Spotting Without Being Hassled By Cops

747fan · Thu Jan 03, 2008 4:47 am

My home airport is SDF (Louisville - home of UPS Worldport), where I'm an avid spotter. Anyways, SDF really has some gestapo-like airport cops! They crack down on me and some other spotters like its JFK, LAX, ORD, or some other high profile airport - not an airport that only sees about 4 million pax. a year! They've never actually told me to leave (I just simply sit in my car and watch the UPS planes takeoff), but they constantly question me almost every time I'm there to make sure I'm not photographing and told me it was illegal to use a scanner to listen to ATC. If you get caught shooting photos at SDF, I wouldn't be surprised if you'd get arrested - heck, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm punished if they catch me using my scanner again!
OK, end of rant - does anyone else on here have problems like this with cops (airport or city cops) when spotting?

pl4nekr4zy · Thu Jan 03, 2008 8:57 am

Fortunately my home airport, IAH, has a pretty decent observation area for planes coming in on 27, which generall seems to be the busiest runway for arrivals at the airport. But as I'm sure you can atest to, 747fan, part of the fun of spotting is scouting out new locations around the airport perimeter. So the other day, I got bored of the 27 observation area and went down the road to catch the arrivals on 26L. There's a gravel lot just off Lee Road, accross from the post office for those who know IAH. I like to spot from there from time to time, as you can get directly underneath the approach path there, unlike the designated observation area at 27 where you're to the right of the approach path. Anyway, just something different and its cool when theres a crosswind as you get some crab action. So the other day I was out there at this gravel lot and airport security tells me I can't be there... I wasn't taking pics, the lot has no "no trespassing" sings, no gate, fence, is right by a busy road, etc., and I'd been there many times before, so I saw no harm. I made my case as best as I could, but of course to no avail. From what I can tell, airport security guards are usually bored jerks who are unsatisfied with their job and take it all out on us harmless spotters. Sucks, but what can ya do... At least I've still got the one good spot under 27.

United_fan · Thu Jan 03, 2008 12:44 pm

Quoting Pl4nekr4zy (Reply 1):
Sucks, but what can ya do... At least I've still got the one good spot under 27.

Stand your ground,and do not be intimitated. If you're not on airport property,they cannot evict you. Trust me,I've been harrassed may times..if you feel you're being wronged with these people making up their own laws,don't hesitate to file a complaint with the respective PD.

Continental · Thu Jan 03, 2008 6:03 pm

Quoting United_Fan (Reply 2):
Stand your ground,and do not be intimitated

I'd watch out. They like to use their tasers nowadays like there's no tomorrow.

ag92 · Thu Jan 03, 2008 7:49 pm

In Singapore we have a road running alongside one of the runway as well as a path. Now on the roads motorists do stop however the Police don't really get angry at them, they just ask them to move along. The path, although I haven't tried it they technically can't say anything to us unless a sign is posted which I don't think so. Lastly there is a beach, and when aircrafts are landing, it can be quite a site though these days only planes taking-off can be seen or whenever I go there

airlinelover · Thu Jan 03, 2008 8:49 pm

Quoting 747fan (Thread starter):
and told me it was illegal to use a scanner to listen to ATC.

Which is a complete and utter load of bullshit..

Quoting Continental (Reply 3):
I'd watch out. They like to use their tasers nowadays like there's no tomorrow.

Only if you're pregnant duck

747fan · Fri Jan 04, 2008 12:15 am

Quoting Airlinelover (Reply 5):
Which is a complete and utter load of bullshit..

Quoting Pl4nekr4zy (Reply 1):
From what I can tell, airport security guards are usually bored jerks who are unsatisfied with their job and take it all out on us harmless spotters. Sucks, but what can ya do... At least I've still got the one good spot under 27.

Actually, according to my scanner's owner's manual (I just got it for Christmas - the first scanner I've owned), its states that there are laws involving scanners in some places, but I'm pretty sure there aren't any around where I live. It seems more like the airport cops just wanted to show that they're the ones in charge by making up rules or whatever. After all, as PI4nekr4zy stated, they could be unsastisfied with their job since they'd probably rather be a city cop, but are an airport security guard instead. The ones around SDF do seem bored; they often repeatedly circle around the airport's perimeter just to hope they can go on a power trip over someone shooting photos or videos or listening in to ATC on a scanner. To their credit, the guy seemed fairly nice and didn't actually demand that I leave (although he did hang around in the parking lot until I left, probably to make sure I didn't start "scanning" again).

