The ban on spotting from the parking garage at Orlando MCO airport in Florida has now been lifted by the Director of Security.
The airport’s website will soon be updated with such details. They request that spotters fill out a Use of Facilities form from the security offices during normal business hours (not in advance), along with copies of your passport/driving license.
This is great news for spotters visiting Orlando. The security measures are worthwhile for the hassle-free access it gives.
I recently came across this webcam at London Heathrow, which seems to take a shot of every aircraft as it passes. Quite useful for those into desktop spotting 
Qantas will begin flying their Airbus A380 into London Heathrow five days per week from 8 June 2009. This is an increase on the present schedule.
The days of operation are: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
The aircraft arrives from Sydney - Singapore on QF30/31
David Stevens wrote this report about a trip to Cuba in 2006. It is still up-to-date, and useful if you plan on visiting Havana and spotting whilst there:
Logged on arrival at Havana were those around the international terminal (Terminal 3) which included:
CU-T1259 IL62 (used as a cafeteria / bar)
CU-T1280 IL62 Cubana
EI-TAD A320 TACA / Cubana
HP-1526CMP 738W Copa Airlines
N762MX 757 Mexicana
With the immigration formalities completed, we headed off to the resort of Varadero for the next 10 nights. Upon leaving the airport at Havana I noted that a NEOS 767, Icelandair 757 and Air France 747 were also now
present.
Wednesday 24th May was to be the one aviation themed day of the trip.
Prior to leaving the UK I’d booked for us to undertake a short domestic flight with Cubana, from Havana to Nueva Gerona on the Isla De La Juventud (a.k.a Island of Youth) - which is located off of the southern coast
of Cuba. The flights costs circa £45 return and were scheduled to be operated by an Antonov 24.
Noted from Terminal 1 at Havana prior to departure were:
CU-C1515 IL18 Aerocaribbean (cargo)
CU-T1236 An24 Cubana
CU-T1243 YAK42 Cubana
CU-T1247 YAK42 Cubana
CU-T1250 IL96 Cubana
CU-T1251 IL96 Cubana
CU-T1257 An24 Aerocaribbean / Cubana
CU-T1541 E.110 Aero Taxi
CU-T1546 IL18 Aerocaribbean
CU-T1547 ATR72 Aerocaribbean
F-GKMY DC-10 Air Lib (stored)
F-GTLY DC-10 AOM (stored)
N285AS E.120 Gulfstream International
XA-TWR 732 Conviasa Venezuela
I didn’t use binoculars within the terminal but instead relied upon using my trusty digital camera. Even then I was careful not to take any shots whilst anyone in a uniform (that seems to be about every 3rd person in
Havana!) was about and kept my camera in the bag when it wasn’t in use.
Havana has a total of 5 terminals with these being used as follows:
Terminal 1 - domestic. Mainly Cubana, Aerocaribbean and Aero Taxi
Terminal 2 - predominantly for charters from the US
Terminal 3 - the main international terminal
Terminal 4 - another domestic terminal. Mainly used by Aerocaribbean
Terminal 5 - currently used for handling the large number of flights that are bringing in Venezuelan workers to Cuba.
From the departure lounge in Terminal 1, Terminals 4 and 5 are completely out of sight as are most aircraft at terminal 3 and the main Cubana maintenance area.
It was then aboard CU-T1257 for the 30 minute flight to Nueva Gerona. This aircraft is in basic Aerocaribbean livery (excluding titles) but operates on behalf of Cubana.
Upon arrival at Nueva Gerona ours was the only aircraft present. It should be noted that there is a heavy police presence at the airport with no views of the ramp available from either landside or indeed airside (I didn’t explore much outside as we were greeted on arrival by a passing thunderstorm).
Just over 4 hours later it was back aboard the same aircraft for the return to Havana. This time she shared the Nueva Gerona tarmac with a Cubana An24.
Back at Havana the airport was very quiet although a Click / Mexicana Fokker 100 and Lineas Aereas Suramericanas (Columbia) 727 were noted before we headed back to Varadero.
The only other spotting completed in Cuba was during a 3 hour stint at Havana prior to our departure back to the UK. Here is what was noted:
C6-BFP DHC-8 Bahamasair
C-GBHM A319 Air Canada
CU-T1243 YAK42 Cubana
CU-T1247 YAK42 Cubana
CU-T1280 IL62 Cubana
CU-T1283 IL62 Cubana
CU-T1538 YAK40 Aerocaribbean
CU-T1547 ATR72 Aerocaribbean
EI-TAC A320 TACA / Cubana
G-VROM 744 Virgin (our ride home)
HP-1523CMP 738W Copa Airlines
N408AT ATR42 American Eagle
N488TA A320 TACA
N762MX 757 Mexicana
PH-MCJ 763 Martinair
TF-FII 757 Loftleidir Icelandic
TF-FIT 757 Loftleidir Icelandic
XA-SHJ FK100 Click / Mexicana
XA-TCH FK100 Click / Mexicana
YV-136T MD80 Aeropostal
Anything parked at the international terminal is easily identified from within the departure lounge. As there were large numbers of people about I decided to leave the camera in the bag and instead used my mini-bins.
