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London Heathrow Spotting Tips Please?  
User currently offlineaksi333 From Norway, joined Dec 2011, 1 posts, RR: 0
Posted (1 year 4 months 2 weeks 3 days 6 hours ago) and read 4042 times:

I plan to make the journey to Heathrow for planespotting. I am from Norway and need some adwise or somewone who is formilliar with heatrow to speak with...send me a E-Mail to...aksi171996@hotmail.no .... thank you

16 replies: All unread, jump to last
 
User currently offlinejwhite9185 From United Kingdom, joined May 2007, 722 posts, RR: 0
Reply 1, posted (1 year 4 months 4 days 12 hours ago) and read 3676 times:

Myrtle Avenue is the best. Best way to get there is take the underground from the airport to Hatton Cross. Then walk along the A30 back towards the airport until you get to the field. This is only really any good if they are landing on 27L though.

As far as official on airport locations, there aren't any.


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User currently offlinespencer From United Kingdom, joined Apr 2004, 1624 posts, RR: 19
Reply 2, posted (1 year 4 months 4 days 11 hours ago) and read 3667 times:

Myrtle park is not the best. It is one of about 7 or 8 spots for landings from the East, incl L and R. Others incl the Hatton bridge, Bedfont football ground (annual fee), the huts, the bend further round from the huts, the TDZs for 27L/R, the fence crossing point in front of the Cathedral and the bend with embankment on the Northern Peri Rd.
Then you have line ups for said runways.
Plenty of spots to choose from and these are only the ones for the 27s.
My favourite would be the hill by the Hilton at T4 for arrivals onto 27L. In winter light THIS is one of the best spots IMO.

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Spence


EOS1D4, 7D, 30D, 100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS USM, 70-200/2.8 L IS2 USM, 17-40 f4 L USM, 24-105 f4 L IS USM, 85 f1.8 USM
User currently offlinespencer From United Kingdom, joined Apr 2004, 1624 posts, RR: 19
Reply 3, posted (1 year 4 months 4 days 11 hours ago) and read 3663 times:

There's also a pretty good spot to nail ILS approach shots, I've heard.  
Spence


EOS1D4, 7D, 30D, 100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS USM, 70-200/2.8 L IS2 USM, 17-40 f4 L USM, 24-105 f4 L IS USM, 85 f1.8 USM
User currently offline747438 From UK - England, joined Jan 2007, 820 posts, RR: 6
Reply 4, posted (1 year 4 months 4 days 9 hours ago) and read 3639 times:
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I have to agree with young Mr Wilmot, Myrtle Avenue is over rated.
The hill by T4 is one of the best spots for 27L arrivals during the winter months.


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User currently offline747438 From UK - England, joined Jan 2007, 820 posts, RR: 6
Reply 5, posted (1 year 4 months 4 days 8 hours ago) and read 3635 times:
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Quoting spencer (Reply 3):
There's also a pretty good spot to nail ILS approach shots, I've heard.
Spence

That's just a rumour. No substance to it at all.

User currently offlinespencer From United Kingdom, joined Apr 2004, 1624 posts, RR: 19
Reply 6, posted (1 year 4 months 4 days 8 hours ago) and read 3632 times:

Haha good one Phil! Look at the difference in light on those two pics. Superior in yours, by far!! Winter light is marvelous isn't it!
Spence


EOS1D4, 7D, 30D, 100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS USM, 70-200/2.8 L IS2 USM, 17-40 f4 L USM, 24-105 f4 L IS USM, 85 f1.8 USM
User currently onlineNewark727 From United States of America, joined Dec 2009, 1175 posts, RR: 0
Reply 7, posted (1 year 4 months 4 days 6 hours ago) and read 3610 times:

When people say Myrtle Avenue, what pattern are they talking about and how often is it used? I've been there, or at least to the general area, twice, and both times I was seeing takeoffs toward me that were pretty hard to shoot unless it was something really low like a heavy A340.

Also, where is the T4 embankment? I might might might have stumbled across it by accident a couple years ago but I'm not sure.

