GLOBAL SPOTTING REPORTS
AUSTRALIA
Adelaide – Dec 2011
LANDSIDE
Landside – Good views from outside the terminal. Turn left out of the terminal and there is a footpath leading to the side of the runway. Opposite the terminal are the hangers and cargo area, well worth exploring. There is also an additional ramp behind these hangers. You can’t see this area from the airport roads and won’t even know it exists. You will need a car or take a long walk to get whats here. 4 B146’s and a B717 at the time of my visit.
AIRSIDE
Airside – Good views of the runway but no views of the hanger and cargo areas.
HOTELS
None seen on the airport grounds
WHAT TO EXPECT
Fairly quiet with the usual suspects making up the numbers. REX have several S340’s here and a hanger.
Australian Air Express base 1 or 2 B146’s here which should be on the ground during the day.
Alliance F50’s are based
National Jet systems are based here although don’t have any flights. Just whats on maintenance and storage I suspect
Sharp Aviation metros
Brisbane – Nov 2014
LANDSIDE
None seen from the domestic terminal. International terminal has windows overlooking the ramp but you will only see domestic movements when they are landing this way. If they are departing they may be too high. The road outside departures will give you a view of the runway threshold and part of the domestic terminal so you can get most things from here. Sometimes they use another smaller runway for the commuter traffic so these could be missed.
There is an excellent viewing area at the opposite end of the runway. Follow signs for General Aviation. Its possible to walk from domestic ( turn right out of the terminal ) but it’s a fair way. Not possible from International. Right next to this is a ramp where they park all the smaller cargo aircraft and commuter airlines. Expect severasl Metro's, S340's and B146s.
On the opposite side of the field there are several hangers. Alliance airlines, Toll Priority, Virgin and Qantas among others. A lot of the hangers don’t have windows but you can get some stuff. Airside in the domestic terminal also has good views of these hangers and is your only chance of getting some stuff.
There is also another ramp after the international terminal which has the odd cargo and biz aircraft as well as a resident B727 and B146 cabin trainer. You can get a view of this from the off ramp on departures level of the international terminal or take the perimeter road past it on your way to the other hangers.
AIRSIDE
Domestic terminal has excellent window views and all movements should be seen. Not possible to see whats parked on international or GA ramps from here though.
International has excellent window views but again you will have difficulties seeing domestic traffic unless they land past you. At the far end of the terminal you can get a good view of the runway threshold and domestic terminal so its worth a walk down there if you have a while to wait.
HOTELS
There are no hotels located at the airport itself
WHAT TO EXPECT
Usual Majors including several QF DHC8’s and several Virgin ATRs.
Pel Air are based with several S340’s and Metro’s and Toll Priority with metro’s
Corporate Air base there fleet of S340s and Metros here and Australian Air Express have a B146 based
Best time to see all these is on a weekend or Friday when most of them are parked up on the GA ramp.
International traffic includes several New Zealand flights as well as Air Pacific and Air Vanuatu and some asian traffic. Check timetables for this stuff, mid morning seems to be a busier period.
Amberley Air Force Base ( Brisbane ) – Mar 2018
Behms Road offers views of the runway, not that there are many movements here. There are distant views of the ramp from the corner of Toongarra Road and Fuchs St.
Australian Air Force C17’s and A330’s are based here. A good pair of binoculars should get you any C17’s parked side on. I managed to read 4 out of 5. 3 A330s where also parked but the registrations on them are tiny. No matter how good your optics are, you won’t get them. Heat haze can be a problem. Early morning or late evening is preferable.
Cairns – Dec 2011
LANDSIDE
No views from the terminals. Some gaps between the terminals allow some views but not great. It may be possible to walk down the road to get better views of the runways and hangers on the opposite side of the field but your best option would be to rent a car. If you find your way to general aviation and drive down the road towards the Meteorogical building you can park up with views of all gates and the runway. You will also need to be here to explore all the hangers and GA aircraft.
AIRSIDE
Domestic terminal has no views, not sure about the international but it dosen’t face the runway so views are unlikely to be much better.
HOTELS
None at the airport itself but the Mercure Cairns Harbourside on the way into town is on the flightpath. You will need a room with a view out to see which costs extra. From here you get a distant view of the airport. At the time I was there the runway direction meant all traffic departed towards me. The runway direction actually points to the other side of the hotel but all aircraft take a left turn towards the sea straight after departure putting them on the side of the hotel facing the sea. If traffic was landing from the hotel end I’m not sure if you would see it facing out to sea. The approach is likely to be from the other side of the hotel unless they were making a visual approach.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Not the busiest of airports but expect some interesting stuff. Most of the traffic is made up from sightseeing and charter companies using caravans and light aircraft.
