Great plane spotting roads

[jakeroot]

SR 518 is pretty good for planespotting near Sea-Tac. Same goes for the light rail line, which is elevated above the airport freeway and has a great view of the northern terminals on the way in.

S 156 St also has good views, though there is a huge retaining wall on the south side, so the planes are visible for less time than from the 518. But, there is a great ped/bike path along the road, which means it's a lot easier to camp out and watch planes land than from the freeway.

[ftballfan]

Kraft Ave in Cascade Township, MI ends at a park right by the Grand Rapids airport. Also planes fly over Patterson Ave and M-6 on a regular basis.

[slorydn1]

Here on Irving Park Rd (IL-19) used to be my favorite spot as a teen to watch planes taking off and landing at ORD back in the late 80's. This view is right at the threshold lights for Runaway 4R.


There would always be cars parked along the perimeter fence, with people watching and taking pictures back then. I havent been in the area since 1991, but I am sure the tightened security in the post 9/11 world we live in now has probably put a stop to it (I didn't see any cars in the GSV when I moved it around the area for this post.

[wanderer2575]

There's a whole designated parking area off of MD 176 right across the road from BWI just so people can watch the planes come and go. You can also access a walking/biking trail there that completely circumnavigates the airport.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1630197,-76.663612,3a,75y,120.28h,78.39t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sBDt_If6vJG5Igkb3s2sXZA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Oh yeah, I remember seeing that and being very confused, because you can't bring shaving cream into the airport gate area, or photograph a minor county courthouse in New Jersey, but apparently the government will build you a whole place to sit around and watch airplanes so you can figure out where to stick the bomb.

Indeed.  There used to be a small parking area on Goddard Road on the northern edge of Wayne County/Detroit Metro Airport very close to one of the runways (I *think* it was around here:  https://goo.gl/maps/jia7S63U3Tt), but it was closed and removed several years ago with the usual vague catchall excuse of "security reasons."

Hard to read the sign at that MD-176 parking lot, but I think the lot is intended for trailhead access.  Still, I'm kinda surprised its proximity to the airport hasn't riled up the security forces.

[Duke87]

There are numerous streets in the College Point section of Queens that dead end at the water and provide direct views of La Guardia Airport. Pick one and enjoy the show.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I-494, MN 5 and MN 62 around MSP are the best options to see planes taking off and landing at that airport.

[Bruce]

WA-526 is probably a nice one, especially since Boeing's megafactory is on the north side of the freeway. The parking lot and berm at the Future of Flight museum is a popular spot.

[empirestate]

Hard to read the sign at that MD-176 parking lot, but I think the lot is intended for trailhead access.  Still, I'm kinda surprised its proximity to the airport hasn't riled up the security forces.

No, it's specifically intended for observing aircraft. That sign says it's the Thomas A. Dixon, Jr. Aircraft Observation Area (also note same in the Google map view).

[roadfro]

Sunset Road (SR 562) in Las Vegas. It parallels the east-west runways directly on the south side of the airport (these are the default runways, except in windy conditions or during runway repair). There is a pullout parking area to view plane landings/takeoffs, which has (had?) signs indicating a radio channel you can tune to listen to control tower communications.

[roadman65]

McCoy Road in Orlando, before Bin Laden caused the FAA to make the City of Orlando fence in the area we all used to park and watch for fear of throwing something at a landing plane.

Now its all in passing there and on FL 528.  However, if you want go to the roof of the terminal top garage in the Orlando International Airport and you can see everything there.  The problem is you have to pay to get into parking your car which like many airports is high, unless you have someone drop you off at the curb of the airport and let you hang for an hour or two, then have them pick you up later.

[mapman1071]

Phoenix, AZ Sky Harbor Airport

S. 24th Street Between Airlane (Yes the City of Phoenix spells it as one word on all signs) and I-10. West End of Runways 8, 7L & 7R

E. Airlane between S. 24th Street and 42nd Street. South side of street you can view at spots (There are some Aerospace Companies that are along the road that can block views), activity on Runway 8/26 an view the North Concourses of Terminal 3 & Terminal 4 and the American Airlines Hangar (Formally US Airways & America West Airlines)