GLOBAL SPOTTING REPORTS
USA - AK, HI, WA, OR and ID
Anchorage - Aug 2017
LANDSIDE
None from the terminal area.
A car is recommended to see everything. Most of the hangers and viewing areas are too far too walk. There are several hanger areas to explore including on the southern side of the runways where the Biz park along with Conco Phillips B737s and other stuff. One of the best places to view aircraft from is here.
On leaving the airport turn right onto Jewel Lake Road taking you past the end of the runway. Then right onto Raspberry and Right into Airpark. Drive to the end. Park on the left and walk up the small hill. From here there are excellent views of all the runways and lots of stands, and its the best place to see everything. On the way to this area from the airport you will also pass several hangers on the south east side including ERA Aviation and Northern Air Cargo. Several DC3s along with some GA aircraft should be seen here as well.
At the northern end of the Airport is Northern Lights Blvd. Take the first left from this road into Boeing Lane and you will find Pen Air hangers and a view of Alaska Central Express and Everts Air Cargo hangers. Continue along the road and there are several good locations to park offering excellent views of arrivals or departures from runway 15/33. However some stuff may be missed using the other runways. This area also offers good views of the Fedex and UPS ramps.
Adjacent to the airport is Lake Hood which is home to a large Sea Plane base with many aircraft parked up and in the water. Most should be seen driving around the perimeter roads. Alaska Aviation Museum is also here with an old Alaskan B737-200.
AIRSIDE
Good views of all runways although not necessarily all at once. Most movements should be seen but the majority of hanger areas and other stuff can’t be seen from here.
HOTELS
There are a couple of hotels located on the south east side a bit further down from the threshold runway 25. However they didn’t seem to use that direction for arrivals or departures so I doubt its worthwhile for views. A good location from which to explore though.
WHAT TO EXPECT
On the based front you can expect to see:
Pen Air Saab 2000s and a few Saab 340s.
ERA Aviation DHC8’s and a couple of B1900s
Alaska Central Express B1900s
Conco Phillips B737s
Everts Air cargo DC9 and DC6
Desert Air DC3s
Transnorthern DC3s and Metros
Alaska Airlines based B737s for intra Alaskan flights and 3 DHC8s
Several Smaller GA Aircraft
Lots of Seaplanes
Alaskan have regular flights to mainland USA with a few flights from Delta, AA and United.
A steady stream of long Haul Cargo operations frequent during the Day. Fed Ex and UPS will both have upto a dozen flights each day with regular flights from Polar, Atlas, Cargolux, Cathay Pacific and other Chinese carriers.
Saturday evening proved a good time to visit with a lot of the local fleets parked up by there respective hangers. Alaska is a big place and some of the local airlines disappear for large chunks of the day and can operate late into the night. The good thing about visiting in the summer is that it can stay light till midnight.
Merrill Field
A few miles east is a GA airfield with a preserved Fedex B727 at a technical college.
Elmendorf AFB
Unfortunately no views although movements can be seen from the main airport if you want to tie them up with SBS. Occasionally when its busy a few aircraft will park at Anchorage before hopping over to the base.
Fairbanks - Aug 2017
LANDSIDE
Some views from either side of the terminal but you will want to explore the various hangers and stored aircraft. These extend either side of the terminal. You could walk it but a car would be much easier.
Several DC3s, E120s and other stuff remain derelict to the left of the terminal. Also on the opposite side of the road from these is a small compound with a few more. An E120 N12703 is hidden away here behind some other aircraft but can be seen by walking around the back of the compound.
On the far side of the airfield are several more hangers, containing mostly GA stuff. Some of this can be seen from the terminal area or the perimeter road runs past them.
AIRSIDE
Good views of the runway and movements.
HOTELS
La Quinta is almost within walking distance of the terminal and offers a free shuttle on request. Some rooms would provide views.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Not particularly busy. Alaska have a few flights day inter state and there are a few flights to Mainland USA by the main carriers. ERA Aviation have the occasional DHC8 and some B1900s.
Not worth spending much time at but well worth a visit if your interested in the derelict aircraft.
A Technical school on the far side has an old Fedex B727.
Honolulu – Jul 2012
LANDSIDE
The only place is the multistory car parks with the one next to the Hawaiian Terminal offering the best views. Level 6 offers good views of the domestic ramp with level 7 being the top if you want some sun. However they don’t like you doing it and the occasional security guard will cycle past. I previously got permission to use binoculars so it may still be possible to do that.
There are several hangers on the far side which can be seen from the multistory. If you want to get most of this stuff you will want to hire a car and drive around. Expecially if you want to see N699HA DC9 parked at the training college which can’t be seen from anywhere else.
Hickham AFB is located here and frustratingly you can see everything and get nothing. However any arrivals should land past you so a few movements can be seen if you spend the time.
AIRSIDE
There are views and you should be able to find a good spot overlooking the arrival runway but not as good as the car park.
Be advised if you are flying Hawaiian airlines at peak time the queues can be a chaotic ridiculous mess so allow extra time to get through.
HOTELS
The Best Western reportedly has good views but I haven’t stayed there.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Hawaiian Airlines obviously dominate along with several flights from the other local carriers and most of the domestic stuff can be picked up pretty quick. Delta have a large hub with transpacific flights and most other American majors have a presence. Japan and Korea are major destinations from here and you can expect several flights from there local carriers at any given time. Other than that theres not a lot of interest on the scheduled side except for an Air Pacific B737 to Fiji.
You can probably expect several military movements ( gulfstreams, B737’s C17’s etc ) on any given day and possibly some transit flights on delivery to Asia. However its all down to luck and you can spend a lot of time with little reward.
