The other half of my Planespotting Guide is devoted to identifying the different kinds of planes found at airports but now you might ask "where are the best places to go to watch these planes".  I've developed this guide based on cities' airports that I've visited over the last 10 years or so.  Some, like Miami and Houston, had excellent viewing opportunities which are now off limits due to tighter security since 9/11, which in my opinion is an ineffective security measure.  Others haven't changed.  In the guide below you'll see maps showing the best places for viewing and photography and a brief description.  I've also included ratings which indicate how good or bad my opinion is of the place.  Please note,  these ratings are unscientific and based only upon my experiences and such things as accessibility, safety, proximity to aircraft/runways, variety of traffic to watch, and cost (if any).  Ratings go from 5 jets (best) to 1 jet (worst).  Simply click on any of the airport codes on the map below to go to the page for that airport.  On each page you'll also be able to view some of my photos from each viewing area.

I have added a link on each airport page to go to Flightaware.com's live tracking page for that airport.  There you will find the current status of arrivals, departures, enroute flights, and scheduled departures as well as weather info and a link to more information about that airport.  Flightaware.com is the best free flight tracking website that I have ever seen.  Also, you can go to liveatc.net to listen to live ground, approach, and departure air traffic control radio for these and many other airports.

Added Airports:  Chicago O'Hare and Midway

New feature: click on the airport maps to see the locations in an online satellite photo at Google Maps.