AllegiantAir · Fri Jan 04, 2008 12:24 am

Never being confronted by a cop when spotting, but I think it's sad that the police tell fellow spotters to leave when they are doing nothing illegal and are just having fun doing what they love. Security is so tight these days, and it's probably gonna get tighter. Heck, 10 years from now I might be thrown in jail for dropping a bit of ice cream on a sidewalk. Yeah sure

Anyway, back on topic, I've seen a "Spotter's Rights" document that has been linked to some threads before, and I thought it was pretty neat. Anyone have that link?

pl4nekr4zy · Fri Jan 04, 2008 12:35 am

Quoting United_Fan (Reply 2):
Stand your ground,and do not be intimitated. If you're not on airport property,they cannot evict you. Trust me,I've been harrassed may times..if you feel you're being wronged with these people making up their own laws,don't hesitate to file a complaint with the respective PD.

I certainly plan on going back to the spot I was told to leave, so perhaps next time I'm told to do so I will stand my ground. But then again, it's not that huge of deal to me, and I wouldn't want anything to escalate to an unnecessary level. If it ever came down to a security guard pulling his taser, I think I'd leave, haha.

gunsontheroof · Fri Jan 04, 2008 4:03 pm

I've been hassled by the city police several times at SEA on public property--they always ask what I'm up to and after I go through that ring-around, they usually tell me I can't be where I am (usually on a road) because it's "unsafe." They've even gone so far as to tell me what I'm doing isn't illegal, but that I must leave. Pretty ridiculous.

United_fan · Fri Jan 04, 2008 6:27 pm

You all have valid points. I have had some pleasant and unpleasant run-ins with the MCSD here in ROC. I have been threatended with arrest and yelled at very rudely (when taking pics of VP Cheney's BBJ from the road). Yet,when President Bush came,they very VERY cool.I just don't know....I have also been harrassed in BUF on private (a long-closed restaurant) for 'not having permission'. The NFTA cops got real rude when I said I was waiting for an AM 73G. Then I was questioned all about AM,do I want to hurt the plane ,etc,etc. I was treated very rudely at a spot that I have been going to for years w/o incident. I went as far as filing a complaint with them. After waiting the required 30 days nad getting no response,I sent a registered letter to their IAD. I then received a letter from their Cheif stating that they never got the letter. So,I have only went back once to BUF since then,and didn't stay long.
This past Summer,I was sitting in my collapsable chair next to my car in a parking lot near ROC's r/w 04 . A MCSD car pulled in. I got up from my chair and walked over to him , and we chatted it up. he ran my name and all that , and said I was ok to be there as long as the parking lot owners didn't care. I put his name in my Cell phone,so if I ever am challenged there I can say he said I was ok to be there.
You have to know that cops love to 'power-trip' on people and intimidate them . If you're not in a restricted or dangerous area , and you know it,stand your ground,stand up for your rights. Be polite,always!

Ryan h · Fri Jan 04, 2008 10:25 pm

Thankfully things are not that bad here in Australia.

It is stories like those above that have made me decide to keep away from the USA as it is not worth the trouble.

PAHS200 · Fri Jan 04, 2008 11:13 pm

Quoting United_Fan (Reply 10):
Be polite,always!

the best point so far. sadly some cops just want to make themselves feel all-mighty

topgun757 · Sat Jan 05, 2008 1:05 am

Quoting Continental (Reply 3):
I'd watch out. They like to use their tasers nowadays like there's no tomorrow.

That's for sure.

I wonder what would happen if there was a semi-large group of people all spotting together. If they explained themselves do you think the authorities will listen? Probably not right

BWilliams · Sun Jan 06, 2008 12:02 am

Quoting United_Fan (Reply 10):
I have also been harrassed in BUF on private (a long-closed restaurant) for 'not having permission'. The NFTA cops got real rude when I said I was waiting for an AM 73G.

