| The main airport serving the city of Phoenix is another
great place to watch and photograph aircraft. The layout is
similar to Minneapolis except that here, the parking is actually above
the terminal whereas at MSP, the parking garage is free-standing in the
center of the complex between the terminal concourses. Here, you
get a great view of activity on both north and south runways.
There are 3 terminals with garages - T2, T3, and T4. T4 handles US
Airways on the north side and mostly Southwest Airlines on the south
side. It is also the highest garage, with the rooftop level about
9 floors up giving a great view of the ramp & gate areas and north and
south runways. T3 is a shorter garage but still offers the same
great view. This terminal handles other airlines such as
Northwest, Delta, Sun Country, American, and Midwest. From the
east end of T3 (and west end of T4) you'll get a great view of the
taxiway bridge which is where aircraft cross from the north side to the
south side. T2 is not above the actual terminal; it is a
free-standing garage with only 2 levels. From the upper level you
can get a great view of the north runway. You will not be able to
see the south runway from here. Each of these garages are popular
with locals who like to watch planes, safe, well-lit, and the airport
security is friendly. As far as photography, since the runways are
east-west you will only have good light for photographing anything on
the north side all year - the south side may be backlit. Not to
despair, there is another great spot for catching south side action.
Adjacent to the south side of the airport there is a river and on the
south bank there is a spot with a perfect view of traffic departing or
landing on the south runway. To get here, take 143 south to
University, then go west to S. 40th St. Make a right here and go a
couple blocks to the end where there will be a dirt berm. This is
the top of the river bank. This spot is popular with locals who
bring their dogs to run down and play in the normally dry riverbed.
I also met several plane watchers and a couple of photographers here.
The light here would be good for photographing south runway activity at
any time of the year.
The variety of aircraft here is not too good - it is mostly Airbus
A320 and Boeing 737s, but there may be a few others at times, such as
the British Airways 747 arriving each afternoon. There is an
Arizona Air National Guard base on the south side which operates KC135s
and other military jets have been known to drop in on practice flights.
I would rate PHX high not because of the variety but for the great
viewing and photo spots.
There are other smaller airports in the Phoenix area too including
Scottsdale, which is mostly business jets and has at least one nice
viewing area, and Falcon Field in Mesa, which has a Commemorative Air
Force museum. Hopefully on my next trip I can do a review on
those.
Click here to see photos from
the T-2 garage.
Click here to see photos from the T-4 garage.
Click here to see photos from the river bank location.
Back to the Airport ratings
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