nothing like it used to be before, there is still a good variety of both regular and special liveries flying around.

During my two hours at plane spotting at Heathrow, I was especially reminded of the latter.

Looking at FlightRadar24, I was happy to see not one, not two, but five aircraft in special liveries headed my way and arriving before I had to catch the Tube back to the terminal.

The first of those was Finnair’s A350 sporting a Moomin decal celebrating the airline’s centenary. In addition to it being a special livery aircraft, it was also nice to see a wide-body aircraft operating a short-haul flight, something common in Asia but not so much in Europe. During my two hours at the spot, an Iberia A330 from Madrid and a Turkish 777 from Istanbul arrived as well.

Another wide-body wearing a special livery was an Air Canada 787-9 in the “2024 Employee Excellence Awards recipients” livery which, in addition to big “CONGRATULATIONS” titles on the rear part of the fuselage also features the names of the recipients on its tail.

The three other aircraft in special liveries were a LOT 737-8 wearing the airline’s “Poland’s Independence” livery; one of Brussels Airlines’ “The Belgian Icon” series aircraft, an A320-200 in the Amare livery promoting the Tomorrowland music festival arriving from Brussels; and an Aer Lingus A320-200 wearing a retro livery arriving from Dublin.

As a side note, LOT also operates a 787-9 in the “Poland’s Independence” livery, which I had a chance to fly twice (from Tokyo to Warsaw and from Budapest to Seoul) during a trip to Europe last Christmas. I was also lucky to fly a different aircraft in “The Belgian Icon” series, the one promoting Tintin, a few years back.

Catching Up on the Non-UK Regulars

In addition to seeing some of the new aircraft operated by British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways like the former’s A350-1000s and the latter’s A330neos and A350-1000s, and lucking out with the special liveries mentioned above, I also had a chance to see some regular non-UK liveries, airline-aircraft type combinations, and even one new airline for the first time.

Starting with the last, I caught one of RwandAir’s two A330-200s arriving on one of the airline’s seven weekly flights from Rwanda’s capital Kigali. Interestingly, while the flights operate daily in practice, technically they operate only on four days of the week in the direction to London since three of the week’s seven flights depart at 1:45AM and the remaining four depart at 11:15PM.

I had a chance to see a RwandAir aircraft for the second time, a 737 for change, just a few days later in Johannesburg.

Lastly, four from the former two categories included KM Malta Airlines and Scandinavian Airlines A320neos and Air Lingus and JetBlue A321neos.

Summary

While plane spotting at London Heathrow Airport is nowhere near as exciting as it once used to be, the matter of the fact is that it is still one of the busiest airports in the world and still offers a lot to see.

Despite the cloudy weather, I thoroughly enjoyed the couple of hours I spent next to runway 27R before catching my onward flight. It was great to not only be able to see some of the regular UK and foreign airline-aircraft type combinations I haven’t seen before but also to see a good number of special liveries from Europe and beyond.

The post Gray But Colorful Plane Spotting at London Heathrow & Remembering What Used to Be appeared first on KN Aviation.

What you might also find interesting, though, are some of the aircraft – both active and in various states of disrepair – that can be seen parked along Calgary Airport’s southern perimeter. Those actually turned out to be the highlight of the few hours I had to do plane spotting in Calgary on my way to Yellowknife. As a nice bonus, they were just a short walk away from my hotel – the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Airport-Calgary – which I, in fact, chose because of its location.

Continue reading to learn more about the locations I visited and the planes I saw.

Catching WestJet’s Disney Magic Plane Along McKnight Boulevard

With the weather not cooperating during my visit to Calgary, I wasn’t planning on doing any plane spotting along the runways. That said, I changed my mind when I saw on FlightRadar24 that one of WestJet’s two Disney Jets – the Mickey Mouse-themed 737-800 registered C-GWSZ – was scheduled to arrive from Victoria at 3:08PM.

I left my hotel with what I thought was enough time to get to near runway 35L which the flight typically lands on when aircraft arrive from the south. The flight landed a bit early, though, and so I could only see it in the distance. Since, as mentioned earlier, the weather wasn’t ideal, after getting a distant photo of the Disney Jet, I decided to go see some of the aircraft parked along the perimeter instead of continuing to spot landing aircraft.

Unfortunately, WestJet’s other Disney Jet – the Frozen-themed 737-800 registered C-GWSV – didn’t operate any flights to/from Calgary on the day of my visit.

White Dash 8s, a CHINARE BT-67 & More Along McTavish Road

My first stop after the failed attempt to get the Disney aircraft was McTavish Road NE, a U-shaped road that, perhaps most interestingly, runs along an apron that I believe belongs to Avmax Group. The apron is home to quite a few Bombardier aircraft in various states of disrepair.

