Ray Finkle

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Apr 22, 2012
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Birmingham
Seeing as there is no official viewing facility at BHX anymore I thought I'd create a list of some of the best places to spot/photograph from. If anyone needs anymore info please ask and if anyone knows of anymore locations feel free to add them. If anyone's planning an hour or two down here hopefully it'll be helpful.


Sheldon Country Park

Best access is to park on Hazeldean Road, B33, there are a couple off entrances into the park and a short distance on the left and you're at the end of the runway. There's a couple of benches and a few mounds so it's worth having a general sweep of the area to find the spot you like best. Standing either side of the runway gives some great angles for landing/departing aircraft and there is the option to walk alongside the runway towards the golf course for different views.

Departing/landing runway 33.

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Landing/runway 15.



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Just a short stroll up a rather steep hill there is a footbridge that goes over Marston Green railway station which gives nice views of the runway 15 threshold. Great for pictures of landing and departing runway 15, good pictures for 33 departures although the vast majority of arrivals exit at Bravo so won't be visible.

Departing 33



Taxiing to/vacating 15

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There is a newsagents and a decent cafe on the other side of the bridge.
 
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Re: BHX spotting/photography locations.

Disused bridge over the railway line

Park on Elmdon Road, B92, by the bridge over the railway and go down the steps. Keep following the path through the gate, over the stream where you will be alongside the apron. First you come to a bridge over the railway which gives nice views over part of the apron and a decent section of the runway.

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The only small downside to here is there are a few light poles to avoid and the fence is quite high as you can see in the second picture, so closer aircraft can be obscured. Still a good spot though. A few yards further on there is the remains of what was once another bridge. It's just a large brick platform now and is higher than the first bridge with some great views, the downside is you have to climb up and scramble back down, but if you're feeling fit it's well worth it :LOL:

If you follow the path further there is a wooden gate on the right, go through it then through the car park opposite and you are in the terminal buildings where there are toilets, refreshments etc.
 
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Re: BHX spotting/photography locations.

Long Stay car park

After the recent runway works this area is now available again with benches being installed within the next couple of weeks. Access is either by parking in the car park itself which could be costly, or by walking a short distance from the terminals. The best way to the terminals is either parking on Elmdon Lane in Marston Green and following the path in between the railway and the apron, it's approx. a 15 min stroll, or parking for free at either Marston Green or Hampton-in-Arden railway stations and getting the train one stop to Birmingham International for a couple of pounds. The walk to the car park passes the 20's stands and the southern side of the new pier with views across to the Elmdon apron. The official viewing area has good views of aircraft heading towards RWY33 to depart or arrivals turning off RWY15. If you follow the gravel pathway past the benches it skirts the perimeter fence alongside taxiway sierra giving excellent views through the fence (if you bring steps then the views are endless). If you head towards the centre of the car park, which is uphill, there are good photography positions above the line of the fence which is especially useful for RWY33 arrivals.

RWY 15 departure.

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Heading to the terminal after a RWY 33 arrival.



Taxiing on sierra.

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Lining up on RWY 33 from sierra 1

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Short finals form RWY 33 taken from further up the hill towards the centre of the car park.

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Aircraft parked on 20's stands.

 
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Re: BHX spotting/photography locations.

Multi Storey car park Elmdon site

Straightforward access straight off the A45 and has the advantage of being next to your car. Nice views across some of the apron although the hangers do block a chunk. Some good views of arrivals on runway 33 and nice views of departing runway 15, but again you have to work round the hangar as different points on the car park give different vantage points. N.C.P. have an office in the building adjacent, I've had a chat with the guy and they aren't too bothered about plane spotters using it but if you intend to leave your car and go walkabout then I'd put some coins in the machine. Police also come up from time to time but just drive through and back down again.

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Re: BHX spotting/photography locations.

Hatchford Brook Golf Course

The council have made it difficult to access the path from the golf course car park so it's best to park in Goodway Road and cross the A45, using caution as it's a very busy and fast moving road. There is a footpath alongside the office block that has views through the fence all the way along. If you keep walking you'll eventually come to a large mound which probably gives the best views along here. There's some distance shots over the apron and some nice shots of the runway whichever way they are going. There are one or two obstacles but still plenty of angles to get some great pictures. This area can also be accessed from Sheldon Country Park which as you look at the runway is the path to the right. This area also offers views of the apron in front of the MAEL hangar.

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Re: BHX spotting/photography locations.

Railway Footbridge

Not really a spotting site but it's high up and has a view along the runway so if it's the type of picture you want it's worth a quick trip. It's a bit further out on Bannerley Road, B33, accessed by the footpath next to the cement factory. It's not a terrible area but it can have it's moments. Weekdays are OK as it's in an industrial estate so will have plenty of people buzzing about but parking may be an issue. Weekend mornings and day times should be OK to wade through the empty tins of special brew but I wouldn't stay any longer than needed. Evenings and night times I wouldn't recommend it, especially with expensive camera equipment.

