KPHL Philadelphia International Airport Spotting

[Aviation.High.Guy]

I will be down in the Philly area and I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good spotting vantage point.
Thanks

[RWB]

Try to hook up with Paul Kanagie, he seems to be there a lot, his site.. http://phlairline.com/ there's a link to a spotting map on the site.

[gonzalu]

Stay at the Airport Marriott and get a room overlooking the Ramp/Runways... absolutely perfect location although Windows don't open :-(

http://pictures.mannyphoto.com/Airplanes/Spotting/PHL-10022011

[lijk604]

Hog Island Rd, park on the side of the street opposite the airport and have fun!

[Steven Holzinger]

You can always use my PHL spotting guide:

http://www.zingeraviation.com/spotting-phl.html

[megatop412]

Don I am originally from NY but I live near and shoot mainly at PHL now. When are you coming down? I'd be happy to meet you and show you around. I'll be out of town this weekend though.

On Hog Island Road, you want to stick to parking on the side opposite the fence. You do that and the police ignore you for the most part. Besides the area by the Sunoco tanks for 27R landings, further up the road past UPS there is a gravel lot you can park in and get some nice 27L takeoff shots. If they're on the 9's you can get landings a little further west from that spot and takeoffs back by the tanks. Additionally, you can get some nice GA traffic landing on 26 or departing rwy 8 by the entrance to Fort Mifflin. The FBO is Atlantic Aviation and sometimes there are large charter aircraft parked there, so bring a wide angle lens if you have one. And finally, if the winds are acceptable a fair amount of traffic is sent to 35 and you can get some excellently lit shots a few hundred feet east of the control tower. Can't do much to get rwy 17 arrivals though.

You can get a few shots through the fence but I wouldn't loiter there- get the shot and cross back to the other side of the road. I have shot from the top of the parking garage but the field is always backlit from there. The hotel Manny mentioned is usable, but because the windows are usually tinted and dirty, and again it's backlit, shots usually come out less than desireable.

I'm also a member of phlairline.com, which as mentioned Paul is the admin for. Nice guy and has a wealth of PHL info. See my dropshots page below for the kind of traffic you can expect to see.

[Delta777LR]

I spotted from off runway 9 near where the UPS building is. you can actually stand on the abanded train track across the way and you can get great lighting from early morning till late afternoon.

Heres a shot I took off Rwy 9 back in 09 at PHL
http://www.nycaviation.com/hosting/IMG_3255.jpg

[Aviation.High.Guy]

Stay at the Airport Marriott and get a room overlooking the Ramp/Runways... absolutely perfect location although Windows don't open :-(

http://pictures.mannyphoto.com/Airplanes/Spotting/PHL-10022011

Manny- That's what crowbars are for ;)

[Aviation.High.Guy]

Thanks all.

[Aviation.High.Guy]

Sounds good. I will drop you a line before I come down. It's hit or miss for me. I'm typically in Philly for business a couple of days a month.
Next time I have a half day meeting there I'll do an afternoon, or morning of spotting. Thanks for the tips!
Don



Don I am originally from NY but I live near and shoot mainly at PHL now. When are you coming down? I'd be happy to meet you and show you around. I'll be out of town this weekend though.

On Hog Island Road, you want to stick to parking on the side opposite the fence. You do that and the police ignore you for the most part. Besides the area by the Sunoco tanks for 27R landings, further up the road past UPS there is a gravel lot you can park in and get some nice 27L takeoff shots. If they're on the 9's you can get landings a little further west from that spot and takeoffs back by the tanks. Additionally, you can get some nice GA traffic landing on 26 or departing rwy 8 by the entrance to Fort Mifflin. The FBO is Atlantic Aviation and sometimes there are large charter aircraft parked there, so bring a wide angle lens if you have one. And finally, if the winds are acceptable a fair amount of traffic is sent to 35 and you can get some excellently lit shots a few hundred feet east of the control tower. Can't do much to get rwy 17 arrivals though.

You can get a few shots through the fence but I wouldn't loiter there- get the shot and cross back to the other side of the road. I have shot from the top of the parking garage but the field is always backlit from there. The hotel Manny mentioned is usable, but because the windows are usually tinted and dirty, and again it's backlit, shots usually come out less than desireable.

I'm also a member of phlairline.com, which as mentioned Paul is the admin for. Nice guy and has a wealth of PHL info. See my dropshots page below for the kind of traffic you can expect to see.

[Aviation.High.Guy]

Hey Sergio, nice 73 shot!