[Edited 2012-01-21 12:28:19]

User currently offlinespencer From United Kingdom, joined Apr 2004, 1624 posts, RR: 19
Reply 8, posted (1 year 4 months 3 days 12 hours ago) and read 3549 times:

Quoting Newark727 (Reply 7):
Myrtle Avenue, what pattern are they talking about and how often is it used

Myrtle Avenue is the name of the road that leads into the park, (Myrtle Park we call it), whereby, when they're landing on 27L, normal approach shots can be had. You've got maybe a 5-10 second window from when they appear above the last house until they dip below the fence line/trees. It's a pretty good location if that's your thing and I'm not knocking it in any way.

Quoting Newark727 (Reply 7):
where is the T4 embankment?

If you carry on up the road towards T4, (Hatton Cross > Myrtle > T4), stay on the left (the Myrtle side) of the carriageway until you come to a junction where traffic can either continue straight (under a small tunnel) or veer off up to the left and in towards T4. On the bend as the come off they carriageway there's an embankment on the left, fairly large in size. Walk to the top of that and hey presto!
Spence


EOS1D4, 7D, 30D, 100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS USM, 70-200/2.8 L IS2 USM, 17-40 f4 L USM, 24-105 f4 L IS USM, 85 f1.8 USM
User currently offlinejaktrax From United Kingdom, joined Jun 2005, 4741 posts, RR: 8
Reply 9, posted (1 year 4 months 3 days 9 hours ago) and read 3523 times:

I seem to be spending an awful lot of time at LHR lately (should be there again tomorrow) so have begun to look at alternative spots. Myrtle Avenue is a real 'no-no' for me as the aircraft are just too high there. I much prefer the little grass verge on the A30, almost opposite the end of Cains Lane, for 27L arrivals (although a ladder is recommended).

I remember in December 2007 Phil very kindly showed me a few alternative spots, however they required 300-400mm - lens power I just didn't have back then. Now armed with a 100-400, I'd love to try some of those spots; particularly the T4 embankment and the park off Shakespeare Road (?) from where you get those lovely 09R bank-outs.

Another I'd like to try is the crash gate where you can poke your lens through and get up close and personal with aircraft leaving T4 for departure. I'm just a little concerned about police resistance? Are you okay if you linger on the opposite side and only rush over when you see something?

Are there any other spots around the perimeter where you can use similar locks in crash gates, etc.?

Finally, what is the best spot for 09R arrivals (I know they're few and far between)? So far I've managed to locate this spot, which I think is bloody good, but if there's better...

http://www.airliners.net/addphotos/b...4.8816s2-afp_lhr_150112_kn_300.jpg

Cheers,

Karl

P.S. If anyone's going to be around tomorrow I should be somewhere on said grass verge on the A30.....

User currently offlineAlexC From United Kingdom, joined Mar 2007, 42 posts, RR: 0
Reply 10, posted (1 year 4 months 3 days 8 hours ago) and read 3521 times:

I think that's at the end of Shakespeare Avenue Karl. I'll have to try that out myself sometime!

User currently offlinespencer From United Kingdom, joined Apr 2004, 1624 posts, RR: 19
Reply 11, posted (1 year 4 months 3 days 8 hours ago) and read 3516 times:

Quoting jaktrax (Reply 9):
Another I'd like to try is the crash gate where you can poke your lens through and get up close and personal with aircraft leaving T4 for departure.

Karl, PLEASE don't use the crash gate, PLEASE!!! We've been told both by the Police and BAA officials that it's off limits and if we want any cooperation in the future then I tend to stay out of such areas. I believe there's notice around there that it's a restricted area too.
End of the day, do what you want but you'd bugger it up for others near the fence etc IMO.
Spence


EOS1D4, 7D, 30D, 100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS USM, 70-200/2.8 L IS2 USM, 17-40 f4 L USM, 24-105 f4 L IS USM, 85 f1.8 USM
User currently offlinejaktrax From United Kingdom, joined Jun 2005, 4741 posts, RR: 8
Reply 12, posted (1 year 4 months 3 days 7 hours ago) and read 3498 times:

I'm not one to do anything to jeopardise the future of the hobby, so I won't bother with the gate by T4. However I have seen similar shots so it seems there is an alternative? Think I've seen a few regulars' shots so it's possibly less of a security worry?