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Hope these help, feel free to add any more :s_cool
 
Re: BHX spotting/photography locations.

Nice thread you have started here Ray. That's really helpful and thankyou for the tips regarding the railway footbridge. It's always handy to know when you're carrying your shiny DSLR. :LOL:
 
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I've done a couple of updates to this thread, part of the long stay car park is now a building site for the parallel taxiway but what is left still offers great views. The area behind the Tristar Hotel is still accessible and a large mound has appeared giving good views but the area has on going construction and on wet days can be a bit of a bog. Finally I had a chat with a guy from NCP on top of the Elmdon multi storey car park, they don't seem too fussed about spotters using it (I've never paid) but if you intend to leave the car and go walkabout then it's best to drop some coins into the machine.

Hope this helps :hatsoff:
 
I think they ought to build a new outdoor, yet official, spotting area like the one they have at Manchester. Some ideas as to where it could be:

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It'd have to be quite close to the taxi way and situated adjacent to the runway for the best views (standing behind it doesn't do justice).

Any thoughts?
 
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Elmdon80slad has tried very hard and unfortunately got nowhere as the airport company aren't interested, see the relevant thread.

As for locations the land behind the tristar hotel is due to become a car park and would be ideal for a small viewing area, by the taxiway over the other side never going to happen.
 
The long stay car park is a good location but it's better when they have a smaller fence.

Are there any other good spotting locations which we may not have heard of (and that are easily accessible)?
 
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I've been thinking today how the opening of the full length runway will affect current photography locations.

When 15 is in use Sheldon Country Park and the railway bridge will still be great for arrivals but I imagine most small-medium sized aircraft will start departing from Bravo meaning they will be difficult to photograph when lining up. Likewise when departing from Bravo they will rotate later than they do now so it could make photographing departures from the Elmdon car park more difficult.

When 33 is in use arrivals will be touching down much earlier, again making photography difficult from the Elmdon car park and all but the heaviest of aircraft on a wet day will be vacating at Bravo, again making photography difficult from Sheldon Country Park. Departures probably won't be much different except the larger aircraft will use the new taxiway Sierra and if Charlie is made available for departures then many smaller regional jets could start using it.

The upside is the new bridleway alongside the A45 and the field behind it could potentially offer some interesting shots along the runway and when fully completed long stay 1 could, providing the fencing is suitable, offer some good views of arrivals and departures in both directions, especially on a summers morning with the sun behind.

It'll be interesting to experiment with different locations this summer.
 
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I've updated this thread, the area behind the Tristar hotel now has the new noise bund running between it and the airfield meaning even if there was still access there would be no view, so I've deleted that section. The next update will hopefully be reporting on what sort of facility they decide to put in long stay 1 once it's resurfaced, my bet is just the dozen or so picnic benches that were there before.
 
I was wondering, should we get this merged with the 'New Viewing Facility' thread? Or would it complicate things?
 
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I think the new viewing facility thread is for possible ideas about something permanent offering unrivalled views across the airfield, I did this one just for info about where the best existing places to view/photograph are in case anyone unfamiliar with the area was planning a visit.
 
Fair enough. As far as existing spotting locations go, is there still no indoor spotting area (for non-passengers) or any whispers?
 
I was wondering, if there are any unusual (but legal) spotting locations which many of us may not know about?
 
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It depends on how unusual you want to get, I see photographers perched in trees along the golf course to get snaps on the RWY15 touch down zone, there's also those nice large houses on Elmdon Lane which have windows overlooking the runway, there could be a potential business opportunity for someone to rent by the hour ;)

I think most locations have been covered, there's the crash gate down by the spiral steps which gives good views of the Elmdon Apron and if you've got a zoom lens and nothing is parked in the way can give good views along the north side of the piers. You have the two old railway bridges at the rear of Elmdon Trading Estate which give great views over the northern apron, especially the second one if you can climb up. There is the section of Sheldon Country Park where if you walk up to the fence where Hatchford Brook goes under taxiway alpha you get very close to aircraft holding for RWY15, although you are slightly below them. There's also a nice view over some of the T2 apron from the top of multi storey 1.

Going a little further out if you spend a nice sunny summers afternoon over Sutton Park when RWY15 is in use you'll get a steady stream overhead, they're higher than Sheldon Country Park as it's 12 or so miles out but it's still nice to watch them.

Maybe others know of more places?
 
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The long stay car park could turn out to be a good one when the taxi way is in use. Could do with its own official 'area' with raised viewing mounds and so on (as the fence will bugger the view if you wish to close to the action).
 
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It would be nice if there were to be some wider holes along the fence to allow a lens to fit through but I seriously doubt it.
 

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