You are at netAirspace : Forum : Spotting and Photography Forums : Spotting Guides

Barcelona Spotting

Information on world-wide spotting locations, links and contacts.
 

mr chips (Photo Quality Screener) 16 Apr 17, 19:11Post
Ola! I am aware a few guys were in Barcelona on a group meetup recently so hopefully a few people may be able to offer advice.

I will be visiting Barcelona for a week tomorrow and I am hoping to get a few hours at the airport during the trip.

When the wind allows it (blowing from the West), does RWY 07L get used mainly for arrivals, and if so, is spotting available from the end of Terminal One? I don't see many pictures from there despite several spotting guides saying it is possible.

Also, when the winds blow from the East, and 25R is used for arrivals. I know of the spotting platform however does anybody know if the PR3 bus to the near by cemetory ("Tanatori") runs year round or how does it work?

If anyone even has any pics to share, any help would be appreciated.
JLAmber (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 17 Apr 17, 18:04Post
There may be some information in the BCN meet thread. Hopefully some of this year's attendees will be able to fill in the gaps for you.
A million great ideas...
CentrelinePhoto 18 Apr 17, 15:16Post
mr chips wrote:When the wind allows it (blowing from the West), does RWY 07L get used mainly for arrivals, and if so, is spotting available from the end of Terminal One? I don't see many pictures from there despite several spotting guides saying it is possible.

Apologies for the sluggishness of the response Dave...I'll blame the Bank Holiday ;)

Winds blowing from the west would mean arrivals on runway 25R and most departures using 25L (heavies normally depart from 25R). In this configuration, we found the best spot on T1 was the top floor of the MSCP but even this is pretty much level with the 07 end of the runway so everything is pretty high by the time it passes...



Winds were from the west for the whole time we were there so we had no chance to explore any spots around 07L/R. Arrivals are always on the northern runway so I guess there might be a corresponding spot on the north side of T1...Google Earth seems to show a small amount of room at the northwest corner of T1 departures level which would overlook 07L.

The NAS meet attendees were all in hire cars so I couldn't tell you about the buses to the platform at 25R I'm afraid.

Hopefully this will help in some way...enjoy Barcelona :)
Just once in a while, let us exalt the importance of ideas and information.
miamiair (netAirspace FAA) 18 Apr 17, 18:47Post
From page 2 of the BCN Meet thread:

And let's get one thing straight. There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist in love with flight. — E. B. Jeppesen
mr chips (Photo Quality Screener) 19 Apr 17, 07:21Post
Thanks very much for the replies guys, much appreciated! :)
airtrainer 22 Apr 17, 16:30Post
If I recall correctly there is a bus service to the beach but only in summer.
Grounded...
mr chips (Photo Quality Screener) 22 Apr 17, 18:57Post
Well, I'm nearing the end of my trip and have had quite a lot of bad luck getting to the spotting locations first thing in the morning. Not understanding a word of Spanish hasn't helped my situation.

Day ONE. Forecast suggested RWY 07L for arrivals so at 7am I made my way to Terminal 1 via the underground line. When nearing the airport, I noticed everything was landing on RWY 25R. Doh! So upon getting to the airport, I tried locating the PR3 bus stops which would bring me to the Southern side spotting platform.

Turns out the bus stop is 1km from the terminal and you are required to press a button to call the bus. Long story short button was pressed, bus didn't come, so I started walking the 4.5km walk to the platform. (3 minutes after leaving the bus stop, the bus drove past! Doh again!)

Skip forward to 9am and I had just made it to the platform when the RWY changed direction rendering the spotting location useless. :( Had to catch bus back to the airport and back to the original Terminal One location.

Basically after 3 hours of faffing around, no spotting started until 10.30am, missing most of the interesting traffic.

Day TWO. After making 100% sure the RWY movements were correct, I set out to the RWY 25R platform for sunrise at 7. Upon trying to catch the PR3 bus, this time the driver gestured saying the bus didnt operate to that side of the airport until after 9am. DOHHH! Either wait 2 hours or again walk the 4.5km distance.

Again I opted to walk and this time made it to the platform for 8.15am. Thankfully more lucky this time and got a full 8 hours of spotting completed along with some interesting movements including Red Wings Tu204 and various of special liveries.

Now very tired, a tad drunk and a bit delirious, so excuse the long rambling reply. My advice for anybody spotting at BCN... hire a car or get a taxi!
CentrelinePhoto 22 Apr 17, 19:24Post
Glad you got some useful time at the platform in the end Dave. And the Red Wings Tu204 was a nice little reward for your perseverance ;)
Just once in a while, let us exalt the importance of ideas and information.
 

Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests

LEFT

RIGHT
CONTENT