In fact, photography from the departure lounge would be difficult as you are always looking though several layers of glass.
Luckily we were sitting on the right hand side of G-VROM as we taxied out and this allowed me to identify a few of the aircraft in the maintenance area as well as a few of the other stored aircraft. Noted were:
CU-T1244 An24 Cubana
(CU-T1253) TU54 Cubana
CU-T1263 An24 Cubana (appears to be WFU)
CU-T1282 IL62 Cubana (appears to be WFU)
CU-T1512 ATR42 Aerocaribbean
CU-T1558 C-47 Aerotaxi (stored without props)
CU-T1559 C-47 Aerotaxi
The registration of the TU-154 is unconfirmed but has been quoted as this in several previous reports. The aircraft is in bare metal and in a very poor condition - the tail has been separated from the fuselage and the
front half of the cabin roof is “missing”.
There is also a stored Aerocaribbean IL18 reasonably close to the threshold of the main runway which has had the registration painted out and is missing all of its engines and the nose cone. According to Soviet Transport this aircraft could be CU-T1517 although I am still attempting to verify this.
US cargo carrier ABX Air has started flying its Boeing 767-200 freighters into Europe in conjunction with TNT.
Currently a 5x weekly service is operating from New York JFK (sometimes via Halifax) to Liege in Belgium. This operates Tuesday-Saturday mornings.
Rumours are that more links with TNT will be flown by ABX Air in the near future. This is a great chance to see some rarer aircraft to our skies and airports.
Luton Airport’s Holiday Inn car park now has barriers in place, so you can’t just come and go as you please. This is a handy spot when spotting at Luton.
From now on you get the first 15 minutes free, then it’s £3 an hour to use it.
Ringway Reports - the site that has dealt with spotting information and movements at Manchester Airport for a long time, has now closed. The duties of reporting movements etc. has now gone to their other site, run by The Aviation Society, according to Glenn Wheeler.
You can still visit the original site for access to the archives of movements at this link.
The TAS Manchester site now covers all the expected movements, daily movements and all of the original information it held about trips & excursions, Manchester Airport news, and spotting information. It’s a fantastic resource for the spotter needing info on Manchester Airport.
Do you have a Twitter account? If so, why not follow us on there for the latest news, updates and comments on the world of airports and spotting for enthusiasts?
On Twitter, we are known as airportspotting. You can find us on this link: http://www.twitter.com/airportspotting
Enthusiasts at London Gatwick airport are encouraged to sign up to the ID scheme operated by Gatwick Police. To date over 200 people have signed up, and it has been free so far.However, now there is a £6 administration fee to sign up and get your ID card.
The police stress that you won’t gain any additional rights over other members of the public by joining the scheme, but it will help them recognise you, and also help their fight against criminals and terrorism.
These schemes are popping up all over the place now, but I’ve yet to hear of any positive benefits of them to either spotters or the police.
You can read more about the Gatwick ID scheme and sign up by clicking on this link.
Canada’s principal gateway in the east and a very busy airport, Toronto Pearson is worth the visit if you need any of the Air Canada fleet. Most of the country’s other airlines also visit, as well as various regional types from the main US carriers across the border.
The airport can be quite complex to negotiate, and never has one perfect solution to the spotter given the differing runway directions - especially if photography is your thing.
The best bet intially is to drive the perimeter road which will give you a good idea of what aircraft are in, and where the best spots may be.
The best place to join this road is at ground level outside Terminal 1. Look out for Silver Dart Drive and follow it as it passes the various ramps and runways. It soon turns into Convair Drive, and then Courtneypark Drive E. Turn onto Dixie Road, Derry Road E, and then Airport Road to take you back to the terminals and complete the loop.
There are various vantage locations around this perimeter road, although sometimes the police may move you on. A courtesy call to the airport police has often been very much welcomed, with the spotters being encouraged to carry on at will.
The best spots seem to be on the mound to the west of the FedEx ramp, and in the midfield cargo terminal area.
The new book by the author of this blog covers 35 of Europe's best airports for spotting.
Each guide includes a map, spotting locations, technical information, contact details, list of airlines, list of aircraft stored/preserved/wrecked at each airport, and details of the best hotels and rooms to stay in.