I know people at LHR who have been openly reluctant in the past to share info with us 'out of the area' folks, so it's not altogether surprising that trouble brews between police and 'out-of-towners'. If we know about the spots (and I thank the thread contributors so far for detailing a few) we've no reason to go snooping and get into trouble.

Karl

User currently offline747438 From UK - England, joined Jan 2007, 820 posts, RR: 6
Reply 13, posted (1 year 4 months 3 days 4 hours ago) and read 3466 times:
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Karl, as Spence says, please keep away from that area. If you move less than 100 yards from there, towards Hattoin Cross, you will get shots like these as aircraft taxi out from T4.


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I'm afraid I'm not around tomorrow as having spent yesterday and today there, my Mrs feels she deserves some time together.
.

User currently offlineAlexC From United Kingdom, joined Mar 2007, 42 posts, RR: 0
Reply 14, posted (1 year 3 months 2 weeks 5 days 14 hours ago) and read 3037 times:

Made my first visit to Shakespeare Avenue last week. Much easier to park there then Myrtle Avenue! Very cold day, beautiful blue skies, heavies making some quite tight banking turns heading west. Really great. The only fly in the ointment was that all my shots turned out to be rubbish, way over exposed, and retaining very little detail. This was my first use of a D300s. I was using matrix metering, and the monitor, excellent thought it is, gave no real indication of the dire results that awaited me when I got home. Looks like I need to dial in a fair amount of exposure compensation before I go out again! I'm sure that my trusty D200 would have made a better job of it. My wife want's me to sell it, but no way, at least not until I've sorted out the D300s!

User currently offlineYchocky From Canada, joined Jul 2009, 164 posts, RR: 0
Reply 15, posted (1 year 3 months 2 weeks 5 days 8 hours ago) and read 2995 times:

Quoting AlexC (Reply 14):
Made my first visit to Shakespeare Avenue last week. Much easier to park there then Myrtle Avenue! Very cold day, beautiful blue skies, heavies making some quite tight banking turns heading west. Really great. The only fly in the ointment was that all my shots turned out to be rubbish, way over exposed, and retaining very little detail. This was my first use of a D300s. I was using matrix metering, and the monitor, excellent thought it is, gave no real indication of the dire results that awaited me when I got home. Looks like I need to dial in a fair amount of exposure compensation before I go out again! I'm sure that my trusty D200 would have made a better job of it. My wife want's me to sell it, but no way, at least not until I've sorted out the D300s!

Shame! None can be used from RAW?

This appears to be the new money spot! I must admit I was in two minds as to stay on the 09L embankment or head over for 09R departure bank shots 4 weeks ago. I was worried the soft end of the 70-300 would affect any results and I stayed on the embankment. Worked out well as arrival shots there was like shooting fish in a barrel! But I did see quite the departure banks from far, far away, some of the crews must be ex-military! The wing-flex looks amazing!

Hope to see more 09R departure shots appear. When the weather plays nice and in the right light, they are a real treat.

User currently offlineG-CIVP From United Kingdom, joined Mar 2001, 1209 posts, RR: 10
Reply 16, posted (1 year 3 months 2 weeks 5 days 5 hours ago) and read 2971 times:

Quoting jaktrax (Reply 9):
Another I'd like to try is the crash gate where you can poke your lens through and get up close and personal with aircraft leaving T4 for departure. I'm just a little concerned about police resistance? Are you okay if you linger on the opposite side and only rush over when you see something.

I know I'm reiterating what Spence has said but please do not go into the EDF (?) compound area. There is a security hut on the other side of the perimeter and the Police will be called. I know it's tempting when the gate is up but avoid.

Karl, Aski333, please send me a private email and I'm more than happy to help.

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