KC-135 - Passing gas & taking names!
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I have been very busy and wasn't aware that this thread was going so I was just informed of it today and read thru all the posts to catch up. That being said i had some thoughts.
The rules at ORD are the same as any other airport. Public-location spotting is fine,.... there just aren't many public spots around Chicago O'Hare from which to do planespotting. Private property surrounds nearly the entire perimeter of ORD, with a few exceptions. This does not make it easy to tackle 7 (soon to be 8 and ultimately 10) runways, 14 different approach/departure routes, three arrival streams and 4 departure runways. At any given time at ORD there are 6 active runways in continuous use. JFK (including all the law-enforcement, wildlife and other miscellaneous hassles) is a piece of cake compared to Chicago O'Hare so the program is cool and beneficial.
As for the vests? Sure, they are probably overkill but it also needs to be realized that they help serve the same purpose as a neighborhood watch. Crime has dropped significantly in the neighborhoods and around the businesses surrounding O'Hare (according to local police departments) since ORD Airport Watch was founded due to the fact that people know that we report ANY suspicious activity. As for terrorism? Yeah, "see something, say something" but we are not swashbuckling the badguys. CNN did a good job but there is room for improvement.
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ORD Airport Watch members are NOT allowed to disobey public signage. We are allowed to go lots of places that non-members are not because of arranged approval. Members are informed of new locations and such. You don't need to be registered with the police for an already legal activity.
The orange vests are overkill if on public property. Also, yes, we are allowed access to ramps sometimes and I have even been on spotting bus tours with the group at Chicago O'Hare as a civilian during pre-arranged spotting events. We drive all over the runways, taxiways, ramps, whatever. The orange vests come in very handy and are mandatory for those events.
Planespotting at ORD is legal and requires nothing more than at any other airport as long as you stay on the existing slivers of public property around the airport. As for the 4th picture? Remember. It's a CNN article.
And yes, i'm writing a lot of replies here since not many other members of ORD Airport Watch are saying anything on this forum. There is some need for clarification on several things.
1) ORD is surrounded by private property... there are exceptions but they aren't where you want to take pictures from. Using it without permission is trespassing.
2) Crime and Chicago go hand in hand. We also work as a neighborhood watch and report suspicious activity. Crime has significantly dropped in may areas that we work.
3) of course we spot at ORD without a vest or I.D. .... if we're on public property.
4) there's no program at JFK because they have usable public property. Many other airports do too (including yours).
Study up on locations to planespot at Chicago O'Hare and then come back after you've done your homework. ORD is not your typical international airport. I've been spotting for 17+ years all around the country and with the amount of private property we have at ORD it is needed in order to find locations to legally spot. Private property owners are often unwilling to allow citizens on their property due to the suspicion of crime as it is common is some areas.
ORD Airport Watch is NOT the police. We simply report what we see. The article is good but does not reflect the program in every way.
The reason it's "join or don't spot" in most cases is due to the lack of public property to spot from. If you want to go hang out on a sliver of public property here on the south-side of ORD and see what you can see from there you are welcome to. You will be screwed as airplanes use all 7 runways instead of 1. If you want to get serious and see special airplanes you will need to visit private property. This will require you to either join the Watch so we, and everyone else, knows you're OK or you will need to make friends with local business owners who are located underneath a busy approach. Due to the amount of crime in the area, business owners are not interested in making friends sometimes.
This article by SpottersWiki is cool but is not accurate in some respects.
USG is acceptable. Balmoral is OK as long as you do the article says. Allstate Arena is OK if they are OK with you spotting there (permission required). The old Aviation World parking lot is OK for now but may not be soon.
Spotting from any of the parking lots is unallowed if it is company (rent-a-car) owned. No areas near south cargo are OK. Don't spot from anywhere near ORD on the northeast side. No spotting is allowed near the airport on the entire north or northwest sides if you are on private property. Spotting at Thornton's on the west side is not allowed. Beeline is OK but you must stay on the roadside. Irving park road is largely off-limits due to south airport construction.
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