While I will talk about some aircraft in the same area that could be seen better from a different spot later on, three Dash 8s were parked next to each other behind the fence facing McTavish Road NE and could be photographed:

• N990AV – A Dash 8-100 first delivered to Henson Airlines in 1988 and last operated by Presidential Airways. The aircraft has been stored at Calgary Airport since 2016 and wore an all-white livery when I saw it.
• C-FWLK – A Dash 8-300 originally delivered to Antillean Airlines in 1990 and last operated by R1 Airlines. The aircraft was in an all-white livery with a large “R” on its tail making it look like it belonged to Pokemon’s Team Rocket.
• C-GWRI – Another Dash 8-100. This one was first delivered to Germany’s Contact Air in 1988. Most recently, it appears to have been operated by Aspire Airlines and Summit Air.

Behind the three aircraft above was one more Dash 8 – a Dash 8-200 in full Avioandes livery. Unfortunately, while that one was the most interesting one, its location made it impossible to photograph.

Near the Dash 8s was perhaps the most interesting aircraft I saw that day – a Basler BT-67 registered C-FGCX. The BT-67 is a modified DC-3 that is extensively used in Antarctica. This particular airframe was made for the US Air Force in the early 1940s as a C-47. It was converted to a BT-67 in the early 2000s/2010s and acquired by Kenn Borek Air in 2015.

What made the aircraft interesting was its livery. Sporting “CHINARE” and Chinese titles, the aircraft was most recently operated by Kenn Borek for the Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition.

It was also nice that the CHINARE Basler BT-67 was parked next to a Canadian North Boeing 737-700 – one an old aircraft with extensive experience operating in the harsh environment of Antarctica and the other a fairly new aircraft with extensive experience operating in the subarctic climate of Northern Canada.

From the same area, I also saw a Summit Air Dash 8-300 taxiing out for what appears – based on FlightRadar24 data – to have been a training flight or something similar departing from and arriving back at Calgary.

I also saw a Northern Air Beech 200 Super King Air being towed in front of one of the hangars.

Further down along the street was a parking lot that offered some views of runway 35L action through a chainlink fence. I stayed there for a few minutes and in that time got a Porter Airlines Embraer E195-E2s arriving from Toronto and an Air Canada Express Dash 8-400 in the airline’s “new” livery.

The E195-E2 was particularly nice to see considering I haven’t seen many of the type yet and that I only saw Porter Airlines’ Dash 8s when I visited Toronto Billy Bishop Airport a few years back.

In hindsight, I should have also tried to get the Disney 737 here rather than near the approach path.

Lastly, tucked away behind the building was a trio of DHC-6 Twin Otter fuselages.

One of those was DU-SD4 – a Twin Otter that used to be owned by Skydive Dubai and operated out of Palm Drop Zone Airstrip.

Partially Scrapped CRJs & More Along McCall Way NE

From the location above I continued to McCall Way NE. There was a grassy patch along the fence which offered views of multiple Bombardier CRJs that lacked landing gears and horizontal stabilizers among other things.

The three easily visible from here included C-FWJB, C-FVMD, and C-FSKE – all ex-Air Canada Jazz CRJ-100s delivered in 1995 and retired in 2012. Interestingly, while they were in an all-white livery, their winglets still wore (some) of the color they used to. As such, it was possible to tell which color Air Canada Jazz livery each aircraft wore back when it was active.

While there were some other aircraft as well, some of those were not visible clearly and others were more easily visible from another spot. I will talk about the latter in the next section.

In addition to the CRJs, there was also a Twin Otter fuselage. While the registration was not visible, it wore Kenn Borek Air’s red livery.

Lastly, a Swearingen SA227-AC Metro III without props registered C-FAFR was visible from this location too. Later on, another Metro – this time with props and active – was placed next to it.

Canadian North Specials & More from Palmer Road NE

Next, I walked over to Palmer Road NE where hangars and terminals of some of the airlines operating out of Calgary can be found. Additionally, some of the nooks and crannies of the street also offered views of aircraft parked on/around the Avmax Group and Kenn Borek Air aprons.

Starting with those, some interesting aircraft could be seen from a gate near Canadian North Flight Center and some other gates along the road.

There were two CRJs on the Avmax apron that were inactive but appeared to be airworthy:

• CRJ-900 which appears to be registered C-GXIG and used to be operated by Nigeria’s Arik Air as 5N-JEB. It still wears the airline’s full base livery.
• CRJ-200 freighter registered XA-MCQ which used to be operated by Mexican cargo airline TUM AeroCarga and still wears its full livery.

Additionally, a number of Dash 8s and CRJs scrapped to one extent or another could be seen from here. Some of those were the same aircraft that I photographed from McCall Way NE.

Active aircraft including a Kenn Borek Air Twin Otter and the CHINARE BT-67 that appeared earlier in the article could be seen in the distance too.

