SpottersWiki - User contributions [en]

Austin Bergstrom International Airport

2017-03-25T16:20:10Z

Jturf83:

{{categorybox|North America|United States|Texas}}

{{infobox|fullname=Austin Bergstrom International Airport|
location=Austin, Texas|
iata=AUS|
icao=KAUS|
aptype=Mixed-Use Commerical|
website=http://www.abia.org|
mapurl=http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/austinairport/genermap.htm|
mapsource=City of Austin|
atctower=118.225(West), 121.0(East)|
atcground=121.9|
atcclearance=125.5|
atcapproach=118.8(17L/R) 119.0(35L/R)|
atcdeparture=118.8(17L/R) 119.0(35L/R)|
atcatis=124.4|
atcunicom=122.95}}

The airport began operations in 1999, after it was converted from the old Bergstrom AFB, ending an infamous era in Austin aviation. There has been jokes that the approach at the old airport, Robert Mueller, was so close over Interstate 35 that pilots had to quickly retract the landing gear prior to touchdown. The old facilities also left much to be desired as they were small and inadequate for a growing city. Currently, ABIA is also almost growing to be too small for its needs, but citizens have often protested that such a new airport should not have to encounter such problems yet.

==Official Spotting Locations==

===Family Viewing Area===
The official spotting location is the Family Viewing Area, located near the State Aircraft Pooling Board (fancy talk for where aircraft belonging to the State of Texas gets maintained and stored.) To get to the viewing area from I-35, exit Ben White/290/71 East and follow it past the airport, turn right at Golf Course Rd. (first road after Presidential Blvd) and follow it until the end. From 183, take the 71 East exit, turn right at Golf Course Rd. and follow it until the end.

The viewing area faces west to runway 17L/35R, so it is only good for photography during the morning hours. Probably only about 30% of all commercial traffic uses this runway, for landings it's even less. Most traffic on this runway is GA.

==Other Spotting Locations==

===Live Oak Brewing===

Live Oak Brewing offers views of aircraft approaching from the north.

==Locations to Avoid==

There is a nice place right on the 17R approach path at a cemetery at the end of Riverside Dr. Anyone there who is not visiting one of the deceased will be asked to leave.

There is a large pile of dirt located next to the GA hangars. Although it will give you a great vantage point for landings on 35R and aircraft taxiing back to the terminal after landing on 17L, it will get you in trouble.

If you go exploring around that area, you will also find a large open area near the National Guard hangar that will put you within touching distance of aircraft taxiing to 35L. It goes without saying that spotters aren't welcome back there.

There is a point at Burleson Rd. where it makes an S turn and there is a guard-rail. Behind the guard-rail may seem like a great place to spot (and it is as it is directly under the final approach for 35R,) but due to the heavy flow of car traffic, most likely some driver-by will call Austin Police and they will be even more troublesome than if Airport Police stopped by.

==Regular Traffic==
*Aeromar (CRJ-200)
*Air Canada (CRJ-700)
*Airborne Express (767-200)
*Alaska (737-900, E175)
*Allegiant (MD-80, A320)
*American (MD-80, 737-800, A319, A321)
**American Eagle (ERJ-135/145, E170, CRJ-900)
*British Airways (787-9, 777-200)
*Condor (767-300)
*Delta (717, 737-800, 757-200, A319, A320, MD-90)
**Delta Connection (CRJ-700/900, E175)
*FedEx (DC-10, MD-10, Cessna 208B)
*Frontier (A319, A320)
*JetBlue (A320, E190)
*Southwest (737-300/700/800)
*United (A319, A320, 737-700/800/900)
**United Express (CRJ-700, ERJ-145, E170/175)
*UPS (A300)
*Virgin America (A319, A320)

==Other Traffic==

Airborne Express also fly in an A300 and a DC-8 on Sundays.

UPS sometimes flies 757s. There are also some rare cargo visits by 747s and 727s.

Austin has received diversions of [[IAH]]- and [[DFW]]-bound jets in the past, mostly due to weather. This happens more during the summer months than winter.

