Spotting at JFK

[steve1840]

I have a quick question about spotting at JFK.

I don't have the time to take off from work during the week so I would have to come down on a Saturday. What is the air traffic like at JFK on Saturday mornings? Are there many international arrivals/departures on saturdays? I would like to catch some 747s and 777s. And even some 340s.

[Delta777LR]

Well Domestic flight are not all that busy like during the week. If you plan to spot on a Saturday, from morning till sunset, the 747s you are likely to catch is Air China which comes around noon time, a couple of BAs, Virgin Atlantic which comes sometime after 2pm, Delta, which is around 130pm, and possibly some freighters.. 777s, you will have plenty to get from late morning throughout the day.. After 9am u will see 777s from JAL, Korean Air, ANA.. Most of many 777s come in the afternoon, like BA, AA, PK, Egypt Ar, KLM, and TK.. The A340s, around 12 till late afternoon you will see Virgin Atlantic, Air France, Lufthansa, Etihad, Iberia, Royal Jordanian if light is still good..

[steve1840]

Thanks for the info Sergio.

Also, how is the light for the afternoon shots (on a clear day)? Is that the time of day that most of the shots you guys post on here are taken?

I definitely am looking forward to making it down there one of these saturdays.

[chrisparypa]

What runways we are talking about ?? :) most of the pictures is taken from the fireston spot 31R arrivals... Im pretty sure thats the runway for saturday afternoon, morning Bayswater and departures 4L arrivals 4R (hope so)... Im planning to be around for the whole day tomorrow....

[gonzalu]

OK, here is the most recent experience at JFK as witnessed by me...

Most of the time, JFK seems to prefer the 31s. Indeed when winds are calm and they could use any RWY, they will stick to the 31s. I believe this has to do with the fact that it is likely the best setup for minimizing noise pollution!

So, with that in mind, if winds are from the south, you will see 22s, if from north, the 4s, and rarely if from the east, the 13s. The last one is self explanatory :-0

Now to the traffic. Typical mornings you are likely to get

INBOUND:

Asiana 222 (777)
ANA 10 (777)
Singapore 26 (747)
China Air
Saudi Airlines 23 (777)
JAL 6 (777)
South African 203 (340)
Air France 22 (777)
Korean Air 81 (777)
British Air 117 (747)
Swiss Air 16 (330)
Cathay Pacific (777)

and every combo of Delta and American heavy you can think of with the exception of an American 747 or Airbus as they have none. Delta has a few 747s, A330s and lots of 767s... never seen a 777 in Delta colors! but be prepared to miss a lot of Delta heavies on the "other" runway...


OUTBOUND:

China Airlines
British Air
LAN Chile
South African
Korean Air
Emirates
Air India
ANA
JAL
Asiana
Evergreen sometimes
Cathay

I would just spend the morning on outbounds and the afternoon with the rest of the arrivals from Etihad to Austrian, Aer Lingus, Turkish, Iberia, etc. etc.

[Zee71]

Additonally, there are some cargo departures you can catch in the morning 8-ish (I would try to get there before 8). Some are:

- FedEx
- UPS
- DHL
- Lufthansa

[gonzalu]

What runways we are talking about ?? :) most of the pictures is taken from the fireston spot 31R arrivals... Im pretty sure thats the runway for saturday afternoon, morning Bayswater and departures 4L arrivals 4R (hope so)... Im planning to be around for the whole day tomorrow....

Chris,

While JFK ATC will usually favor the 31s, it is dictated by the winds. Even if the winds are calm, they will shut down 31s and go to 22s to clean up, inspect the 31s and also I would venture to guess noise abatement so as to give the neighbors a break. But it really comes down to the winds, winds control the runways ;-)

[gonzalu]

BTW, that being said, I have seen Air Force one take off completely against the winds... they cleared it on a runway they picked the last time. :-) Winds were strong from the west and they just picked 22L and took right off...

[JDANDO]

BTW, that being said, I have seen Air Force one take off completely against the winds... they cleared it on a runway they picked the last time. :-) Winds were strong from the west and they just picked 22L and took right off...

AF1 does what ever it wants. I think it has a lot to do with the shortest taxi distance to where ever the limos are. This is one reason I am 0/2 in catching it landing at MSP.

[steve1840]

Thanks for the info guys! I am hoping to come down not next Saturday, but the following Saturday. I believe that would be Feb 5th. If I decide to go I'll post a thread. It would definitely be great to share the day spotting with a few of you guys and get some tips and guidance from the experts, especially since you guys know your way around down there.

[gonzalu]

Well, when it comes to the spots, we can help a bit, but for photography, you better look elsewhere, I still SUCK a huge lot compared to others ;-)

[steve1840]

im starting to get the hang of photographing the aircraft that Im spotting. At least when the light is good. Although I will never turn down somebody's good advice when it comes to photography.

And, I wouldn't say you suck Manny, at least not from what I've seen you post in the forum. If you want to see photos that suck check out my photos in my PHL-BNA thread. Those suck.

And I definitely could you the help when it comes to the spots down there.

[gonzalu]

Thanks Steve... that is the magic of the DELETE button... and I use it a lot!!

[steve1840]

I know what you mean Manny. On my Nashville trip I easily took 70-100 shots at the airports and as you can see I have only felt that 4 or 5 were even slightly worthy of being posted. I just hope that when I make the 2.5 hour drive down to JFK that the sun is out and the skies are clear. THat would definitely suck to drive that far for bad light.