Lastly, along the fence on the other side of the road, Canadian North and North Cariboo Air charter operations could be seen. I was lucky to see the two Canadian North aircraft operating special liveries (they appear to fly in and out of that apron on almost daily basis):

• C-GPNL wearing a Celebrity Cruises livery
• C-GCNO wearing a CFL (Canadian Football League) livery

Additionally, a North Cariboo Air Dash 8-300 registered C-GLWN was just pulled out of the hangar.

Plane Spotting at Edward H. LaBorde Viewing Area

After spending some time walking around the perimeter, it looked like the sun might come out for a bit (it did not) and so I walked along McKnight Boulevard NE for 20 or so minutes to visit Edward H. LaBorde Viewing Area – an official viewing area that offered a great view of aircraft landing on runway 35L.

In addition to a parking lot, there were also some benches and picnic tables at this spot making it a nice place to hang out. While faded and dirty, there were also educational signs introducing the airlines and aircraft that fly to Calgary Airport among other things.

Because of the weather and the lack of traffic interesting enough to warrant staying in spite of the weather, I only stayed at the location for a few minutes. In that time, I was able to see the following three aircraft land:

• WestJet Encore Dash 8-400
• Air Canada Express Dash 8-400 in the airline’s old livery
• Prime Air 767-300F (first time for me to see the airline in person)

More BT-67s, DHC-8-400 Prototype & More from McTavish Court NE

My last stop of the day was McTavish Court Northeast – a small sidestreet that offers a view of an apron in front of CD Aviation Services, as well as of some other aprons including one in front of Viking Air which was consolidated into De Havilland Aircraft of Canada in February 2022.

Two aircraft – both Basler BT-67s – were parked in front of the CD Aviation Services hangar. While both appear to be owned by Kenn Borek Air, they were not wearing the airline’s livery.

Instead, the first one, registered C-GEAI, was wearing a nice red, blue, and white tricolor livery with ALCI titles standing for Antarctic Logistics Centre International. While the aircraft was missing a part of its wing, chances are it was for maintenance considering that the aircraft flew earlier this year judging by photos that can be found online. It was originally built as a DC-3 in 1944 before being converted to a BT-67.

The second one, registered C-GGSU, was all-white. That said, unlike other all-white aircraft, it wasn’t uninteresting thanks to its modified pointy nose. The aircraft was first delivered to the US Air Force in 1944 as a C-47 before joining the civil aviation world. Then, in 2006, it was converted to a BT-67, and a few years later, modifications that resulted in its current appearance were made.

Behind the two Baslers, there was also a Piper PA-24-250 Comanche registered CF-VUT. While I am not as interested in general aviation as I am in airliners, I could not resist taking a photo of it due to the great backdrop that Calgary’s skyline provided.

Lastly, on the other side, in front of the Viking Air hangar, was one more special aircraft. It was a Bombardier Dash 8-400 prototype registered C-FJJA (chosen as a tribute to DHC’s Chief Test Flight Engineer Jackson “Jock” Aitken). While in the past it used to wear a blue livery with prominent “Q400 turboProfits” titles, now it is in a “De Havilland Aircraft of Canada” livery.

The aircraft flew for the first time on January 31, 1998, and later on was based in Bombardier Flight Test Center in Wichita before returning to Canada.

Summary

While it was unfortunate that the weather was cloudy and that I just missed the Disney Jet, I was still able to spend a very enjoyable afternoon around Calgary Airport’s southern perimeter. It was a lot of fun walking around the various nooks and crannies and seeing aircraft that are rare to see nowadays.

As such, if you have a chance to spend some time in Calgary and to visit the airport I definitely recommend doing so. You might also want to consider staying in one of the airport hotels on the southern side of the airport as many of those are within walking distance of both the parked aircraft I talk about above (some might not be there by the time you visit) and plane spotting locations that provide views of runway 35L and 35R movements.

The post Calgary Spotting: An Afternoon Walk Around Canada’s Fourth Largest Airport appeared first on KN Aviation.

In this article, I will take a brief look at what plane spotting is, what plane spotters do, as well as what you need to get started with the hobby.

What Is Plane Spotting?

Plane spotting is a hobby of watching and capturing aircraft movements at an airport. Generally, plane spotters are also aviation enthusiasts in a broader sense – they oftentimes enjoy learning about aircraft, flying on various aircraft types as passengers (or even pilots), and so on.

As for plane spotting itself, though, there are a number of different “types” of plane spotters.

Some enjoy photographing aircraft or taking videos of them while others enjoy noting down the registrations (“license plate numbers”) of the aircraft they see. Some like to travel to different airports around the world while others prefer to capture every single movement at their home airport.

Personally, I’ve mostly been taking photos of aircraft as I think it’s the most practical way of keeping track of the aircraft I’ve seen. That said, it’s also nice to put the camera down every now and then and just enjoy seeing the aircraft directly.

What Equipment Do You Need to Start Plane Spotting?