Welcome to Buffalo... fortunately, the actual police in the suburb where the airport is couldn't be bothered, so it's more just crap from the NTFA then anything (they can detain you, but they can't really 'arrest' you).

Could I ask where you were spotting around BUF?

scottieprecord · Sun Jan 06, 2008 12:46 am

Quoting Pl4nekr4zy (Reply 8):

You're aware that as long as you call in ahead of time, you can spot from any of the airport garages at IAH, right? Just checking..

As for being hassled by d-bag airport cops, I had my share of that in SAT. It came down to the officer telling me I'd get a criminal trespass warning if he saw me on the garage again (we'd had quite a few encounters lol). I wrote an email to the aviation director of SAT who responded that night, and offered to have a meeting with himself, the airport director, the chief of airport police, and myself. It was quickly established that the officer was in the wrong and I had every right to spot and do photography around SAT.

Honestly, I doubt correspondence with airport administration would go that smoothly everywhere, but it's worth a try. Really, as long as they give the OK, all you need is a letter from them to show cops in the future. And who's going to be more logical about the situation, the insecure power-hungry cop or the administration?

Mike

isitsafenow · Sun Jan 06, 2008 1:42 am

Quoting 747fan (Thread starter):
and told me it was illegal to use a scanner to listen to ATC.

Thats not true. The FCC has stated many times the airwaves are public. Exception is listening to police bands with a portable scanner. That is unlawful.
If I hear from a law enforcement agent that listening to ATC in unlawful, I will politely ask him/her to receipt the statute
number so I can contact my attorney. Then pick up my cell phone and do just that(I have his number in my phone).
I would also ask for the cop to call his watch commander or super. I would wish to talk to them about scanners.
You gotta stick up for your rights, kiddies. Only do it with tact and be humble AND polite.
safe

jwenting · Sun Jan 06, 2008 11:55 am

AFAIK listening to police bands is not illegal (how do you think reporters always show up anywhere something juicy is happening so quickly?).
What may well be illegal is using a transmitter on those bands (just as it is illegal to transmit on the aviation bands unless you're an aircraft or related ground station).

At least that's the situation here. Police tried to get the government to make it illegal to listen to their chatter.
Responsible government ministers told them that the airwaves are public and if they want private communications they should turn on those expensive encryption units they've been given.

Of course laws differ per country. In Belgium for example even posession of a scanner (let alone using one) is a crime.

skywatch · Sun Jan 06, 2008 3:43 pm

I was spotting with a friend right below the 35L flightpath at AUS. We had a camera and a scanner with us, and we were standing on the side of the road, as the park between the runways doesn't extend under the flightpaths of the runways. After a while, an airport security SUV drove past, then pulled a U-turn and came over to us. He asked if we were just watching airplanes, and we told him yes. He said he was obligated to come check us out since security had already received three calls about us from people driving past. He said we could stay there, just advising us to be careful because of our proximity to the road.

isitsafenow · Sun Jan 06, 2008 4:38 pm

Quoting Jwenting (Reply 17):
AFAIK listening to police bands is not illegal

I said portable. Get pulled over for speeding and watch how popular you get if you have a scanner in your
car tuned to a police channel.
safe

United_fan · Sun Jan 06, 2008 6:39 pm

Quoting BWilliams (Reply 14):
Quoting United_Fan (Reply 10):
I have also been harrassed in BUF on private (a long-closed restaurant) for 'not having permission'. The NFTA cops got real rude when I said I was waiting for an AM 73G.

Welcome to Buffalo... fortunately, the actual police in the suburb where the airport is couldn't be bothered, so it's more just crap from the NTFA then anything (they can detain you, but they can't really 'arrest' you).

Could I ask where you were spotting around BUF?

