Plane Spotters Intelligence

A separate section for photographers to upload and comment on everything from amateur plane spotting images to professional air to air shots.

Postby Charl » Sat Dec 30, 2006 9:54 am

Thought it might help longer term if we kept these valuable nuggets in the pinned area:

Trolly posted this :

user posted image
The red square is the look out carpark on Puhinui Drive- perfect for 23L appoach shots.
The green square is the carpark next to the Air National building. Here you can get up close with the many jets they have and get a great overview of the domestic apron and main taxiway.
The yellow square is the Domestic terminal roof observation deck which I only discovered today. It gives you a fantastic outlook over the 737's jetways and all the heavies taxing past, as well as all the parked ANZ link's. The only trouble here, which I discovered when I got home and reviewed my shots, is the reflection of the glass barrier from the low sunlight. In order to stop this, you need to put your camera right up touching the glass to get rid of the un wanted reflected images.
The blue square is up a gravel road past the taxi rink at the far end of the domestic terminal. They are constructing a new pier for the heavy stands round there, and up on the hill by the helipad there are some great outlooks across the apron not visable from the International Terminal lookout. I could have walked right in up to the 747's if I had wanted to get fined, there seemes to be no secruity up this end and open gates all over the place
The newley added purple square is a great spot at "Convair Coner" to capture all the freighters/ air ambos and private jets. To get there, take the first left turn at the roundabout at the end of Puhinui Drive (coming from Manukau), then drive down towards the DHL cargo hanger, slow down and you will see a small road/driveway to your left that goes down to the Field Air carpark.

Monkeybg contributed this for Nelson:
Here is a map of Nelson Airport and its known spotting locations:
user posted image

The Red dots on the east side are in between the General Aviation hangars such as Nelson Aeroclub, Horizon, Skytech etc. This is where I got the close-up of ZK-ETU, ZK-VAD, ZK-SKT and the Origin J-31.
The Yellow dots are next to the Helicopters NZ hangar. This is where I met Milburn, and took the picture of the unpainted Saab. The north-most dot is in the Helicopters NZ carpark, where you can get some great shots of the aircraft taxiing, especially if 02 is in use.
The green dots are in the Staff Carpark. From the southern dot you get good close-ups of turboprops on the Apron, and from the north dot you can get a look at any aircraft parked near the Air Nelson Hangar.
The Pink dot is accessed by crossing a strangely-shaped bridge and going down a paved jogging track for a few minutes. When you reach a curving left bend, continue straight towards the airport threshold, where you'll find a small gorse clearing, cig butts and dumped rubbish. I got the shots of a Saab crossing the threshold and flaring here.
The blue dot is accessed by a a street called Martin Pl, as soon as you get onto the residential penisnula (called monaco). You go right up Martin Pl, and you can sneak onto a patch of grass right by someones back yard (but watch out for the prickly bush, it got me in the arm real good :angry: ! Some would consider this spot on someones property, so if someone comes out and asks yout to leave, you'd probably better do it ;) !
Further along on this residential peninsula, you will find a playground/park with a few picnic tables. From here you can get another angle of aircraft approaching for runway 02. The picnic tables are comfy.
Some of you that study the picture might also note a walkway going right around the airport perimeter. This is for walkers/jogger only, so I couldnt ride my bike there. It would certainly have some good shots though, for both 02 and 20.
Brock >nzflag<
Last edited by Charl on Tue Feb 20, 2007 9:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Charl
NZFF Pro
 
Topic author
Joined: Mon May 01, 2006 8:28 am
Posts: 9001
Location: Auckland

Postby Alex » Sat Dec 30, 2006 11:58 am

Alex for Rotorua (Improved Version):

user posted image

I've added some areas, like the apron and holding point/taxiway D in black, and the new departure area being constructed in grey.

Blue is the fence, the closest you can get to airside.

Red are spots between private hangars to the north, like the gliding club etc. You can get some good shots of some GA aircraft from here.