This will, of course, depend on how you want to capture what you see.

If you simply want to watch aircraft then, you don’t really need any equipment to get started. If you want to log registrations, then you will want to have a pair of binoculars so that you can not only see the aircraft, but also read its registration.

In case you want to take photos, you will need a camera – ideally a DSLR or a mirrorless with not only a wide-angle but also a telephoto lens. The reason you will want a telephoto lens is that you will often be quite far from the aircraft that you will be taking photos of.

I wrote more about choosing the right camera for plane spotting in a separate article.

In addition to the above, you might also want to get an airband scanner which will allow you to listen to air traffic control. Just keep in mind that in some countries it is not allowed to do so – so make sure you check your local laws and regulations before using one.

Finally, depending on the location you will take photos from, you might also need a ladder to be able to get an unobstructed view of the aircraft over the airport’s fence. Once again, while this is tolerated at some airports, it is not at others. So always do your research before using one.

Where Can You Do Plane Spotting?

Generally speaking, there are four types of places that you can take aircraft photos from:

• Inside the terminal’s secure area: Only possible when you are taking a flight out of an airport and involves taking photos through windows.
• Inside the terminal’s public area: Some airports have open-air observation decks while others have food courts, etc. that offer views of aircraft through windows.
• Inside the airport’s perimeter: Some airports like Zurich and Prague offer photo tours that give access to areas around runways and taxiways. This is also possible during airshows and similar events.
• Around the airport’s perimeter: Either standing near the approach path or by the fence, sometimes with a ladder.

There are some airports – like Tokyo Haneda or Dusseldorf – that have excellent open-air observation decks.

More often than not, however, the best plane spotting locations are located around the airport’s perimeter. Sometimes they are official observation platforms and parks while other times they are “random” areas around the fence.

To find the spotting locations available around the airport that you are planning to be photographing at, you can check one of the many plane spotting websites including SpottersWiki and Spotter Guide.

I also publish some spotting guides and reports here on KN Aviation.

What Do Plane Spotters Do with Their Photos?

While most plane spotters take photos for their own pleasure – so that they can look back and see what aircraft they have seen, they also enjoy sharing these photos with other like-minded people.

Nowadays, one of the most common ways to do so is on social media – either via Instagram or Twitter accounts or through plane spotting Facebook groups. Uploading to photo databases like Airliners.net and Jetphotos.net is still quite popular as well.

In the past, I used to upload to those databases as well. Currently, however, I share my photos almost exclusively here – on KN Aviation (and from time to time on my Facebook page). If you are considering starting your own blog to share your photos and stories, make sure to check my guide about doing so.

Summary

In many ways, plane spotting is easier today than it was a decade or two ago thanks to the fact that the hobby has become much more popular. That has led not only to more and more airports and authorities being understanding of the hobby but also more and more airports setting up observation decks and platforms making spotters’ lives easier.

Information about where to spot, what equipment to get, and so on is much easier to access as well.

As such, if you are interested in aircraft or aviation in general, I can only recommend trying plane spotting. In the beginning, I recommend you try a bit of everything – just watching aircraft, going to an airport near your home, visiting an airshow, etc. – to figure out which aspect of aviation you enjoy the most.

Once you know that, you can start taking trips to airports further away from where you live, investing in more expensive equipment if necessary, start sharing your photos in Facebook groups or even on your own website, and so on.

The post Plane Spotting: What Is It and How to Get Started? appeared first on KN Aviation.

While NASA is best known for the work it does in connection with space travel and exploration, every day the agency’s engineers, researchers, and other staff work hard to make advances in the field of aeronautics as well.

One of NASA’s divisions responsible for that is the Armstrong Flight Research Center – known until 2014 as Dryden Flight Research Center. As its name suggests, it counts the first man to walk on the Moon, Neil Armstrong, among its alumni.

The research center is primarily located inside Edwards Air Force Base. That said, it also runs extensive operations out of Building 703 at Palmdale Airport where many of its airborne research aircraft are based.

NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center Building 703

From the outside, Building 703 looks very unassuming. Perhaps the only thing that suggests it’s not just a regular hangar is the iconic NASA logo on its facade.

Inside the hangar, a collection of state-of-the-art airborne research aircraft can be found. That is, unless they are out in the skies, collecting data to help advance our understanding of the Earth, and even the universe.

The 425,000 square feet facility at Palmdale Airport started its life as a manufacturing plant of North American Aircraft and Rockwell International. Before NASA took it over in 2007, it briefly served as a film studio where – among other movies – parts of Pirates of the Caribbean and The Terminal were filmed.

Currently, hundreds of people call Building 703 their workplace, and the hangar is home to a variety of NASA’s airborne research aircraft.

The State-of-the-Art Fleet Based in AFRC Building 703

While these are not the only aircraft that the Armstrong Flight Research Center operates, there are currently five aircraft – all heavily modified to be suitable for airborne research – based in Building 703.