Feb 2006,I was at the then-closed WW2-themed resataurant. The name escapes me now..I saw them drive around on the perimeter road,as they always do.I didn't think anything of it,then I saw these 2 schmucks (they were) come walking around the corner of the place .They had this look on their faces like they just caught public enemy #1.Then they proceded to play good-cop/bad-cop on me. Funny thing was,when they were calling my info in,it was also coming out of my scanner,as the NFTA frequency must be the same as The Greece Police,where I live in ROC. That freaked them for sure! I went back Feb 07 to get a shot of the USAirways 757 . I stayed for just 2 departures. I have no intentions of going back there . I have 2 great spots in ROC. One for afternoon arrivals and one for just 22 arrivals.

jwenting · Sun Jan 06, 2008 10:00 pm

Quoting Isitsafenow (Reply 19):
I said portable. Get pulled over for speeding and watch how popular you get if you have a scanner in your
car tuned to a police channel.
safe

There's a big difference between "being popular" and doing something illegal... That's what this entire thread is about.
Pretty much every ambulance chaser has a scanner in his car, whether lawyer or journalist, and listen in on police and ambulance frequencies.
Cops know that, if it were illegal they'd quickly put an end to it.

If you get pulled over for speeding you're going to be "popular" anyway... Break in the boring routine of sitting there with a radargun for the cops.

747fan · Mon Jan 07, 2008 2:39 am

Quoting Jwenting (Reply 21):
If you get pulled over for speeding you're going to be "popular" anyway... Break in the boring routine of sitting there with a radargun for the cops.

Yeah, good point - cops are probably HAPPY to pull somebody over, as it means more $$$$. Just like airport cops are happy to harrass spotters, just to show who's in charge and to maybe go on a power trip.
Luckily the guys around my home airport don't seem to total douchebags (at least not yet), as they actually let me stay put once. But they didn't leave the parking lot until I left, just to make sure I didn't pull out my scanner again. On another occasion, after spotting in the same spot with a fellow spotter/photographer w/ quite a few photos on a.net, an airport cop in a Ford Expedition pulled into the parking lot (he drove past us, then made a U-turn when he saw us) and just sat there (he was looking over at us) without saying anything. Of course we left right away (we didn't want to get in trouble), and he followed me all the way down the road until I turned to make sure I didn't start spotting somewhere else. I wonder what he would've done if we just stayed put there and just kept on spotting for a while?

B727-200 · Mon Jan 07, 2008 3:09 am

Quoting Ryan h (Reply 11):
Thankfully things are not that bad here in Australia.

I'll second that. I've only been approached once at my home airport (YMML / MEL - Melbourne, Australia) and that is because I was parked on a paved section outside an emergency access gate. They guy who came over (he was airside) was almost apologetic that he had to ask me to move.

I've found at YMML as long as you are on the other side of one of the roads that goes around the airport security and police don't really care.

I have been spotting a couple of times at YSSY (Sydney International) and same there. There is a field behind the tower that is nestled in between the domestic terminals and RWY 16L/34R that I spent half a day at standing on the roof of the hire car rotfl

B727-200.

KL773ER · Mon Jan 07, 2008 4:34 am

Quoting 747fan (Thread starter):
They crack down on me and some other spotters like its JFK, LAX, ORD

I don't know about ORD, however, at LAX the police there seem to be pretty lax (pun slightly intended) about spotters for the short time I was spotting/photographing there. Obviously the Port Authority airports in NYC (JFK/EWR/LGA) security is always extremely strict and for good reason ... unfortunately not good for spotters and aviation enthusiasts.

-KL

ALexeu · Mon Jan 07, 2008 12:28 pm

In Serbia, you are legally not allowed to get more than 100 m close to fance, unless you have a special permission! I am not a spotter, just spotted twice, and the police hassled me but they didn't arrest me!

I've hear that spotting in Greece is not easy.

isitsafenow · Mon Jan 07, 2008 1:36 pm

Quoting Jwenting (Reply 21):
If you get pulled over for speeding you're going to be "popular" anyway

Well, in this state, the police chief who I know personally, the Michigan state police commander of our local post, three different troopers, a sheriff deputy AND two attorneys here in town. say you are wrong. Over the past few years I have brought up this point to them all in separate conversations and they ALL say you can not have a scanner in your car UNLESS you have a ham licence. .....another dumb Michigan law.
FYI, my lawyer and the MSP commander both say while in transit, the scanner goes in the trunk.
I'll say it again. you cannot drive around with a scanner in your car.
I know rail fans that have been ticketed and their scanners confiscated until trial.
Please dont say "its ok". I know better.
Oh, I forgot the conversation on this subject I had with our past county prosecutor. He says the same.
NO SCANNER IN THE CAR!.

haveaniceday..............
safe

jwenting · Mon Jan 07, 2008 7:47 pm

Quoting 747fan (Reply 22):
Luckily the guys around my home airport don't seem to total douchebags (at least not yet),

Here perimeter security is handled by MPs. They're usually cool about it, unless you're tresspassing in which case they'll kindly ask you to leave.
No problem, the one time they approached me I wasn't aware the area was off limits (no clear sign posted).

