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Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Difference between revisions
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Doncaster Sheffield Airport is situated south of Doncaster, formerly known as RAF Finningley. Doncaster Sheffield Airport is a relatively quiet Airport, with the majority of operations(during the COVID-19 Pandemic) being Cargo flights and General Aviation. | Doncaster Sheffield Airport is situated south of Doncaster, formerly known as RAF Finningley. Doncaster Sheffield Airport is a relatively quiet Airport, with the majority of operations (during the COVID-19 Pandemic) being Cargo flights and General Aviation. | ||
Doncaster Sheffield Airport is home to numerous flying schools, and you can expect flights with these most days. 2 Excel Aviation also have a base here at Doncaster Sheffield, where they operate and maintain aircraft for the Oil Spill Response team, notably a fleet of 2 Boeing | Doncaster Sheffield Airport is home to numerous flying schools, and you can expect flights with these most days. 2 Excel Aviation also have a base here at Doncaster Sheffield, where they operate and maintain aircraft for the Oil Spill Response team, notably a fleet of 2 Boeing 727s and Piper PA-31s. More recently (at the time of writing), Doncaster has been home to 4 Vulcanair P68's operated by the National Police Air Service (NPAS) out of their own purpose built Hangar at the airport. | ||
Well worth stopping by if you're in the area though, and the authorities are very friendly to spotters. | Well worth stopping by if you're in the area though, and the authorities are very friendly to spotters. | ||
==Official Spotting Locations== | ==Official Spotting Locations== | ||
There are no official spotting locations as yet. | There are no official spotting locations as yet. | ||
==Other Spotting Locations== | ==Other Spotting Locations== | ||
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To access this location, go back to the roundabout previously mentioned and take the exit signposted Finningley. Once you are in the village, the road bends round to the left, keep following the road until you see the “The Harvey Arms” pub, and turn down the street to drive past it (also called Old Bawtry Road). Keep driving down this road and you will come to several gaps in the hedges where cars park up to the fence to watch the activity. A few lay-bys are also available for cars to park. You can then walk down the road, past the large concrete blocks blocking car park access, and further down the path you will come to a raised mound with some blocks to stand on, allowing you to be above the fence. At this location there is only space for 3 spotters so if something special or important is arriving or departing it is advised to arrive earlier to get a space, otherwise shooting through the fence is the only option. | To access this location, go back to the roundabout previously mentioned and take the exit signposted Finningley. Once you are in the village, the road bends round to the left, keep following the road until you see the “The Harvey Arms” pub, and turn down the street to drive past it (also called Old Bawtry Road). Keep driving down this road and you will come to several gaps in the hedges where cars park up to the fence to watch the activity. A few lay-bys are also available for cars to park. You can then walk down the road, past the large concrete blocks blocking car park access, and further down the path you will come to a raised mound with some blocks to stand on, allowing you to be above the fence. At this location there is only space for 3 spotters so if something special or important is arriving or departing it is advised to arrive earlier to get a space, otherwise shooting through the fence is the only option. | ||
===Terminal side=== | ===Terminal side=== | ||
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==Locations to Avoid== | ==Locations to Avoid== | ||
=== | ===Runway 20 approach mound=== | ||
This location is situated opposite the Chinese takeaway in Finningley. To access this location, park outside the takeaway and look opposite for the gap in the bushes, climb through this gap and walk up and along the hill on the right or left side. This gives you a clear view of aircraft on approach for runway 20 as well as the Vulcan XH558 which you can see parked directly opposite. | |||
As far as I know, spotting at this location is possible and many spotters use it. However I hear rumors that security and the airport staff are not particularly keen on people using it, and it was reported in May 20201 that the location is now inaccessible due to the airport owners installing fencing that blocks access. | |||
===High Common Lane Farmer's Fields=== | |||
While it may seem tempting to venture into these fields and get close ups of aircrafts in the engine test bay or on the taxiway, this is trespassing and could lead to prosecution. | |||
==Regular Traffic== | ==Regular Traffic== | ||
The airport goes through phases of being quite busy, | The airport goes through phases of being quite busy, interspersed with hours of nothing. Unfortunately much of the movement occurs before 9.30am and after 7pm, with only 2-3 movements in between. Most days there is no activity at all between 8am and 1pm. | ||
Consult the schedule before setting off to avoid hours of nothing. | Consult the schedule before setting off to avoid hours of nothing. | ||