Below, I take a brief look at each one of those.

Boeing 747SP Airborne Observatory (SOFIA)

The largest – and my favorite – aircraft in the hangar is SOFIA, a Boeing 747SP equipped as an airborne observatory. Besides being an incredibly valuable science research platform (among other achievements, it recently helped discover the universe’s very first type of molecule), it is also one of the last 747SPs still in service.

The aircraft started its life back in 1977 when it joined Pan Am’s fleet as its sixth 747SP. Once Pan Am was acquired by United Airlines, it was transferred over and re-registered from N536PA to N145UA. United retired and stored the aircraft in 1995.

After several years in storage, NASA acquired the aircraft and equipped it with a 100-inch telescope during a decade-long modification process. Now, the aircraft helps astronomers see further and clearer than land-based observatories thanks to the lack of water vapor at the altitude SOFIA flies at.

I had a chance to fly onboard one of its missions during its deployment to New Zealand last year, so if you are interested in learning more about the aircraft, make sure to check the series I wrote about the experience:

1. Introduction: Experiencing SOFIA’s Southern Deployment 2018 in Christchurch
2. From a Learjet to SOFIA: A Brief History of the World’s Largest Flying Telescope
3. “Per Aspera Ad Astra:” The Complexities of Operating SOFIA
4. NASA 747, Cleared for Take-Off: Observing a SOFIA Mission

Douglas DC-8 Flying Laboratory

Another classic airliner turned into a high-tech research lab in the hangar is a Douglas DC-8 registered N817NA. The aircraft can be equipped with a variety of instruments that scientists onboard use to research the Earth’s surface and atmosphere among other things.

It was originally delivered to Alitalia as I-DIWK back in 1969. After close to a decade of hauling passengers between Italy and the United States among other routes, Braniff International Airways purchased the aircraft and re-registered it to N801BN.

Braniff used it for a few years before withdrawing it from use in mid-1982. At that time, the aircraft was still a DC-8-60 equipped with four Pratt & Whitney JT3D engines. It joined NASA’s fleet in mid-1980s after being converted into a DC-8-70, a version of the type sporting newer and more fuel efficient CFM International CF56 engines.

As I had a chance to fly on the DC-8 back in April, I will be writing more about the aircraft – including a detailed report of the mission I was on – soon.

Gulfstream C-20A Environmental Science Research Aircraft

Besides the two airliners above, NASA also operates a Gulfstream C-20A registered N802NA out of the airport. The aircraft – a military version of Gulfstream III business jet – is perhaps the most elegant one in the hangar thanks to the Gulfstream’s unmistakeable shape and its light blue belly.

The C-20A is currently being used to validate UAVSAR – Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar – which was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in cooperation with the Armstrong Flight Research Center.

Lockheed ER-2 High-Altitude Platform

The last two aircraft that call Hangar 703 their home are Lockheed ER-2s. The type is a research version of U-2, a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft used by the United States Air Force. When I visited the hangar, both of the ER-2s were in the middle of maintenance.

Thanks to the fact that the type is capable of flying as high as 70,000 feet, its able to collect data above vast majority of the Earth’s atmosphere which in turns allows scientists to test instruments in conditions similar to satellites in orbit.

One thing worth mentioning about the aircraft, though, is that while at altitude it offers its pilots amazing views of the Earth, when landing that’s not the case.

The view out of the cockpit during landing is so bad, in fact, that the aircraft requires a chase car with another pilot onboard to guide the flying pilot safely to the ground. That helped the type become the topic of both a Top Gear (ER-2) and a MythBusters (U-2) episode.

A 747-Sized Empty Spot in the Hangar

To finish off this article, I want to mention that in the past, another 747 – one of the two  Shuttle Carrier Aircraft – used to be based in the hangar as well.

The aircraft, as its name suggests, used to ferry Space Shuttles between wherever they landed and the Kennedy Space Center where they operated from. With the Space Shuttle program’s end, though, it became obsolete.

Currently, its is displayed in Joe Davies Heritage Airpark not far from Building 703.

Unfortunately, the museum was closed during my visit, and so I wasn’t able to see it from up close (I caught a glance of it from the road as I was heading to Building 703, though.)

On the other hand, the fact that the Space Shuttle Carrier was retired allowed me to see the world’s last airworthy Aero Spacelines Super Guppy – an aircraft that NASA uses to transport parts of satellites and other bulky cargo.

The aircraft is based in Texas, however, at the time of my visit to Palmdale, it was undergoing maintenance in Building 703 as there wasn’t enough space to do it at its home base.

Of course, the Super Guppy was occupying the space that the Shuttle Carrier used to.

The post Inside Armstrong Building 703: The Home of NASA’s State-of-the-Art Research Aircraft appeared first on KN Aviation.

