Plane Spotting at Pearson Airport 101
"Plane spotting" is an odd hobby, and most certainly isn't for everyone. But those that do it are really into it and seem to enjoy themselves immensely. I learned this first hand the other day when on a whim I decided to take a curiosity-induced drive around the perimeter of Toronto's Pearson International Airport and see what I could learn about the phenomenon that is plane spotting.
After making my way around more than half of the airport, I pulled up to the Wendy's at Airport Rd. & Orlando Dr. because I noticed a queue of twinkling lights in the distance - an indication that the nearby runway was being used for landings (it wasn't until later that I learned that this particular runway is Pearson's longest at 3.3km). I snagged my camera bag, and took a walk around. It didn't take long to have my first encounter with a plane-spotter...
The first fellow I met was wearing a jacket with the words "Airport Watch" written boldly across the back. "Are you watching the planes?" I asked. "Yup," he responded courtly, as he tuned his walkie-talkie-like device and looked up into the sky before turning to walk away. Clearly he wasn't in the mood to talk to me, a newcomer to the scene. I made my way directly under the landing path, and snapped a few photos.
Across the street, on the chain link fence that separated public from private property, a sign reminded me to stay on my side of the fence. It made me think about security, and for a moment I considered packing up and going home rather than facing the potential consequences of meeting airport security staff who might think I'm a terrorist plotting some sort of evil scheme. That's when I met Stephan, a younger guy from Nova Scotia who (unlike the first plane-spotter I spotted) was smiling and approachable.
From his ears, he pulled out his headphone buds. At first I thought he was listening to music, but from his pocket, he pulled out his radio. "What are you listening to?" I asked. "The air traffic control tower, and the planes on approach, which are on different frequencies," he explained. "This is a cheaper one. You can pick one up at Radio Shack."
From his other pocket he then pulled out a piece of paper. As he unfolded it, he watched the horizon ahead of us. "A few big ones are coming soon. If you stick around between 3pm and 4pm you'll likely to see this British Airways 747." His info was from the internet, and detailed. The airlines, the type of planes, and their projected arrival times were all listed, along with a list of radio frequencies he could tap into to listen to the communications between the pilots and controllers.
A few mid-sized Airbuses came in. It's rather amazing how low the planes are at this point.
Stephan was pretty sure that gigantic 747 would be arriving soon, and advised that I join him in moving off to the side to get a better view. "It's too big for the camera to stay here," he suggested.
He also told me a little about plane-spotter photography, and pointed me to a super cool web site for submitting and viewing the best of the best. "You've got zoom," he said, nodding to my camera. "Try to capture the exact moment the tires hit the ground and the smoke shoots out."
Then came the moment we'd been waiting for - the arrival of the massive British Airways 747. As it approached I marvelled at just how HUGE it was. I backed up a little further. I wanted to include my new friend Stephan (who'd come all the way from the downtown core by public transit to see this and taken me under his wing for the experience) in the frame.
Here's the moment in all its glory:
Despite shooting in rapid succession at a wide angle, I couldn't even fit the plane in the frame!
So there you have it... plane spotting at Pearson 101. It's not likely that I'll take up this rather geeky, somewhat strange hobby. But admittedly, it was a lot of fun. Had I been alone, and not had the pleasure of meeting my teacher Stephan, I don't think I'd have enjoyed myself nearly as much. Oh, and to see another (much larger format) view of a massive plane we managed to catch please check out this snap. Crazy eh?
Comments (59)
If you want to bag the guppy I suggest checking the arrival/departures for the Antonov AN-124 that makes weekly visits to Pearson. It is HUGE and there's no mistaking the noise it makes when taking off.
for reference:
http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=1160389
I totally want to go out there now and watch 747's land! The pictures are awesome, the sight of a 747 so close but in the air makes it look like it was photoshopped there.
What's the schedule for that Antonov AN-124? That would be completely mind blowing to see.
Geeky as it may be it's gotten me kind of excited... I'm not ashamed to admit I kind of can't wait for the day the A380 will make its appearance at Pearson... now that's a huge mother.
Check out this neat comparison of some of the largest aircraft out there!
So who's going to find the flight schedule for the Antonov beast?
Right around the corner from my place. Next time you're there, call me. I'll stop by for a Frosty. =)
An AN-124 landed at Pearson on May7th, but I can't find the next projected flight in.
BUT I did stumble upon this INSANE graphical representation of air traffic over the US on Nov21, 2006. CRAZY!
I caught the AN-124 around this time last year - one year ago today, to be exact, at 9:14am as it was taking off from the Wendy's runway.
May 7th this year was a Monday
May 10th last year was a Wednesday..
guess we'll have to keep an eye out.