Quoting Isitsafenow (Reply 26):
.....another dumb Michigan law.

And there you have it. A far left state with far left laws.

isitsafenow · Mon Jan 07, 2008 9:00 pm

Quoting Jwenting (Reply 27):
And there you have it. A far left state with far left laws.

Agreed!!

Being on the city commission here, I have privy to these stupid laws...With the help of my fellow
commissioners, we have abolished some silly city ordinances.
The state laws are a different story...
Thanks for your input and comback on the subject.
safe thumbsup

soon7x7 · Tue Jan 08, 2008 1:13 am

Learned tips while shooting in the New York area.

Be curteous...no matter what the officers demeaner...

Have identification readilly available...drivers license primarily, presspass if you have one...pilots license helps the case

If you have any published work,
keep some examples in your vehicle...

Put together a portfolio and keep in your vehicle...

Basically put together a "spotters survival kit"...It is NOT against the law in America to photograph aircraft...security cannot force you to erase images nor turn over your film without a court order. You basically have to prove who you AREN'T...A SUSPICIOUS CHARACTER. Chances are, they will leave you alone....

Avoid shooting pix in large groups of photographers...scares local tennants in the airports and they call the cops.

If you have A380 pix, Concorde shots, anything that makes for a hot photo, keep copies w/ you and offer to officer for his kid!...Works great...and mean it!

Sounds like a lot, it is, but this is what it takes these days. Don't like to be a know it all but I've had my car taken apart plus other incidents and have learned the hard way.

bond007 · Tue Jan 08, 2008 4:09 pm

Quoting Isitsafenow (Reply 26):
you cannot drive around with a scanner in your car.

Quoting Isitsafenow (Reply 26):
NO SCANNER IN THE CAR!.

Well, let's be accurate here. You happened to mention a couple of states where they are banned .... this is not true across the board at all.

BTW ... if the police REALLY want you to not use a scanner, it's not exactly difficult since in all states it's illegal to use the information for 'personal gain'. So if you jump out of your car to take a photo every time you hear 'clear to land', I'm sure that 'could' be interpreted whatever way they want. This also means that the News folks that use scanner, probably are all breaking the law also, since they are using it for personal gain and/or forwarding the information to a third-party ... but I assume this is over looked most of the time.

The bottom line here is to be polite, sensible, and to explain the situation.

"standing your ground" and asking for statutes is all well and good from a standpoint of principal, but it probably won't help your cause (or ours) much. In some states they just might get back to you with that statute ... they do exist.

Ask yourself this ... if you were a police officer, and knew nothing about spotting, and you saw a car parked alongside the perimeter fence ... you went to speak to the occupants and they spouted off their 'rights' (or so they think), what what you do? Personally, I might be looking for ANY valid reason to get them to go away.

It always amazes me watching 'Cops' on TV, and seeing folks arguing and cursing the police officers .... duh, do you think they are going to be lenient and give you a warning? I wouldn't.

Yeah, in the US we live in a paranoid world ... but work with it, not against it.

Jimbo

KL773ER · Wed Jan 09, 2008 9:56 am

Quoting Soon7x7 (Reply 29):
Don't like to be a know it all but I've had my car taken apart plus other incidents and have learned the hard way.

Can I come spotting with you? Wink

Thanks for the tips,
-KL

soon7x7 · Wed Jan 09, 2008 2:43 pm

Quoting KL773ER (Reply 31):

Sounds like fun eh?...I'll trade you...I will be at Schifol 3/24 all day looking for something to do...J
Was shooting at JFK last night and was stopped 3x but was allowed to proceed...