Yellow are spots between the long-term storage and the airport fire guys, and the tower. You may get some funny looks from the fire guys, as you walk up and down next to the airside gate. ;)

Orange are spots inside the terminal, you have to look through the glass, but you can get very close to the aircraft, as they park right in front of the terminal.

Purple are spots just inside the upstairs (closed) observation deck, and outside by the fence by stand 6. Usually the jets park at stand 6, so you can get some good, close shots of them.

Green spots are along the fence looking over towards the Aero Club and the Skydiving hangars.

Happy spotting,

Alex
Last edited by Alex on Sat Dec 30, 2006 4:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Alex
NZFF Pro
 
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2006 3:39 pm
Posts: 3620

Postby JonARNZ » Tue Jan 02, 2007 9:18 am

Another glorious day here in Welly, went out to meet a fellow simmer during a brief stop to transfer flights, snapped a few pics while I was there, as you do. The shots arent great as they were all taken behind tinted glass so have had to play with contrast, saturation etc.

My Mates aircraft, the first Dash 8 for Air Nelson and the same aircraft I flew to Tauranga in at the start of December 06

user posted image
user posted image

Lets hope the brakes work..

user posted image

Phew...

user posted image
user posted image

A quick peek at the happenings on the Qantas/International pier..

user posted image

And his transfer aircraft...

user posted image
user posted image

Spotting map

user posted image

Because of its location and layout you can pretty much go anywhere and get good views in Wellington. The green areas in the terminal show the best places inside to get good airside shots, as mentioned its all glass so you have to be prepared to play with photos afterwards to counter the green tint (1 & 3). You can get very close to 737's parked at gate 10 from the pier (2) going down to the link gates to the south. The fence near the emergency services station (4) is also great, the aircraft come past only a few feet away, security is also located in this area so you may get spoken to.

To the South are great views on days its blowing from the North. The road goes right around here so anywheres good (5). You can get on the centreline this end at runway height (6) with no fences in the way, not sure what impact the runway extension has made here as I havnt been for a while, and today's weather didnt allow a closer check. The old WW2 lookout on beacon hill (9) is also great if you have a decent zoom, here you get above the aircraft on short finals so is well worth the hike. The area around 7 is accessed by foot, great close up's of aircraft taxing to the runway as the hold short point is in this area, aircraft are very close here. The area directly under the wind sock (8) is great in the afternoon as the sun hits aircraft on approach from the south, no fences to get in the way of photos.

The western side (yellow) has an area next to the RNZAF building (10) this is great when orion's hercs the 757 and VIP's are in town. Next to Lifeflight has an area specifically for spotters (11), good for any wind conditions and great views across the apron to the terminal. Just north of that is the aeroclub, a grassed area with a hill is located here (12) allowing good views across the area, relatively free views as the hill takes you just above the fence and operations are close. Good views here of the GA area, Lifeflight, Vincent Aviation etc. Spot 13 is up a bank behind a house in the small park, excellent for southerlies as you are parallel to the touch down area and level with the runway. Point 14 is on the same street as the control tower, great views down on the threshold area, you are high enough to be above the aircraft as they land.

To the northeast (15 & 18) you can get on the centreline and side on, this is all at road level. Great views to be had on the hill in front and behind the Airways building (17 & 19) Spot 19 is also great for views down onto Peter Jacksons studios, they will be filming Dambusters soon so hopefully well get to see some Lancasters lurking on the lot. Spot 16 is specifically for spotters, was a great place until they built a blast wall directly in front once the 747 SP's started operating (then buggered off :angry: but didnt take the wall with them). You can still see good action here, even better if you cross the road and stand next to the fence, there is an emergency entrance along here so it puts you into the operations area 3 meters forward of the fence line, and the aircraft are very close here so great shots with the lens poking through the wire fence.

Hope this helps, if people are in town and want to spend some time spotting let me know. Cheers.

