A friend of mine asked me if the monorail at JFK is a good place to watch planes while going from terminal to terminal, I don't know much about JFK other than the spots near Boston Market and Costco and the beach area, the problem is knowing which runways are in use, the international arrivals runways are the best but seem to be unpredictable, any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Daniel - Regarding the Monorail, your friend will likely be able to observe some aircraft at each terminal, but many gates are not visible.

Probably interesting enough for one loop around the airport, but there are numerous obstructions to viewing the runways, taxiways etc as well.



- Tom

A couple of months ago, I was picking someone up at JFK, and got there an hour or so early so I could ride the monorail around the loop a couple of times. It was interesting, but as Tom said, you can see some a/c at the terminals, but you don't see much of the airfield itself.

Moose

As mentioned you can see movements but it would be near impossible to get some shots from the monorail. Try to meet up with an JFK local so they can guide you around. I know Art Brett amongst others always go to JFK. Don't do what I did, I could not meet up with anyone at the time, so me and two friends went to JFK eventually got to Howard Beach ($20 cab fee for a 5 minute walk) and saw that the wind was the wrong way. We got screwed.

Can't I just tune into ATIS on my scanner and see what runways are in use? I've been to Howard Beach and Costco and both could be decent if those runways are in use which they weren't. I also drove into some residential neighborhood and parked on the side of the street, it was unbelievably close but the arrivals were mostly domestic, JetBlue etc. with the exception of one LH 747-400, I've never been closer to one. Thanks for your help guys.

Can't I just tune into ATIS on my scanner and see what runways are in use?

Sounds like a plan. And while JFK is a big place, it's only a short drive between the various spotting sites. About the only time you can't get to a good spot is if they are landing on Rwy 4 L/R - the approach is over the bay.

Moose

There is A good spot for 4L/R, The place is BaysWater State Park. Actually its one of the better JFK spotting locations.




Eric

Thanks, Eric,

I'll have to check that out one of these days. I was down that way once, and did come across a pretty desolate-looking, overgrown park (I think it was a National Wildlife area or something) I forget what the name on the sign was, but it could have been Bayswater.

Moose

There is A good spot for 4L/R, The place is BaysWater State Park. Actually its one of the better JFK spotting locations.

What ZOOM lens would I need for photography?  

What ZOOM lens would I need for photography?

At Bayswater, for B747 & A340 arrivals on 4R, you can get away with a 70-200/80-200 lens. For anything smaller you'll need a bit more reach, say 100-400 or 80-400. For other runways (4L lineups or 22R takeoffs) from that spot, you'll need a lot longer than 400mm.

Mike

For other runways (4L lineups or 22R takeoffs) from that spot, you'll need a lot longer than 400mm.


Not really  ...if you're prepared, 400mm (on digital) should suffice. I have a few shots of Gemini MD11s, assorted 744s, and the odd jetBlue 320 from that day in October...all at or below 400mm.

Brian

The park gate seems to be locked frequently as of late.

You can also call JFK ATIS... The number is on airnav.com I believe.

Futt, I'm talking about full frame (or close to it). No way you getting B6 A320's taking off 22R from Bayswater with 400mm or below. Of course, with cropping you can do wonders but I do prefer (if possible) to get the RAW as full frame as I can.

Mike