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As part of my passion for aerospace, I enjoy planespotting and photographing aircraft. My wife has a Nikon digital SLR camera, and I've slowly been learning how to use it, in between my other side projects.
Unfortunately, the airport closest to us is not a high-traffic airport, so few planes of interest pass through. The vast majority of flights are operated by Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s, the Honda Civics and Toyota Corollas of passenger jets. There is a storage and maintenance facility on the airport grounds that service many kinds of exotic aircraft, but arrivals and departures at the facility are infrequent and unpredictable.
I could go to other airports and try to catch widebodies like the Boeing 747 or the Airbus A350, but those airports are several hours away. I couldn't do it as a day trip. The trips might still be worth it, though; in 2015 I traveled to Memphis to see FedEx's hub in action at KMEM, and that was one of my favorite planespotting trips of all time.
In recent years I would watch aircraft at places like McCarran International (KLAS, now Harry Reid International) and Chicago O'Hare International (KORD) by actually traveling there on flights. Of course that hasn't happened as often since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the interim, it looks like driving might be my best option.
In the last few weeks I've thought about visiting Louisville to see UPS's hub at Muhammad Ali International (KSDF) during the Christmas rush. UPS has plenty of 747s, as well as McDonnell-Douglas MD-11s and Airbus A300s--all of which are rare sights in my neck of the woods.
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[Last updated: 2021-11-12]