747fan · Wed Jan 09, 2008 11:05 pm

I know a spotter/photographer who went out to LAX to shoot. Anyway,

Quoting Soon7x7 (Reply 32):
Sounds like fun eh?...I'll trade you...I will be at Schifol 3/24 all day looking for something to do...J
Was shooting at JFK last night and was stopped 3x but was allowed to proceed...

Its Schiphol. wink

Knowing that you were at JFK and in NYC, its almost surprising that they let you stay, although I've spotted up there (mind you I wasn't shooting, just watching planes in Howard Beach (right under the Breezy Point Climb turn from 31L), along the Cross Bay Bridge (great view of Breezy Point Climb turn and wingflex on heavies), and over along the beach on Rockaway (underneath departure path of 22R). I never saw a single airport or city cop, unlike I would've if I was right next to the airport and the perimeter fence - if you were right next to the airport, I'm almost shocked that they were lenient, LOL.

Quoting KL773ER (Reply 24):
I don't know about ORD, however, at LAX the police there seem to be pretty lax (pun slightly intended) about spotters for the short time I was spotting/photographing there.

I've never spotted at LAX, nor have I been to LA itself. But I do know a spotter/photographer (he's got some great photos on here) who was spotting the arrivals on 24R near In 'N' Out Burger along a sidewalk who was stopped after shooting for about 30 minutes; he was promptly told to leave. At least he had enough time to shoot quite a few heavies, including a beautiful Air Tahiti Nui A343 shot.

soon7x7 · Wed Jan 09, 2008 11:59 pm

Quoting 747fan (Reply 33):

It's fair to say at New York airports you stand a 50/50 chance of getting "interviewed" by local law officers, it's also fair to say that if you are approached, 90% chance they will let you be as long as you don't give them a hard time, and if you are alone...if your in a group...you're history!...Port Authority officers, NYPD and Nassau county officers are all pretty good guys, HOWEVER....!....while in the airport perimeter, it's the low end security agencies, I call them floaters (as opposed to calling them something else), they drive around the parking lots, will NEVER get out of their vehicle,and they come out of the woodwork, then they call the airport police and make a big stink...Recently though I see them, but they seem more now to not want to be bothered. They must have been forced to take a pay cut.

ALexeu · Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:35 am

Does any of you have license for airport/aircraft photography?

soon7x7 · Thu Jan 10, 2008 3:50 pm

Quoting AlexEU (Reply 35):

License...no...press pass, yes , but don't know for how long as the rules for issuing passes are changing in the bad sense. Does help to produce pilot license if you have one...No specific photography license that I'm aware of even exist. The easiest way to get airside is through contact , friends that work at ops, airlines, they have airport passes...explain your intentions, try to become a regular so they become familiar with you however don't overstay your welcome as airport ops have little tolerance for photographers with a list of demands.It's actually easier than you think...little nerve racking at first...Joe Pries said it best as a long time ago I asked him when he started, how was he able to access areas he worked in...his reply..." I just asked"....G

soon7x7 · Thu Jan 10, 2008 4:10 pm

Quoting 747fan (Reply 33):

I stand corrected...I suck at spelling, the only words I know how to spell without any problems are a follows

Nikon,Boeing, Airbus, American Express,Jessica Biel,US denominations,other than that, tail numbers!

ALexeu · Thu Jan 10, 2008 5:02 pm

Quoting Soon7x7 (Reply 36):

I was hassled few times when I trainspotted, so I will try to get license for train photography (in Serbia, 1960's law for photography is still applied banghead

).

ACDC8 · Thu Jan 10, 2008 9:44 pm

I've never had a problem. Most airports I've spotted at are somewhat more friendly than others from what I've read.

soon7x7 · Fri Jan 11, 2008 8:57 pm

Quoting AlexEU (Reply 38):

What law is that...what is penalty if violated?...jerry

jetblueguy22 · Sat Jan 12, 2008 1:38 pm

At BDL they are crazy. We only get like 1.2 million pax a year! The problem is we have state cops going around the airport like they're going out of style! They need to lighten up. Im not at JFK.
Blue

ALexeu · Sat Jan 12, 2008 4:28 pm

Quoting Soon7x7 (Reply 40):
What law is that...what is penalty if violated?...jerry

In 95% of cases I didn't have trouble (when trainspotting), but some primitive people still think that it's unacceptable. Back in 60s, while cold war was up (Serbia was neutral), taking photos of infrastructure and military was banned (actually in every contry) but still in 80% of cases, one didn't have problem. If the penalty is violated you will get questioned and annoyed, I never heard of any harder form.