One of such airports is Naha (Okinawa) which is the seventh busiest airport in Japan and also the main entry and exit point for visiting the Okinawa Islands.

While I haven’t done much spotting at the airport outside the terminals, I decided to put together this guide to let you know what you can expect should you find yourself at Naha airport with some time to spare before your flight.

Aircraft You Can See at Naha (Okinawa) Airport

If you decide to spend some time plane spotting at Naha airport, you can expect to see a nice mix of domestic and regional carriers – both traditional and low-cost. Aside from a recently started Peach flight to Bangkok and a Jetstar Asia flight to Singapore, there are no year-round scheduled flights beyond China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

Domestic carriers that can be seen at Naha airport include the two giants – ANA and JAL – and their subsidiaries ANA Wings, Japan TransOcean Air, and Ryukyu Air Commuter. The last one of those is of particular interest given that it operates a fleet of rare Bombardier Q400CCs on inter-island routes and so it is rarely if ever seen outside of Okinawa.

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The other two domestic aircraft worth watching out for are the Japan TransOcean Air 737-800s in the Jinbei Jet livery.

Other than that, there are also numerous daily flights by most of the Japanese “semi-low-cost” and low-cost airlines including Skymark Airlines, Solaseed Air, Jetstar Japan, Peach, and Vanilla Air.

As for the international flights in and out of Naha, they are operated by both some of the Japanese low-cost airlines as well as by foreign carriers. There are no international passenger flights in and out of the airport operated by ANA and JAL.

International carriers that can be seen at Naha airport include – among others – China Airlines, Air China, Eva Air, Asiana Airlines, Jin Air, Korean Air, China Eastern Airlines, and Tigerair Taiwan.

For a fairly accurate list of all the airlines serving the airport, check its Wikipedia page. To get an idea of what kind of traffic the airport gets in a day, hour-by-hour, check its Flightradar24 page.

Finally, since Naha airport is also the home of Naha air base, some aircraft operated by the Japan Self-Defense Forces can be seen there as well. Those include F-15 fighter jets, T-4 trainer jets, and P-3C surveillance aircraft.

Plane Spotting at Naha (Okinawa) Airport

Even though large part of Naha airport is along the coast, there are several locations around the airport – especially on the southern end – where spotting is possible. That said, I haven’t visited any of those for a considerable amount of time yet, so I will report back on those once I do.

Instead, here I want to focus on two specific locations inside the terminals. The first of those is an indoor observation hall in the domestic terminal and the second one is an outdoor observation deck in the international terminal. On a side note, it takes five or so minutes to walk between the two terminals.

Given that both of the terminals are on the east side of the airport’s sole runway 18/36 (another, parallel, runway is being built to the west of it right now), they both offer ideal light conditions for photography in the morning.

Starting at the domestic terminal, the indoor observation hall can be found in the center of the fourth floor. There are also two small outdoor observation decks on either end of the third floor, however, those offer very limited views due to their size and location.

As for the observation hall, you can capture many of the movements taxiing in front of you either after landing or before take-off depending on the runway in use. You can also get aircraft parking in the nearby gates from up close.

It’s worth noting here that the glass has a bit of a color cast, but nothing unfixable if you shoot RAW. In terms of focal lengths, you will need about 220 mm (36 mm eqv.) for a 737-800 on the taxiway, about 480 mm (36 mm eqv.) for the same aircraft taking off, and a wide-angle lens to photograph it entering one of the gates in front of the hall.

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The observation deck in the international terminal is outdoors, on the fourth floor. Unfortunately, though, it is surrounded by a metal fence with mesh too small to photograph through. However, it is possible – with a bit of effort – to take photos through a gap about 10 cm wide that is between the wall below the fence and the fence itself.

Being located right in front of the runway 18 end, it should offer nice views of arriving aircraft if the runway is in use. In case runway 36 is in use, you are limited to aircraft vacating the runway – though heat haze, as well as distance and angle, might be an issue in that case.

Aside from the movements on the runway, you can also photograph movements at the international terminal. In terms of focal lengths, you will need about 160 mm (36 mm eqv.) for a 737-800 or similar after push back from the international terminal.

Summary

While Okinawa airport is far from being the busiest in Japan, and its traffic is not as diverse as the traffic at – let’s say – Narita airport in Tokyo, the airport is still well worth a visit. Especially so if you have already been to the two Tokyo airports and are looking to add a bit of variety to your collection both in terms of airlines and in terms of the kind of photos you get.

The post How Is Plane Spotting from Naha (Okinawa) Airport’s Observation Decks? appeared first on KN Aviation.

Serving over 5 million passengers a year, Kagoshima airport is among ten Japan’s busiest  airports, and also the second largest airport on the island of Kyushu.

Besides having an observation deck like many Japanese airports do, there is also a small aviation-themed exhibition in the terminal called “SORA STAGE” where visitors can learn about aviation in general, as well as about the history of Kagoshima airport.