Seattle - Aug 2017
LANDSIDE
None within the terminal area.
The top of the multi storey car park offers decent views. Some of the Alaska Airlines stands can be seen and partial views of the runways and taxiways. All movements can be seen but some aircraft can prove difficult to read due to distance or only having a short time to see some of them.
There is a good spot on the perimeter if they are landing from the north on runway 16R. Take the perimeter road around past cargo. Go straight ahead at the next set of lights. Take a left onto 146th St. Just before the long term car park take a left next to the field. You can park here and then take a small walk to the side of the water tower. From here there are good views of aircraft taxiing for departure for runways 16L and 16C as well as the arrivals.
AIRSIDE
The central terminal area has a food court with fully glassed windows and lots of seating overlooking the runways and Horizon Air gates.. All movements can be seen. Plenty of windows in the rest of the terminal.
HOTELS
Theres plenty close by but not sure if any have views. The Ramada was situated in a good location close by and had a shuttle bus.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Alaska Airlines main hub. You can probably expect to see about half of there B737s and DHC8’s in a day. The E175s are a bit harder with more of them operating from Portland. There aircraft did seem to rotate around though with some different ones being seen on a second and third day.
Apart from that Delta have a fairly large base and several E175s should be seen. Fedex usually had a few parked on cargo with 1 or 2 others.
Boeing Field – Oct 2018
A few miles north of the main airport. Boeings B737 final delivery plant. Expect about 30 or more parked up including some P8s for the military. A drive around the perimeter will get you most stuff. A few will be obscured behind others. The majority of Biz jets seem to use this airport as well with several parked up and also a few based inside the hangers. Boeing also have a large museum here with several prototype aircraft parked up including B747, B737, B727, B707 as well as a Concorde.
Renton – Oct 2018
A few miles east of the main airport. This is where Boeing construct the B737s before they fly to Boeing Field for delivery. Again a drive around the perimeter will get you most, although Boeing get a bit touchy if you park in there car park and take a walk. Security seem to be in force watching for us. Instead head for Renton Rowing club. You can find it on google maps. Its like a small park area inbetween the airport and Boeings hangers. From here you can see several aircraft parked behind the hanger and also walk back along a footpath to see everything else. Make sure to write the line numbers down as most of them use the same test Reg N1786B or similar. The majority are in Primer with the line number usually on the nose and rear. I logged over 40.
Everett – Oct 2018
About 40 miles north is Boeings plant for the B747, B767, B777 and B787. They do offer tours which last for 90 minutes. They access 2 parts of the hanger allowing 6 or 7 extra aircraft to be identified on the B777 and B787 lines. However anything parked outside can be seen from the perimeter.
From the tour building drive back around towards the large hanger, follow the perimeter and turn into what is signposted as the staff entrance. There is then a road on the left that takes you past some of the flightline. Further along is the Restoration society and GA area which allows more aircraft to be identified. There is an old Fedex B727 parked here and another ex Fedex B727 in all white colours partly broken up further up.
Continue following the perimeter around all the way and there is another set of Hangers which had several more B767s which are for the military, along with several more parked near the GA area.
Moses Lake
About 190 miles to the east. Boeing do some of there test flying here. An old fedex B727 remains in all white cls.
Mchord Air Force Base
About 30 miles south. There is a spot on the north east perimeter offering good views. Heat haze can cause a problem though so early morning or late evening would be best. There were seven C17s and quite a bit of other stuff at the time. Its been reported to have around 30 C17s at other times.
Portland - Aug 2017
LANDSIDE
A few stands can be seen from within the terminal but no views of the runways.
The top of the multi storey has excellent views. There is a runway out to either side so you can’t see all movements at once. However the majority of what you want is on the Alaska side. All the DHC8s and most of the E175s will park in front of the car park with some of the cargo stands on the other side of the runway including Ameriflights ramp.
It is possible to drive around to the cargo side where a couple of parked Alaskan DHC8s could be seen at there hanger. On the approach road to the airport is the Biz ramp. A few of these could be seen from the car park.
AIRSIDE
Depending who you where flying with determines which end you departed from. It looks like either end would only provide views of one runway so some stuff could be missed. Especially if you are not departing from the Alaska Airlines side.
HOTELS
WHAT TO EXPECT
Alaska Airlines makes up most of the flights including quite a few of its E175s which are not so prominent in Seattle, and a large number of DHC8s.
Ameriflight has lots of small aircraft parked early morning with most of them departing.
Hillsboro - Aug 2017
About 30 miles west is a small GA airfield. However Intel base 2 of its E145s here. They usually depart early morning and return in the evening. One of them and sometimes both of them usually return around lunchtime before going out again. Schedules can be seen on Flightradar24. The other 2 Intel E145s are based at Phoenix Mesa Gateway and one of these will usually fly into Hillsboro as well and can be seen around lunchtime.
McMinnville - Evergreen Air and Space Museum - Aug 2017
This is located about 40 miles south of Portland. Several aircraft are preserved including a couple of Evergreen B747s, USAF DC9 and NASA Gulfstream.
Boise - Aug 2017
LANDSIDE
Good views from the multi storey car park including GA and Military Areas.
AIRSIDE
Good views of all movements. GA area to the right of the terminal can’t be seen.
HOTELS
WHAT TO EXPECT
Not particularly busy on the airline front with nothing that can’t be seen at the more major airports.
A reasonable amount of GA stuff along with several smaller Biz make up the numbers.
There is a large military base and about a dozen fighters where parked opposite the terminal. All parked nose on so could prove difficult to read.
N275FE B727 is WFU here, still in Fedex cls. Its parked a few KM to the south east, still on airport grounds next to what looks like a disused runway. It can be seen in the distance from the terminal area.