==Facilities and Transportation==

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

2016-06-30T19:38:39Z

Jturf83: updated out-of-date website url

{{categorybox|North America|United States|Virginia}}

{{infobox|fullname=Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport|
location=Arlington, Virginia|
iata=DCA|
icao=KDCA|
aptype=Commercial|
website=http://www.flyreagan.com/dca/reagan-national-airport|
mapurl=http://maps.google.com/maps?q=DCA&ll=38.851239,-77.041841&spn=0.028480,0.064579&t=h&hl=en|
mapsource=Google Maps|
atctower=119.1|
atcground=121.7|
atcclearance=128.25|
atcapproach=119.85 (West) 124.2 (East)|
atcdeparture=118.95 (West) 125.65 (East)|
atcatis=132.65|
atcunicom=122.95|
psh=http://www.plane-spotting-hotels.com/index.php/plane-spotting-washington-national/}}

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) is the closest airport to our nation’s capital, as it is situated directly across the Potomac River from Washington DC. The airport handles over 20 million passengers a year.

==Official Spotting Locations==

There are no official spotting locations at DCA.

==Other Spotting Locations==

===Gravely Point===
Spotters are blessed with an amazing vantage point just north of the airport, called Gravely Point. The south end of the park is about a quarter mile from the threshold of runway 19. This offers great shots of both departures and arrivals. The arrivals come in very low, so I recommend ear plugs for those who have sensitive ears. The park has its own free parking and you will be largely undisturbed, as this people have been taking pictures from there for years. Many times you will be standing among several tourists and sports players just watching the airport activity.
{{anetlink|1344187}} (MD-82 taking off runway 1 with approaching plane behind)

===Walking Paths===
There is a path going from Gravely Point to the south side of the airport and beyond that hugs the airport boundary. The path goes 200ft behind runway 15 (regional traffic runway) at its closest point, but a jet-blast/prop-wash wall blocks any good shots. At another point, the path goes up onto a bridge, which offers a good view of runways 15 and 19. There is another bridge farther south towards the US Airways gates of the new terminal. You will need a good lens to get decent shots here, due to the distance. You can make your way from the path up to the top of the parking garages for a different angle. This offers a good shot of the terminal.
At the south end of the airport, while still on the walking path, you can get a nice view of the GA terminal, though you will have to contend with cars in a parking lot.

''Be aware that the walking path does have a good deal of other people using it, to include bikers, skaters and other pedestrians.''

This is not so much of a problem until you get on the bridges, where there is limited space for the path.

==Locations to Avoid==

===Walking Paths===
As long as you stay in the Gravely Point Park area and blend in with other visitors of the park, you are unlikely to be approached by the police. However, if you move closer to the fence, especially when there are few people in the park (early morning) and especially along the walking path between the park and the terminal, you stand out and are more likely to be questioned, have your ID ready.

==Regular Traffic==
Most jet traffic uses the main runway 1-19. Landings to the south follow the Potomac river and make a 40° turn over the George Mason bridge. This unusual arrival procedure is similar to Kai-Tak's infamous IGS 13 approach but without heavy jets. Prohibited airspace north of the airport containing the White House and Capitol mandates this procedure. The Washington Monument also would be a hindrance to safe navigation. Commuter planes may often use the smaller runways 4-22 and 15-33. General Aviation and non scheduled charters were not allowed into Reagan National when the airport reopened after the 9/11 attacks. Beginning in October 2005 some general aviation aircraft have been allowed to return. They must have passenger manifests submitted 24 hours in advance. Pilots must be fingerprinted and undergo background checks. The plane, passengers and flight crew must be screened at a designated gateway airport and an armed marshall must be onboard. Due to the complex requirements general aviation traffic remains a rarity. Sports team charters on commercial airliners continue to use [[KIAD|Dulles]] because of these restrictions.

==Facilities and Transportation==

Ronald Reagan Airport has direct rail service into the nation’s capital via the WMATA system, which has a Yellow/Blue Line Metro stop at the airport.