>nzflag<
ARNZX flightsim.co.nz
Asus Sabretooth X79 MB | i73930K CPU | 8GB DDR3 1600 C7 Ram | GTX 560Ti DCII OC | Corsair H80 Water Cooling
User avatar
JonARNZ
Senior Member
 
Joined: Sat Oct 21, 2006 12:49 pm
Posts: 1523
Location: Auckland

Postby ardypilot » Tue Jan 02, 2007 11:01 am

Excellent, a very thorough guide to Welly- I will defintly use it if I ever get to visit the capital ;)
User avatar
ardypilot
NZFF Pro
 
Joined: Wed Apr 26, 2006 10:01 am
Posts: 6803
Location: Auckland

Postby JonARNZ » Wed Jan 03, 2007 8:20 am

Trolly wrote: Excellent, a very thorough guide to Welly- I will defintly use it if I ever get to visit the capital ;)

Come on down Trolly, the flight in and out is worth the trip alone B)
ARNZX flightsim.co.nz
Asus Sabretooth X79 MB | i73930K CPU | 8GB DDR3 1600 C7 Ram | GTX 560Ti DCII OC | Corsair H80 Water Cooling
User avatar
JonARNZ
Senior Member
 
Joined: Sat Oct 21, 2006 12:49 pm
Posts: 1523
Location: Auckland

Postby ZK-KAG » Thu Jan 04, 2007 9:11 pm

ZK-KAG - Ardmore:

user posted image

1) Is located on the far corner of the airfield, although it is ideal if one is coming from Howick. Great for Runway 21 ops, Both landing and takeoff. Its on the side of the road so is a safe place to take photos.

2) Is mainly for chopper enthusiasts, as its gives a good view of the Ardmore TLOF circuit for helicopters. Also on the side of the road.

3) Is located on the airside part of the airport, but if you enter from Cessna Lane with your hazard lights on, the Unicom people usually dont mind. Keep a good look out for aircraft at all times and dont overstay your welcome as it is CAA Airside.

4) Is the most popular photo taking area at Ardmore. There are often up to 10 different photographers here at a time. Ideal spot for Runway 3 ops, as planes touch down right in front of you. When aircraft are using the grass 21, they fly very low right overhead and provide great front on shots. Fantastic shots of the Thunder Mustang can be seen here as the prop creates a great vapour when put into full throttle when taking off on runway 3.

5) Anywhere along the road between the red building (Ardmore Flying School) and #6 is good. There is parking all the way along too. Ideal for a more panoramic shot of landing aircraft on runway 3.

6) Is actually an access lane for the Shell tankers, but is a wee bit closer to the runway than #5.

6a) (Not numbered) Is Dennis Thompson Aircraft Sales. Here can be seen the coastguard 182, ZK-SAR; Citation N800DT; JetStream 45 A3-XRH; and various other aircraft for sale or just parked up.

7) Is helicopter heaven! Right outside the Eurocopter and Hawker Pacific hangars.

8) Is now where the Tecnam/Auckland Flight Training facility is, good shots back along to the threshold of Runway 3. Across the road where the "i" is, the Catalina is parked up, and one can see across to the Warbirds hangar, which often has aircraft outside.

9) Both roads are dead ends, but are 10m away from taxiway A, where many a plane taxis past. As well as that Jets, DC-3, Catalina and Warbirds taxi past for much noise and lung fulls of Jet A-1!!

10) There is a gap here in between hangars. This provides viewing to the Thunder Mustang area, as well as warbirds and often helos. A lot of aircraft (helos too)refuel here too.

11) Is a sneaky and is on private land. You arent authourised to drive in here, but if you keep your hazard lights (joint road-taxiway) on and drive slowly it shouldnt be a problem. At the end, you get superb views of the landing zone for runway 21, and also when aircraft taxi past...This place is also out of sight of the tower so is rather covert :P

Well there it is! NZAR for ya!
Happy spotting! Oh and if you have a scanner, UNICOM is on 118.100 and the AWIB is on 121.000.