SAAB900 · Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:11 pm

Quoting AlexEU (Reply 42):

I'm planning a trip to Belgrade in the near future mainly to visit the museum with the Caravelle in JAT livery but also to do some spotting/photography. Do you get any trouble from the police for spotting at the airport & can you write off for a license to take photos? Are there any good places to watch & take photos from?
From all my trips around Europe the worst place for me is Tenerife North! I've only been twice & both times I've been stopped questioned & had my identity checked, then told I cant watch the aircraft! But sometimes this just adds to the fun of visiting different places in different countries!

Dave(SAAB900)

Jawed · Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:39 pm

Who the hell are these people calling security because they see someone taking pictures? Are they so bored, so pathetic, that they want to be the big heroes who call the police on their cell phone? Get a life idiots and stop calling security!

Quoting Skywatch (Reply 18):

He said he was obligated to come check us out since security had already received three calls about us from people driving past. He said we could stay there, just advising us to be careful because of our proximity to the road.

Jawed · Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:41 pm

WHAT??? Your friend was standing on a public sidewalk taking pictures, and asked to leave? By who? If you are standing on public property on a side walk, just taking pictures, what basis does anyone have for asking you to leave?

Please explain. I am completely mind boggled.

Quoting 747fan (Reply 33):
I do know a spotter/photographer (he's got some great photos on here) who was spotting the arrivals on 24R near In 'N' Out Burger along a sidewalk who was stopped after shooting for about 30 minutes; he was promptly told to leave.

747fan · Tue Jan 15, 2008 1:04 am

Quoting Jawed (Reply 45):
WHAT??? Your friend was standing on a public sidewalk taking pictures, and asked to leave? By who? If you are standing on public property on a side walk, just taking pictures, what basis does anyone have for asking you to leave?

Yes, what you read is what happened. At least that's what he told me. Although he was right near the airport; I'm not familiar with LAX, so I don't know how far he was from the perimeter fence. I think he was near In 'N' Out Burger next to a parking lot. That's the LAPD (or LAX airport police) for you. NYC and Chicago are the same way, although I've never had a problem at JFK - I don't shoot photos, and I don't spot right next to airport grounds.

acabgd · Tue Jan 15, 2008 2:12 am

Quoting SAAB900 (Reply 43):
I'm planning a trip to Belgrade in the near future mainly to visit the museum with the Caravelle in JAT livery but also to do some spotting/photography. Do you get any trouble from the police for spotting at the airport & can you write off for a license to take photos? Are there any good places to watch & take photos from?

We were just discussing this in a local forum. There was a foreign photographer who recently got hassled by airport security and then told it is "forbidden to take aircraft photos with professional equipment" !?

However, one of the spotters promptly emailed airport officials and received reply it was okay to spot, photograph and hang around the airport as long as you're outside the fence (obviously).

A spotter's hill was recently made at a nice spot, close to the C ramp and RWY12 threshold. It's still not officially open (see above), but I've been there a couple of times and apart from security guys driving up in a Jeep from the other side of the fence and looking at us for some 15 minutes, nothing else happened. No cops, no trouble. You also don't have to worry about the museum, it's almost as if you're required to take photos if you're there.

The only problem at BEG is the lack of "interesting" traffic. It gets boring after a while...

SAAB900 · Tue Jan 15, 2008 2:35 pm

Quoting Acabgd (Reply 47):

Thanks for the info, looking forward to getting this trip planned now! Is there anywhere you can see into the JAT maintenance base & the old stored Dc9-32's?

Dave(SAAB900)

FriendlySkies · Tue Jan 15, 2008 4:23 pm

Last time I went spotting at ORD, the Dept of Aviation security (fake cops, no guns) came out, confiscated my film, and told me if I came back I'd be arrested. That was what the SUPERVISOR told me. I haven't gone back since, mainly because I don't feel like putting up with it. I was close to the employee security checkpoint, so that probably wasn't smart to begin with, but I wasn't on airport property...

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