==External Links==

*[http://www.washbaltspotters.net/ WashBaltSpotters.net] - Washington Baltimore Spotters Group - containing information about the area airports, spotting guides, traffic, news and photos
*[http://www.flyiad.net/ FlyIAD.net] - Spotters Guide to Washington DC Area Arports
*[http://www.dctower.net/ DCTower.net] - Flight info, weather, photos, forums, and much more for DCA & IAD

Austin Bergstrom International Airport

2016-06-30T18:58:32Z

Jturf83: Some minor updates to the regular commercial traffic. Removed US Airways and merged into American Airlines, added Condor and Air Canada.

{{categorybox|North America|United States|Texas}}

{{infobox|fullname=Austin Bergstrom International Airport|
location=Austin, Texas|
iata=AUS|
icao=KAUS|
aptype=Mixed-Use Commerical|
website=http://www.abia.org|
mapurl=http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/austinairport/genermap.htm|
mapsource=City of Austin|
atctower=118.225(West), 121.0(East)|
atcground=121.9|
atcclearance=125.5|
atcapproach=118.8(17L/R) 119.0(35L/R)|
atcdeparture=118.8(17L/R) 119.0(35L/R)|
atcatis=124.4|
atcunicom=122.95}}

The airport began operations in 1999, after it was converted from the old Bergstrom AFB, ending an infamous era in Austin aviation. There has been jokes that the approach at the old airport, Robert Mueller, was so close over Interstate 35 that pilots had to quickly retract the landing gear prior to touchdown. The old facilities also left much to be desired as they were small and inadequate for a growing city. Currently, ABIA is also almost growing to be too small for its needs, but citizens have often protested that such a new airport should not have to encounter such problems yet. Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, and Continental Airlines are the airport's dominant carriers.

==Official Spotting Locations==
===Family Viewing Area===
The official spotting location is the Family Viewing Area, located near the State Aircraft Pooling Board (fancy talk for where aircraft belonging to the State of Texas gets maintained and stored.) To get to the viewing area from I-35, exit Ben White/290/71 East and follow it past the airport, turn right at Golf Course Rd. (first road after Presidential Blvd) and follow it until the end. From 183, take the 71 East exit, turn right at Golf Course Rd. and follow it until the end.

The viewing area faces west to runway 17L/35R, so it is only good for photography during the morning hours. Probably only about 30% of all commercial traffic uses this runway, for landings it's even less. Most traffic on this runway is GA.

==Locations to Avoid==

There is a nice place right on the 17R approach path at a cemetery at the end of Riverside Dr. Anyone there who is not visiting one of the deceased will be asked to leave.

There is a large pile of dirt located next to the GA hangars. Although it will give you a great vantage point for landings on 35R and aircraft taxiing back to the terminal after landing on 17L, it will get you in trouble.

If you go exploring around that area, you will also find a large open area near the National Guard hangar that will put you within touching distance of aircraft taxiing to 35L. It goes without saying that spotters aren't welcome back there.

There is a point at Burleson Rd. where it makes an S turn and there is a guard-rail. Behind the guard-rail may seem like a great place to spot (and it is as it is directly under the final approach for 35R,) but due to the heavy flow of car traffic, most likely some driver-by will call Austin Police and they will be even more troublesome than if Airport Police stopped by.

==Regular Traffic==
*Aeromar (CRJ-200)
*Air Canada (CRJ-700)
*Airborne Express (767-200)
*Alaska (737-900, E175)
*Allegiant (MD-80, A320)
*American (MD-80, 737-800, A319, A321)
**American Eagle (ERJ-135/145, E170, CRJ-900)
*British Airways (787-8, 777-200)
*Condor (767-300)
*Delta (737-800, 757-200, A319, A320, MD-90)
**Delta Connection (CRJ-700/900, E175)
*FedEx (DC-10, MD-10)
*Frontier (A319)
*JetBlue (A320, E190)
*Southwest (737-300/500/700/800)
*United (A319, A320, 737-700/800/900)
**United Express (CRJ-700, ERJ-145, E170/175)
*UPS (A300)
*Virgin America (A319, A320)

==Other Traffic==

Airborne Express also fly in an A300 and a DC-8 on Sundays.

UPS sometimes flies 757s. There are also some rare cargo visits by 747s and 727s.

Austin has received diversions of [[IAH]]- and [[DFW]]-bound jets in the past, mostly due to weather. This happens more during the summer months than winter.

==Facilities and Transportation==