Several flights by the majors including a based Qantas B717 and a couple of other B717’s during the day making there way in from Darwin. Also several Qantas DHC8’s.
Skytrans have 4 or 5 DHC8’s based here.
Customs Surveilance Australia have 2 DHC8’s based
On the international side there are a few flights to Papua New Guniea. Air Nuigini operates a DHC8-400 or Fokker 100 daily and Airlines of PNG ATR72 nightstops and also has some DHC8 flights on some days. Check timetables for these. Jetstar also operates A330’s into Asia.
Not worth spending much time here but nice and convenient if your on a sightseeing holiday.
Darwin – Dec 2011
LANDSIDE
The car rental car park offers some views of the terminal and runway as well as some of the hangers. However due to the vast number of hangers and heat its advisable to hire a car. If you choose to walk expect to do a few miles but you will get most stuff except whats hiding in hangers without windows. The hangers you can see from the car park has another set of hangers and GA ramp behind these. Turn right out of the terminal and you will find another several hangers here.
AIRSIDE
A small departure lounge has window views. You can see the runway and a few gates only so pay attention.
HOTELS
I did notice a hotel at the airport but don’t know the name. It looked like it could have good views of the runway.
WHAT TO EXPECT
A great place full of lots of stuff you won’t see elsewhere. Especially if you collect lighter aircraft, you can expect 100 aircraft or more.
3 Customs Surveilance Australia DHC8’s based
Vincent Aviation based with 2 S340’s and 5 B1900’s
Air North based with 11 aircraft – take a look through there side door of the hanger?
Hardy Aviation based with 5 metro’s
2 D328 of Aero Rescue present
1 Skytrans DHC8 based.
3 Qantas B717’s based
Pearl Aviation metros
Major airlines have a very limited schedule. Most stuff is gone by 7am with the rest of the day taken up with mainly GA flights. Expect a few flights during the afternoon but most of them seem to nightstop anyway. Some flights arrive late, get hangered for the night and then go early morning again so its not wise to spend the day here. Late afternoon and early morning should get you the lot.
Maroochydore / Sunshine Coast – Dec 2011
LANDSIDE
Various spots along the perimeter allow all movements to be seen. Didn’t enter the terminal so not sure about there.
AIRSIDE
?
HOTELS
Osprey Apartments – Has sea views and is a short walk from the beach and shops. Would definitely stay here again, very nice, reasonable price with a great balcony. If they are landing from this direction then you can get arrivals with a decent pair of binoculars. No views of the airport though, its about 5 miles away. Make sure you have a timetable though as arrivals are few and far between and theres better things to do around here.
There are several hotels in the vicinity and its probable they would all give similar views.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Very quiet here and not worth the bother unless you are here for a holiday. Saying that it is a very nice place and there are a lot of attractions in the area. Ideal for a family holiday.
Traffic wise there are only several flights a day split between Jetstar and Virgin.
A number of light aircraft and a few smaller biz can be expected as well as 2 WFU D228’s. - VH-BQB and VH-FNP.
Tip – Queensland Aviation museum is about 20 miles south of Maroochydore. It is located at Caloundra airport and has quite a lot of aircraft on display. Mostly smaller stuff but take a look at there website for more info – www.qam.com.au
Melbourne – Feb 2014
LANDSIDE
None seen from within the terminal area. There is an excellent viewing area on the opposite side of the runway and the road conveniently takes you past the hangers. It’s a good few miles away so you need a car. Follows signs for the hangers and continue along the road to find it. The fields next to the hangers are also a good spot for watching the approach assuming they are landing that way. From here you get a good view of the Virgin terminal, some international stands and cargo. Expect to see all movements.
AIRSIDE
The virgin terminal has good views over the runway so you should see all movements
The Qantas terminal does not overlook the runway so I suspect you would miss a lot from here.
I don’t know about the international terminal but suspect you could get good views of the runway from here
HOTELS
There is a hotel at the airport with views but expect to pay for it. Don’t know the name?
WHAT TO EXPECT
Dominated by the majors. Expect several REX S340’s and a few QF DHC8’s that you may have not seen elsewhere but otherwise very little of interest.
International flights – A good number of New Zealand and Asian flights throughout the day
A few miles down the road on the way to the city is Melbourne Essendon. You can expect a good number of general aviation aircraft and a few small biz here.