In this article, I’ll take a closer look at both the observation deck and exhibition. If you prefer it in video-form, make sure to check the tour that I did live on Facebook when I visited the airport back in July 2018:

Plane Spotting at Kagoshima Airport’s Observation Deck

Before going to “SORA STAGE,” let’s start with the observation deck. It can be reached by a set of escalators right in front of the domestic security check area, and at its entrance there is an umbrella stand with umbrellas you can borrow in case its raining outside.

As for the deck itself, it runs along the length of the terminal and is fenced off by horizontal wires, similar to the deck at Tokyo Haneda. Unfortunately, there is also a separate metal fence which is fairly distant from the wire fence and which makes photography quite difficult.

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The deck is equipped with everything you might need ranging from binoculars and benches, through signs explaining what you can see around you, all the way to vending machines and kids’ rides.

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In terms of plane spotting, the light conditions at the observation deck are good in the afternoon. Given that the deck faces the airport’s sole runway, 16/34, you can see all of the airport’s movements from it.

While the airport gets some international flight, the vast majority of the traffic you can see there is domestic. Besides airlines like ANA, JAL, Fuji Dream Airlines, Jetstar, and Peach, the airport is also the base of Japan Air Commuter – JAL’s subsidiary operating commuter flights in the region.

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‘SORA STAGE’ Aviation Exhibition Hall

The ‘SORA STAGE’ aviation exhibition hall could be accessed both directly from the terminal, as well as from the observation deck. Given that I was already on the deck, I entered it from there.

Right before the entrance, there was a Boeing 747-300 engine cowl that one could walk through to experience its large size.

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Inside, there were six exhibits with various themes spanning everything from the airport’s history all the way to airport operations. While the exhibit nearest to the observation deck’s entrance was exhibit no. 6, I will take you through the exhibition from exhibit no. 1 – as if I had entered through the exhibition’s main entrance, directly from the terminal.

The first exhibit was titled “History of Kagoshima Airport” and featured wall panels detailing the development of the airport including detailed route maps for various points in time.

Exhibit no. 2, titled “Aircraft History” and located on the wall opposite of the above exhibit, portrayed the development of flight from the Montgolfier Brothers’ hot air balloon and the Wright Flyer all the way to the modern aircraft through a series of wall panes as well as scale models.

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Exhibits no. 3 and 4 were in a hallway leading to the main exhibition area and the observation deck.

The first of those, “Various Aircraft,” introduced visitors to – as its name suggests – various aircraft types ranging from older ones like DC-3 all the way to the new ones like the A380. The second one, “Branding and Color Scheme[s] of Airlines,” introduced various airlines, mainly those that serve Kagoshima airport.

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The last two exhibits were in one large exhibition area just off the observation deck.

The first one of those, no. 5, was my favorite part of the whole exhibition area – a functioning SOLARI split-flap flight information display that’s been in use at Kagoshima airport until 2014. Now, the flights it displays are “dummies.”

I recommend hanging around the sign since every ten minutes or so, the flights on the display change and you can hear the displays signature flapping sound. (You can also see the display in action in the video I embedded in the beginning of this article.)

Finally, exhibit no. 6 was titled “Interactive Exhibit (Experience it yourself)” and consisted of a large wall panel detailing aircraft and airport operations through the ground equipment – such as air stairs, push back truck, etc. – used and through actual aircraft parts among others.

As for the aircraft parts, there were tires of a Dash 8 and a 747 (it’s amazing how different in size they are) and a 747 winglet among others.

Separate from that, there were also paid flight simulators. And, there was a mock-up of a Dash 8 Q400 cabin.

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Finally, (I believe) not belonging to any of the above exhibits, there were a small photo exhibition with selected pieces from a local photo contest on one of the walls and a set of panels showcasing historic photos of Kagoshima airport.

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Summary

In terms of plane spotting, there are better spots around the airport than the observation deck. While I haven’t visited any of those yet, I hope to visit the airport again in the near future – this time for a longer period of time – and bring you details about spotting around Kagoshima airport’s perimeter.

However, if you only have a couple of hours at the airport while transferring to a flight to Yakushima or are in other similar situation and are an aviation enthusiast, then you will enjoy your stay at the airport.

I certainly recommend having a look through the exhibition hall – and waiting for the SOLARI sign to “flap.” And, if you still have time to spare even after going through all the exhibits, then the observation deck is a nice place to watch (and photograph) some of the traffic that the airport gets.

The post AvGeeking at Kagoshima Airport: Observation Deck and ‘SORA STAGE’ Exhibition Hall appeared first on KN Aviation.

And, while it’s true that Lake Hood in Alaska is the world’s busiest seaplane base and that seaplanes are important for the tourism industry in the two archipelagos in the Indian Ocean, when it comes to scheduled seaplane flights, there is no place like the Vancouver area.