~ZK-KAG~
"ZK-KAG"
"We who fly do so for the love of flying. We are alive in the air with this miracle that lies in our hands and beneath our feet"

Image
Check out all the multiplayer action @ ARNZX "FNF"
ZK-KAG
Sim-holic
 
Joined: Sun Oct 01, 2006 8:20 pm
Posts: 729
Location: Palmerston North / Auckland

Postby Kelburn » Sat Jul 21, 2007 9:27 pm

Jon, You missed gate access "B" (I think) opposite 16 literally 10m from the taxiway. Great for photos
Image

Isn't it evident?? Boeing are my favourite aircraft.

P.S. that's is my real birthday but I wish to keep my real age secret to keep you all pondering.
Kelburn
NZFF Pro
 
Joined: Sat Oct 14, 2006 10:59 am
Posts: 2193
Location: On a reverse 'hole'

Postby ZK-KAG » Sat Jul 21, 2007 9:38 pm

If you read carefully Kelburn I think you'll see its there.
"ZK-KAG"
"We who fly do so for the love of flying. We are alive in the air with this miracle that lies in our hands and beneath our feet"

Image
Check out all the multiplayer action @ ARNZX "FNF"
ZK-KAG
Sim-holic
 
Joined: Sun Oct 01, 2006 8:20 pm
Posts: 729
Location: Palmerston North / Auckland

Postby victor_alpha_charlie » Sat Jul 21, 2007 10:28 pm

Here's one more spot for watching northerly movements at NZWN. Also good for seeing what's happening at the Eagle/Sounds air end. The straight line is where i park my bike- its the easiest path up to the top. This hill has great views of nearly the whole airport. The side of the hill has been cut away- possibly to make way for a builiding. The best spot is right at the edge of the artificial 'cliff'. You'll see what I mean when you get there. If taking photos, you will need a camera/lens that will zoom well.
Last edited by victor_alpha_charlie on Sat Jul 21, 2007 10:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
victor_alpha_charlie
NZFF Pro
 
Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2007 11:09 am
Posts: 2372

Postby Blabzillaweasel » Sat Dec 08, 2007 9:13 am

Can Some One Get Some good spots for hamilton?
Image
User avatar
Blabzillaweasel
Member
 
Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2007 4:18 pm
Posts: 124
Location: Hamilton, Waikato

Postby greaneyr » Sat Dec 08, 2007 7:47 pm

Blabzillaweasel wrote:
QUOTE (Blabzillaweasel @ Dec 8 2007, 10:13 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Can Some One Get Some good spots for hamilton?


Sadly, I think Hamilton falls into the same boat as Palmerston North (no, I don't mean that it is another city that NZers love to bag because it's not close to a) Mountains or b) the sea) in that it also has cr@p imagery on Google Earth. This doesn't mean nobody will have locations, but just makes it a lot more difficult for anyone with the knowledge to illustrate it. I'd do a spotters guide to Palmerston North given a decent image.

Richard
User avatar
greaneyr
Forum Addict
 
Joined: Fri Nov 16, 2007 9:53 pm
Posts: 459
Location: Palmerston North

Postby ardypilot » Thu Mar 13, 2008 5:48 pm

I'll be venturing to Wellington for the first time soon, and am keen to do a bit of spotting.

Am I right in thinking there is a road underneath the centre of the airport, running east to west? And can you walk through it? If not, how long does it take to walk around the end of the runway way?
User avatar
ardypilot
NZFF Pro
 
Joined: Wed Apr 26, 2006 10:01 am
Posts: 6803
Location: Auckland

Postby A185F » Thu Mar 13, 2008 6:33 pm

it's a walking tunnel underneath, can be a bit dodgy at the best of times though. Comes out just by the aeroclub. Much much quicker than walking around. Im sure a few people on here will be more up to date than me, it's been a while since I've been wandering around there...
User avatar
A185F
Sim-holic
 
Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2007 9:25 pm
Posts: 613
Location: right behind my laptop

Postby Kelburn » Sat Apr 19, 2008 8:57 am

That tunnel isn't that bad (better if you have a bike)
Image

Isn't it evident?? Boeing are my favourite aircraft.