Here's a link to my shot of it taking off:
That Lufthansa is probably an A340-600.
I have seen suggestions (which I can see the point of) that spotters are good for security as they tend to notice people who are checking out points of entry to the airfield rather than the planes, etc. Some airports actually enlist spotters to help in this regard.
If you haven't done this, you really are missing some great fun. You don't appreciate how big these planes are until they fly right over you're head.
Adam: My trusty ol' Olypmus e-300 with kit lenses (14-45mm for wide and 40-150mm for zoom). :)
Unfortunately YYZ is not one of the airports where security tends to view spotters as a positive, people I know who spot report being regularily hassled by the Peel Regional Police airport detail, they seem to leave folks alone at the Wendy's but will tend to show up and suggest you move along if you stop anywhere else along the perimeter fence.
When I was in high school Silver Dart Dr. (parallel to the 427) was a prime location to ummm... park and watch planes with the girlfriend ;)
After 9/11 they put up concrete barricades, no-stopping signs, and enforced it with patrol cars.
if you're not just going after size it's fun to watch the Island airport planes come and go from the rooftop of the Radisson, and you can do it with a caesar in hand too!
...and if you're a plane buff I'd recommend the TV show Mayday, done by Toronto prodcos Nextfilm & Cineflix.
Nice writeup Jerrold. Always been fascinated by planes. Stopped there a few times to just watch the planes come in but never had my camera.
The last time I seen the Antonov was during the Sunday I think when the replica of the Avro Arrow was on display outside.
Even as a kid (and still now today) I always wanted to get up close to the cockpit but thanks to some event a few years ago, that chance went bye-bye.
Might have to take a trip out there to watch the planes come in the near future.
Don't be fooled people. J loved airplanes as a child and I know he has experienced this "phenomenon" before although perhaps not to this extent. Geek!
I have to add that it is NOT a "geek" experience. It's an excellent way to spend time, not only when you don't know what else to do with your time but also as a Sunday afternoon kinda' thing especially experiencing it with someone who has never done it before. It is exciting and loud and quick. A small but free rush if you will. Try it once if you haven't already.
Very pleasant article - thank you!
I have never considered plane spotting an 'odd' hobby! Been doing it since 1973!
True plane spotters track aircraft registrations (tail numbers)! These seem to be European spotters, whilst those in North America would be considered photographers!
planespotters played a big role in exposing the CIA's (probably) illegal rendition flights
http://www.surfingtheapocalypse.net/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?noframes;read=155763
Great write-up, but I'd like more information about Stephan's list.
I found his frequency information here:
http://www.canairradio.com/yyz.html
But I can't find his arrival information. Does anyone know where he got that from?
Thanks!
haha Jerrold you're sooo right about Silver Dart Drive.
Sometimes just to relax and getaway from it all I'd sit and watch some jets on arrival... now I want to do it again and bring my camera!
Does anyone know how I can get an arrival schedule for June 10 2007? I would like to be there to watch the planes but schedule my day accordingly. Your help is much appreciated.
Jerrod, Fantastic pics. Really enjoyed viewing them. I haven't been plane spotting in a couple of years, and I do miss it. Still have my scanners and listen from home every now and then. Also live down by the lake and when the winds are right, we're on the flight path. Hope to get back to the airport soon.
how do you know when planes are landing at the wendy's runway because out of the 5 times i went only was it once that the planes would land over my head.
i am also a plane spotter its so fun especially the big ones like you said in your report,i go plane spotting at east midlands airport but there isnt many big ones thanks alex
Try to follow wind the direction... then you'll know where the take-off and landing and which runway.
Where can I find the list of flights, arrival times, airline, aircraft type and frequencies on the net?
I googled plane-spotting in Toronto and came across your page. I did not think that plane-spotting was possible here in toronto given the inter-web of roads and highways that surround it! its certainly confusing. but i must say ure pictures are amazing and beautiful! I will surely take up the opportunity of visiting Airport & Orlando in the near future!!!
Thanks!
This is a great posting of your experience. I started plane spotting this summber and it has quickly turned into an addiction. I too have tried talking to the guy in the plaid and cap only to receive a cold response. Maybe I'll see you around the airport...cheers! BTW Great pics.
great thread, has anyone been recently to pearson to do some plane spotting, any good locations other than the wendy's?
thanks I really wanna try this.
I have moved to mississauga in august 2008 from surrey, bc. I have visited Vancouver International many times with my fiancee and loved it. I am glad I found this place so we can actually go and enjoy planee spotting some more.
pearson might not be used by CIA rendition-torture flights, but you never know til you photo one. ie---
In Spain, town planner Joseph Manchado is part of a small group who gather with their long lenses and foil-wrapped sandwiches at Majorca's Son Sant Joan airport.
