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  • Fly in, spot, fly back?

    Guys,

    Have any of you done this: fly to an airport (abroad) not too far away, just to go spotting and go back the same day?

    Is it, for instance, a good idea to fly from Amsterdam to Manchester, take pictures there and return the same day?

    Hinkelbein

  • #2
    Yes, flew LGW-DUS for a day to visit the great deck there in June.

    Comment


    • #3
      Kenny this the story of my life(and a lot more besides me).I have a day trip to Madrid penciled in for next month...out early with Ryanair from DUB and back that night with Aer Lingus.I have also done numerous flights in the past to Heathrow and Frankfurt for the day.
      The only thing about a day trip is there has to be an early out and a late flight back but it does not have to be with the same airline as you can see from my upcoming Madrid trip.
      It also tends to be much cheaper in general to do a day trip on a Tuesday to Thursday.

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      • #4
        From Amsterdam you can fly to Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and to Geneva for a day trip.
        I do it every year more than once!


        Maybe there are more destinations possible.
        Just chek the airline fares.
        From Amsterdam, Easyjet has some good offers.

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        • #5
          Thanks guys!
          Are the airports you all mentioned spotter-friendly?
          for instance, are there panorama terraces, like we have at EHAM/Schiphol?

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          • #6
            Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton can be done as a day trip without problem. No viewing decks, but you can get in the approach easily. Gatwick can be a bit tricky if they come in from the west but also doable if you don't mind to walk for an hour or so.

            Manchester is doable, but not advisable for a day trip. Don't get me wrong, good views can be had from the terminal area (parking tower mainly but also the terminal 1 food court). But the best views are too far from the terminal to be practical for a day return. Those views are worth staying a night or two in a hotel. In fact, there is a decent hotel near the mound southside but I forgot the name (it's from a large hotel chain, Holiday Inn?). Just avoid the Britannia hotel at all cost, I've been there, trust me, avoid it!

            Madrid can be done as well if you time it well. No viewing deck, but there is a mound overlooking one of the main taxiways you can walk to from the terminal. Ryanair flies (flew?) to Eindhoven with reasonable schedule for a day trip. When I went there a few years ago I arrived at 11ish and flew back at 5 or 6 in the morning. Obviously for such a short night you might as well stay at the airport instead of at a hotel. You'll understand that my performance at the office later that day was not at peak efficiency!

            I've been to Geneva once. It's a nice place but I don't think there are many interesting movements to see. A far better alternative is Zurich which you can also do on a one-day trip. It is advisable to make it two days though. Most the interesting arrivals are very early and the views from the parking garage as they come in to land can't be beat anywhere. Zurich has a very good viewing platform, although the sun´s angle can be a hassle.
            Please visit my website! http://www.schipholspotter.com/

            Don't make me use uppercase...

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Hinkelbein View Post
              Guys,

              Have any of you done this: fly to an airport (abroad) not too far away, just to go spotting and go back the same day?

              Hinkelbein
              Point is: it can be done "easily"!
              Problem is: "Time and Money"!

              Comment


              • #8
                I'm no expert but this summer I went to Zurich for more or less 24 hours - with my car. The first day, I arrived in the afternoon and used the HeliGrill area for spotting. The next day - very early in the morning (5:45am) I went to parking 3 to see all the heavies arriving. As soon as the sun moved a bit I went to Oberglatt (9:30am) and finally returned to the Heligrill (11:50am) once again.
                All these movements would have been quite difficult without a car as my friend Erez can confirm. He moved around -alone- with public transportation but nonetheless walked a lot. When we teamed up and used my car, things were much smoother.
                Zurich is a fine airport for spotting but in my humble opinion, a car makes things much easier.
                Cheers!

                Comment


                • #9
                  One day trip

                  BGY-MAD-BGY May 2010 FR

                  MXP-DUS-MXP May 2011 AB

                  VRN-FCO-VRN Aug 2011 AZ

                  two days trip:

                  BLQ-FRA (HHN)-BLQ aug 2009 FR

                  BLQ-FRA (HHN)-BLQ May 2011 FR

                  VRN-FCO-VRN Aug 2010 AZ.

                  VRN-AMS-VRN Sep 2010 HV

                  Cheers!
                  Fabrizio

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Petertenthije View Post
                    I've been to Geneva once. It's a nice place but I don't think there are many interesting movements to see. A far better alternative is Zurich which you can also do on a one-day trip.
                    Far more special traffic in Geneva than Zürich (GVA is a very big VIP platform). ZRH is better when it comes to the heavy traffic but nothing is more boring than an afternoon in ZRH when all the heavies are gone...
                    ZRH has the big advantage of having a good terrass if you don't want to move around the airport.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by B7772ADL View Post
                      Yes, flew LGW-DUS for a day to visit the great deck there in June.
                      I've done that trip too!

                      DUS is a very easy airport to fly into and then spot, the light is good on the deck, there is a lot of space so you can get a variety of angles, you can get some touch down shots depending on runway use and the light. They also have a second deck at the other end of the runway.

                      Downsides is... traffic gets repetitive!
                      Chris Sharps
                      5D3 | 5D2 | 7D | 1D2 | 10D | 400D | 1V | 3
                      17-40F4L | 24-105F4LIS | 70-200F2.8LIS | 100-400LIS
                      24F1.4L II | 50F1.2L | 85F1.2L II | 15F2.8 Fisheye | 50F1.4 | 100F2.8 Macro
                      1.4x | 550EX x2

                      Fuji X100

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