P.S. that's is my real birthday but I wish to keep my real age secret to keep you all pondering.
Kelburn
NZFF Pro
 
Joined: Sat Oct 14, 2006 10:59 am
Posts: 2193
Location: On a reverse 'hole'

Postby d3fai13r » Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:45 pm

Does anyone get info about CHC? Really interested in positions for taking photos between 9am to 3 pm
Last edited by d3fai13r on Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
d3fai13r
Forum Addict
 
Joined: Wed Jun 25, 2008 11:10 pm
Posts: 201
Location: KBP/AKL

Postby benwynn » Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:51 pm

CHC doesnt have too many spots without a car. There is the Domestic Terminal observation deck which is pretty good, then you can walk up to the fence right next to the international apron. Other than that Im not sure their is too much, I will let the locals correct me..
User avatar
benwynn
Senior Member
 
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2007 9:11 pm
Posts: 1433
Location: YBBN

Postby d3fai13r » Thu Feb 05, 2009 9:09 pm

thanks for info, Ill be without car, just want to make "outside" spotting morning and afternoon in CHC, evening in WLG
d3fai13r
Forum Addict
 
Joined: Wed Jun 25, 2008 11:10 pm
Posts: 201
Location: KBP/AKL

Postby Ian Warren » Thu Feb 05, 2009 9:13 pm

benwynn wrote:
QUOTE (benwynn @ Feb 5 2009, 09:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
CHC doesnt have too many spots without a car. There is the Domestic Terminal observation deck which is pretty good, then you can walk up to the fence right next to the international apron. Other than that Im not sure their is too much, I will let the locals correct me..

Its the best airport in New Zealand for photos anywhere , could be 02 - 20 , the northwesters 11 - 29 would equal the Wellingtonian shooter spots , the terminal will change very shortly due to major reconstruction .. lets hope they read a little from history about all and many who go out and enjoy the chance to watch up close and they build/create an observation deck for us and joe public . As for having a .. too many spots without a car , on ya BIKE ! ... the places ya can go a car can't winkyy.gif
Last edited by Ian Warren on Thu Feb 05, 2009 9:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Image
User avatar
Ian Warren
NZFF Pro
 
Joined: Fri May 05, 2006 5:23 pm
Posts: 41187
Location: AREA 51

Postby Chairman » Thu Feb 05, 2009 9:14 pm

greaneyr wrote:
QUOTE (greaneyr @ Dec 8 2007, 08:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Sadly, I think Hamilton falls into the same boat as Palmerston North (no, I don't mean that it is another city that NZers love to bag because it's not close to a) Mountains or b) the sea) in that it also has cr@p imagery on Google Earth. This doesn't mean nobody will have locations, but just makes it a lot more difficult for anyone with the knowledge to illustrate it. I'd do a spotters guide to Palmerston North given a decent image.

Richard


Palmerston North now has hi-res coverage. I think this is fairly recent, I remember looking there for something a few months ago and it was still the low-res stuff.

Gary
The above post is in the public domain and is guaranteed by the manufacturer to contain no references to anything illegal or discussion of piracy, although this signature may contain traces of nuts.
Chairman
Sim-holic
 
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:07 pm
Posts: 912

Postby Ian Warren » Thu Feb 05, 2009 9:20 pm

d3fai13r wrote:
QUOTE (d3fai13r @ Feb 5 2009, 10:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
thanks for info, Ill be without car, just want to make "outside" spotting morning and afternoon in CHC, evening in WLG

Hell s matey , the things ya miss at CHC ...... mmm maybe a sideline biz .. airport tours on the sweet-wheel
Image
User avatar
Ian Warren
NZFF Pro
 
Joined: Fri May 05, 2006 5:23 pm
Posts: 41187
Location: AREA 51

Next

Return to New Zealand Aviation Photography

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests