Visiting South Africa this year? The country is fascinating for the aviation enthusiast, with busy international airports, historic heritage aircraft, and lots of stored airliners. Here are some tips on finding the best aviation experiences whilst there.

Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport
Most people arrive into the country via Johannesburg Airport (although Cape Town is also popular). Both Terminals (A and B) have viewing decks to use, with B being the most useful for photography and catching all movements. The deck is indoors, with somewhat dirty windows, but you can always clean a patch.

The airport has a good mix of international and domestic flights coming throughout the day, so it’s rarely boring.

On the north and south sides of the airport are storage and maintenance areas. The north (Safair) can be mostly read from the viewing decks, but the south (Denel) can’t. Best bet is to hire a car and explore to make sure you catch as many aircraft as possible.

Rand
Another airport in Johannesburg, Rand is much smaller. It has a lot of stored airliners on site, plus the South African Airways Society Museum with types up to Boeing 747 in size. You have some views from inside the terminal, however it’s much more rewarding to organise a tour from the fire crews, which cost 20 Rand. These take in all ramps and areas of the airfield, so you won’t miss much.

Lanseria
This is a smaller airport to the northwest of Johannesburg. It has a number of airlines flying domestic routes, and is also a popular place to see bizjets flying  into the city. One the airfield are also a number of stored and withdrawn airliners.

You can spot from the viewing deck area which doubles as a food court. However, it’s also possible to arrange an airside tour from the security office if you contact them in advance.

Wonderboom
One of the airports in the Pretoria area, Wonderboom is an interesting little place. It is home to a variety of

aircraft, from safari aircraft to Boeing 737s; bizjets to historic flight DC-3′s. It’s possible to see quite a few aircraft from a circuit of the perimeter, however it’s often possible to arrange airside access from the security office.

Durban King Shaka Airport
The new international airport for Durban opened in 2010, replacing the existing facility. It is actually over 20 miles from the city, but is ultra modern and one to watch for the future. At the moment it handles close to 5million passengers per year, with a mix of domestic and international. There are viewing opportunities from within the terminal.

Leipzig has grown into one of Germany (and Europe’s) largest cargo airports. It is the main hub on the continent for DHL Airways and their various subsidiaries and partners, allowing them a central location to receive, process and send on packages from around the world.

Aside from cargo, Leipzig is a moderately busy airport for passenger services, with around 2.3 million passengers passing through each year on domestic, intra-European, and holiday flights.

But naturally the vast majority of movements are those affiliated with DHL, and cargo carriers such as Bluebird, Swiftair, Kalitta, Europe Air Post, Air Atlantique, ABX, RAF Avia, Aerologic, Aviastar etc. This sees a lot of A300, B737, B757, and B777 types, but most interestingly also a lot of AN-12, AN-26 and TU-204 aircraft operating from countries to the east.

Cargo movements are largely between 10pm and 2am, but some operate during the day and it’s often possible to see many aircraft parked up during the day.

Spotting
The best place to spot at Leipzig is the viewing terrace atop the Administration Building next to the terminal. The outdoor terrace is open 24 hours a day, making it ideal for catching those nighttime movements (if a little chilly in winter!). It costs €2.

You can also get good views from the top of the car park.

Hotel
If you want to watch the cargo movements from the comfort of your warm hotel room (with SBS or Flightradar24), try the Globana Airport Hotel. It has rooms facing the airport, but some have restricted views.

Elsewhere
Whilst in Leipzig, remember to look out for the former Interflug IL-18 and TU-134 aircraft at the airport, which are easily seen from the viewing deck. There’s also an IL-62 in the city used as a cafe, and an IL-18 at one of the city’s museums.

DHL Timetable
You can download a handy DHL flight timetable from this link.

Credit goes to Mark Allday for the information in this article.

Grant from the Plane Crazy Down Under Podcast brought my attention to a great page on the website of Sydney Airport which is aimed at spotters and enthusiasts who want to know more about its history and where to watch aircraft.

The page, which you can visit here, gives a history of the airport. It includes pictures from key moments, such as the first Boeing 747 arriving, and the recent 787 Dreamliner visit.

It then goes on to give you technical details about the airfield (elevations, runways, identifiers etc), and a list of the best places to go and watch aircraft. If you’re new to the hobby, it even tells you what aircraft registrations are, so that you can start spotting!

I’m mightily impressed at this. Sydney is a fantastic place to spot at, with variety, good weather and great spotting locations. Having this information on their website to encourage the hobby only makes things better!

Here’s the link: http://www.sydneyairport.com.au/corporate/community-environment-and-planning/aviation-community.aspx

Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan has opened a new observation area for watching aircraft.

Built for people to wave off family, and watch them arrive, it’s also perfect for the enthusiast with its views over one of the runways and many of the parking stands at the terminal.

The area is believed to be indoors, which makes it sheltered and air conditioned, but it’s likely to mean photography is through glass.

Have you visited? What’s the observation area like?

London Southend Airport is really taking off. After years living in the shadows of London’s other airports, the once-popular airport is now on the way back up.

Although for many years it’s been a place to find mouth-wateringly rare aircraft in storage and between owners (which to some extent continues to this day), the airport finally has some scheduled routes to shout about, and a bunch of new infrastructure being built ready for this year’s London Olympic Games. Southend is one of the closest airports to the games, so I expect it will be pretty busy around that period.

Here’s an update on the airport’s growth and plans:

- Runway extension has now been built, with the taxiways all improved and new lighting added. Full runway will be in operation from March.

- Scheduled services to Ireland have started with Aer Arann.