Newcastle Williamtown – Jul 2014
LANDSIDE
There is a car park at the end of the runway with good views of movements. There is also a small museum close by with some old fighters. From outside the terminal area there are distant views of the Australian Air Force ramp.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The only reason to visit here is for the Australian Air Force B737 Wedgetails that are based here. 2 where parked outside the hanger when I went. In terms of civil movements its very quiet.
Its about a three hour drive from Sydney.
Perth – Sep 2015
LANDSIDE
Layout – The international terminal and Alliance / Skywest terminals are on one side of the airfield. The domestic terminals along with hangers and other airlines are on the other side. There is a terminal bus running between the international and domestic which takes about 20 minutes.
No views noted within the Domestic Terminal. The car rental car park to the side of the terminal has good views of the runways and some gates. You can see the terminals on the other side but require a good scope to get whats on stand, and heat haze can be a problem.
There are several hangers but views are limited. A large fence blocks views inbetween the hangers and means some aircraft can’t be seen. From the Domestic Terminal turn right to find these or follow for long term car parks if you drive. After the hangers turn right and you can get good views of the ramp and see inside any hangers that are open. After this is the Skippers ramp. From there car park you can get most stuff here. Then you have Cobham, Network and other hangers but again the views are limited. The second last hanger had a gate with a view and a few aircraft could be seen on this ramp. I did however get moved on very quickly. This is about a 2km walk from the terminal
Going the other way from the domestic terminal, walk past the cargo terminal and turn left. From here there is a good view of the Runway 06 threshold. This is mostly used for domestic departures, or arrivals when runway 24 is in use. There are also limited views of Runway 03 which is used for all arrivals, or departures when using Runway 21. All movements can be seen but heat haze can be an issue.
There is an official viewing area located at the threshold of Runway 03. Its about a 30-40 minute walk from the domestic terminal. Good views and photos of arriving aircraft along with some departures. The international terminal along with the Alliance and Skywest ramp can be seen in the distance. However the domestic terminal or other ramps cant be seen and most of this stuff will depart from Runway 06 which also cant be seen. If they are landing and departing from the other direction then this may not be the best place to spot from.
AIRSIDE
Both domestic terminals have window views over the runway so you should see all movements. Its possible to read some stuff around the various hangers and some stuff on the other side.
HOTELS
WHAT TO EXPECT
Qantas and Virgin have regular flights and expect to see five or more Qantas B717s.
However the main reason for coming here should be all the based airlines that cant be seen elsewhere. They are used regularly for mining flights as well as normal passenger flights.
Alliance F100and F70 – several based
Skywest Airlines fleet – Now taken over by Virgin and gradually being repainted into their colours.
Skippers Aviation fleet
Network Aviation fleet
National Jet Systems – Several B146’s and there new E190
They all nightstop and go off again early morning with a steady stream coming in and out throughout the day. A much better variety than other Australian Airports but don’t expect to put much of a dent in the mainstream carriers.
On the international front its fairly quiet. Thai B787s, Jetstar Singapore and Air Asia Indonesia A320s along with Air Mauritius A330s maybe of interest. Check timetables.
Sydney – May 2015
LANDSIDE
Multi Storey car park between domestic terminals offers good views of all movements.
If you have a car take a drive down the perimeter road. From domestic terminals follow signs for long term car parks. This will take you past the GA and Biz ramp. Continue along this road past the long term car park and you will come to a dead end next to the control tower. Here you can park on the grass mound and watch all movements.
There is also a viewing area next to the old control tower. From general holmes drive take the exit for Kyeemagh. From this road you can get good views of the international terminal. Take the road that goes behind the back of the control tower and there is a parking area overlooking the runways. There are no views of the stands from here but movements on these runways can be seen.
AIRSIDE
Virgin Domestic Terminal – The end of the piers have excellent views of all movements. Its still possible to access airside without a boarding card so you can spot from here whenever you like.
Qantas Domestic Terminal – The end of the pier has good views of the main runway and some of the international terminal but some movements will be missed.
HOTELS
WHAT TO EXPECT
By far the busiest of Australias airports. First departures start around 6am. Expect to see mainly the major airlines here along with a lot of REX S340’s. Virgin also operate several of there ATR’s from here. Don’t expect to see everything though. The airlines operate many flights from the other airports and it can be several days before some of them end up coming back into sydney.
On the international side expect a good amount of traffic from New Zealand and various flights from the South Pacific Islands. You should probably check timetables if you want to see these. Also expect a good number of flights from the far east countries.
Several Biz are based here along with 4 Air Ambulance B350s.