In January last year Mr Manchado saw a Boeing 737 on the airport tarmac. He pressed his camera shutter button while speculating idly that some US millionaire was in town. Then he put the picture of the Boeing (tail fin number N313P) on airliners.net, and forgot about it.
Within a few days Mr Manchado starting getting strange calls and emails. ...Months later, he got a call from Germany's ZDF television. A man called Khalid El-Masri had come to them claiming he had been kidnapped by the CIA from Macedonia, bundled onto a plane and taken off to a prison many hours away. Several months later, after allegedly being tortured, he was flown back and dropped in Albania.
One of the planes thought to be involved was one Mr Manchado had photographed. It was believed that it had flown on to Macedonia that very same day. With the photo in their hand, ZDF reporters were able to persuade Skopje flight control to give them a printout of the flight plan. The aircraft had gone from Palma to Skopje and from there to Baghdad and Kabul. Mr El-Masri's story, convincingly told but difficult to believe, fitted.
Be sure to check out the Emirates A380 when it starts service to Toronto on June 1, 2009 from Dubai!
I'm doing some spotting on June 5th to see if I can't catch a glimpse of the A380 that afternoon. His Gate arrival time is scheduled for 3:45 local time so I imagine he'll probably land around 3:30 or just after..give him about 10 minutes taxi time..We're going to park at the Petro Canada station at runway 23, so hopefully he uses that approach that day. What's a good place to park if they're using 24L/R, 05?
Got a pretty neat flick of the 380 landing at YYZ on my Black Berry.
Took this by the fence off Airport Rd on Canada Day.
There was a tonne of people around to check it out.
Sorry for the quality of the pic.
Hey! i love this blog! im a plane spotter...i also love photography. im waiting to see the A380 come in. tried today, but i never caught it. does it land on the same runway Mon, Wed, Fri @ 3:45???
Thanks for the info.
Going to take my kids there today to check out the planes. I am sure they are going to FREAK OUT, as I will likely as well.
Thanks again.
YYZ plane spotters are talked about in this blog entry about the landing of the world's largest commercial aircraft in Toronto.
http://20minutesoffame.blogspot.com/2009/09/playing-to-social-media.html
My blog looks at how people, corporations and government agencies work to get that extra 5 minutes of fame over and above the 15 minutes given them by Andy Warhol. In the blog posting listed below I look at how the GTAA reached out to yyz plane spotters and invited them inside the fence to watch the arrival of the world's largest aircraft. The invite was nice, it was also an example of a corporation paying attention to Social Media.
Check it Out at:
http://20minutesoffame.blogspot.com/2009/09/playing-to-social-media.html
I'm curious if any of the regular planespotters at YYZ know of a good site that might track plane registration numbers? I have a big gap in my flight memory of nearly 50 flights to YYZ as ACARS doesn't seem to do a good job with Pearson flights + only goes back to 2006. Any thoughts would be great.
http://www.acarsd.org/world_ACARS_reports.html
London airport site is the best I've found, anything like this for YYZ?
thanks
I stopped by at Wendys last week for lunch around 1am and I happened to see the huge 4 engine Emirates plane land, I was reading an article on that plane in the Toronto star while back and the first class ticket costs around $15000 and you have access to shower facilities on the plane, spa services, as well as premium liquor at the international bar located inside the first class area. It looked newer and shinier on the outside than the Air Canada planes that normally take off from Pearson.
By the way, I did see a Peel region cop by the fence area telling all the people parked there to move their cars.
I'm trying to find out what I have to type into Google to get the print out of the aircraft, projected time of arrival at Pearson International airport , Toronto, and radio frequencies depicted in the photo of a guy named Stephen who (in the photo) shows a list on paper of the above he is holding. I have been an airplane spotter, as well as a priovate pilot for many years. The wife and I always go to the Wendy restaurant at the end of Pearson's runway 23 (the longest one) but also need to find out who to phone to find out which are the landing runways in use for a particular day. Today (Saturday Jan 9th is clear blue (cloudless)so we're off to plane spot as usual. Looking forward to a reply with the above info.
Tom,
You can get all that info off of flightaware or flightstats. As for frequencies just print off the approach charts for each runway, as they should be listed on there. To find out which runway, generally speaking and plane will land against a prevailing wind. I'm assuming you know that being a piot yourself. Otherwise, tune into approach control and listen for the approved approach runway that day.
Regards
I found a website for anyone interested, http://www.liveatc.net/feedindex.php?type=canada, where you can listen to the Toronto ATC on a live feed. Also depending on the winds I found another Wendys on Dixie where they land on 05. You have to find a spot down where the strobes are. Also if anyone knows of a website with a live cam or something please let me know. I don't get to Toronto to often but I do like watching the planes.
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