- easyJet begin routes to 9 European destinations from April, with 3 based Airbus A319 aircraft.

- The new control tower and railway station (with fast links to London) have been opened.

- New terminal under construction, to be opened in February. Extended apron and stands almost complete.

- New Holiday Inn under construction at the airport.

I’ll be visiting this year to check out the new facilities and to see what the viewing situation is like with the new roads, runway, hotel and terminal. You may want to schedule a visit to Southend during the Olympics as I think it will get quite busy.

Why not send us a trip report if you use one of the new easyJet routes?

Perth Airport in Western Australia has a brand new viewing area built with the aviation enthusiast in mind.

The special paved area, with shelter, seating and interesting information boards has been constructed alongside the main runway, and is very close to the action.

It is perfect for logging movements, and is great for photography.

The viewing area is open daily between 6.30am and 7.00pm (October to March) and between 7.30am and 5.30pm (April to September).  It is accessed from Dunreath Drive (the link road connecting the International and Domestic Terminals).  A signed entry point is located approximately half way along Dunreath Drive and car parking at the site is free.

Fantastic news for spotters visiting Perth! Have you visited?

Perth Airport is featured in Airport Spotting Guides Far East and Australasia.

Looking for a spotting book for Christmas (either for yourself, or for someone else)? I decided it’s time to put out details of some of the most popular new titles out recently. Each is linked to the Amazon page so that you can read a review from other people who bought the book.

1. Propliners of the World pt1
Gerry Manning
A fantastic review of the world’s propliners, with a large section on the DC-3. Includes loads of photos and current operators. [Amazon Reviews]

2. Propliners of the World pt2
Gerry Manning
I had to include both parts of this fantastic new collection.  This one looks at many other types, including the Neptune, Orion, AN-2, and water bombers. [Amazon Reviews]

3. Airport Spotting Guides Far East & Australasia
Matt Falcus
OK, so a slight plug here, but this book is great for anyone wishing to travel to the airports in China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and other countries, with full spotting information. [Amazon Reviews]

4. The World’s Top 500 Airports
David Wragg
A comprehensive look at the top 500 airports in the world, with maps, colour pictures and plenty of facts and figures for each. [Amazon Reviews]

5. Time Flies: The Heathrow Story
Alan Gallop
A new book charting the history of the UK’s busiest, most exciting, most controversial and arguably the best spotting airport – Heathrow. [Amazon Reviews]

Which books would you add to the list? Are there any coming out soon that you’re looking forward to? Leave a comment below.

Taoyuan is Taipei’s international airport and handles all the flights that come to Taiwan from overseas.

The airport is very busy, with an extensive mix of airlines from Asia, North America and Europe visiting regularly. It is also one of the world’s busiest cargo airports, and many cargo airlines pass through every day. In particular, it is a hub for China Airlines Cargo and EVA Air Cargo.

There are two parallel runways and two passenger terminals at Taoyuan. Terminal 1 has recently undergone an extensive renovation project. Terminal 3 is expected to open by 2014.

For the spotter, there are a few places that have good views. These include:

1. South Crash Gate
Where a rough taxiway links Taoyuan Airport with Taoyuan Air Base, a crash gate can be found in the fence alongside runway 06/24. You can drive, or walk if blocked, along the taxiway to the gate from the main road which runs between the airport and base. When heading away from the terminal, take the first left off the motorway and follow along. From here you’ll have a good vantage point of aircraft on the runway, and it’s possible to take good photographs. Other spotters congregate here.

2. “Miracle” Cafe
On the north side of the airfield is a cafe dubbed the “Miracle” Cafe due to the face it narrowly escaped damage when an Airbus A300 crashed alongside. It has views over the northern side of the airfield, and from its rooftop you can take acceptable photographs from afternoon till sunset. The cafe is situated on the main ’15′ road running along the northern perimeter.

3. Aviation Museum
You can see aircraft on the northern runway and taxiway from the Aviation Museum, although to photograph you’ll need steps as there’s too much in the way. Nevertheless, a good spot to note what’s coming and going.

Frankfurt is one of the world’s busiest airports, yet they still think of the enthusiast and people who are interested in how an airport runs.
Their airside tours have been running for many, many years. They used to operate from the Terminal 1 viewing deck (remember the DC-8 nose section where the tour started? It’s still there by the way).

Today, you can still take a tour at one of the set times between 11am and 4pm. It costs €8 for adults and lasts around 45 minutes. It will take you on a bus tour of airside areas, including Terminal 1, Terminal 2, maintenance areas and taxiways.

To take the tour, head for the Frankfurt Airport Centre in the corridor between Terminals 1 and 2. Follow signs for the Airport Experience Tour. Here’s the link to the official information page

Arizona is a great place to visit if you’re an aviation enthusiast. Not only does it have a couple of major airports, but it’s also home to many storage bases and the incredible AMARG collection at Davis Monthan AFB near Tucson.

Phoenix is the largest city in Arizona, and it has a number of airports in its vicinity that are easy to visit and definitely worth stopping by. Below, I’ve listed a few details of each, but please feel free to comment with your own opinions and details.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International
This is the main airport of the state, and certainly the busiest. It is a hub for US Airways and Southwest Airlines. All major US airlines, both passenger and cargo, visit daily, and there is a large enthusiast community who ensure the hobby is accepted. Try the top level of the car park for some good views.

Scottsdale
Technically another city, but you’d never know. Scottsdale is situated to the east of Phoenix, and it’s airport is a busy base for executive jets. You can view movements from the airport’s perimeter roads, and see aircraft on the ground from the main terminal area.