Being covered by mountains yet having plenty of bays, rivers, and lakes makes seaplanes the perfect way to get around.

This article looks at what seaplane operators and aircraft you can see in and around Vancouver, as well as what photographing at Vancouver Coal Harbour Seaplane Base is like.

Seaplane Operators in the Vancouver Area

Currently, there are two major seaplane airlines that you can see at Vancouver Coal Harbour Seaplane Base and other seaplane bases in the area: Harbour Air and Seair Seaplanes. Separately, it is also possible to see US-based Kenmore Air operating flights into the area.

Harbour Air

Harbour Air was founded in 1982 as a seaplane company servicing the forest industry and expanded from there to become one of the largest, if not the largest, seaplane-only airline in the world.

The airline is based at Vancouver Harbour Seaplane Base, although it operates some flights out of Vancouver International Airport’s seaplane base as well. Some of Harbour Air’s main destinations include Victoria and Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, as well as Whistler and Sechelt. Besides the scheduled flights, Harbour Air also operates charter and sightseeing flights.

The predominant type in Harbour Air’s fleet is the de Havilland Canada DHC-3-T Turbo Otter of which it operates more than 20. Other aircraft types include the DHC-2 Beaver, DHC-2-T Turbo Beaver, DHC-6 Twin Otter, and Cessna 208 Caravan.

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Besides the standard Harbour Air livery, some of its aircraft can be seen with titles of the two airlines Harbour Air acquired in the 2010s – Whistler Air and Saltspring Air. And, the airline also has a number of aircraft painted in special liveries such as the one promoting Vancouver Whitecaps FC, the local professional soccer team.

Seaair Seaplanes

The second seaplane airline that you can see in the Vancouver area is Seair Seaplanes. The airline traces its history back to 1980 when its founder started operating charter flights with a single Cessna 185.

While the company hasn’t grown to the same size as Harbour Air, it still has a significant presence at Vancouver Harbour Seaplane Base, as well as at its main base – Richmond Seaplane Base – adjacent to Vancouver International Airport.

Seair Seaplanes operates about a dozen aircraft, most of which are Cessna 208 Caravans. Other than that, the airline also operates the following types: DHC-2 Beaver, DHC-2-T Turbo Beaver, and Cessna 185.

Kenmore Air

The last airline I am going to mention here is Kenmore Air. Unlike the previous two on this list, it is an airline based at Kenmore Air Harbor Seaplane Base near Seattle’s central business district.

Kenmore Air operates a fleet consisting of a variety of de Havilland Canada aircraft with floats, as well as Cessna 208s with wheels. However, for its flights between Seattle and destinations in British Columbia including Vancouver, it uses its DHC-3-T Turbo Otters.

Spotting at Vancouver Coal Harbour Seaplane Base

As far as photographing seaplanes of the above three companies is concerned, Vancouver Harbour Seaplane Base is likely your best bet. I also took some photos (which you can see above) in both Nanaimo and Victoria, but I only spent prolonged period of time at the Vancouver seaplane base.

There is a promenade along the bay where you can easily take photos of the seaplanes coming in and out of the piers. While in winter months you will have the sun behind your back the whole day, in summer, the light should be in the right position from about 10AM or so.

Depending on where you stand (you might have to run around a bit) you can get both side-on shots of the aircraft as well as head-on views when they taxi to their parking spot.

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However, rather than just focusing on shots of individual aircraft, I also recommend taking photos of aircraft lined up at the piers. Sometimes that might even result in getting interesting photos with cruise ships departing from the nearby Canada Place ferry terminal in the background.

Take-offs and landings happen a bit too far off the coast, and so you will likely have a hard time getting “full frame” photos of those aircraft even with a 400 mm lens or similar. That said, you certainly should not ignore those aircraft as “zooming out” and including the surrounding scenery in those photos resulted in some of my favorite pictures from the trip.

Finally, while there are aircraft movements every couple of minutes during the day, that changes once the sun starts setting since the seaplanes can only operate in daylight. I recommend hanging around until the sunset, though, as that can result in pictures of the fully occupied piers in great light (if you are lucky with the weather).

Summary

While I didn’t get to do any plane spotting at Vancouver International airport, I was certainly glad to have been able to spend a couple of hours photographing aircraft at Vancouver Harbour Seaplane Base during my May 2018 trip to Canada.

If you are planning to go to Vancouver and happen to have a couple of hours to spare, I can only recommend going to the promenade and some time watching and photographing the seaplanes.

Or, maybe even taking a flight!

During my stay, I had a chance to fly from Richmond to Nanaimo on a Seaair Seaplanes Cessna 208 Caravan and back from Victoria to Vancouver Harbour on a Harbour Air de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, but more about those experiences in the following instalments.

The post Spotting Guide: Photographing Seaplanes at Vancouver Coal Harbour Seaplane Base appeared first on KN Aviation.