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Ras Al Khaimah Airport Spotting Guide
June 30, 2015
Liège Bierset Airport Spotting Guide
July 15, 2015Frankfurt Hahn Airport Spotting Guide
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- last modified on April 6, 2020
Hahn airport, better known as Frankfurt Hahn (HHN) is a small former US Air Foce Base and located between Frankfurt and Trier. Even though it is located at a stunning 120km distance to Frankfurt City, the airport is officially called Frankfurt-Hahn. This is due to the markting strategy of the home carrier Ryanair who is known to name regional airports like the next biggest city. The carrier is responsible for almost all schedule passenger traffic. The only other airline serving HHN is WizzAir. Despite the passenger traffic there are a handful of cargo operators flying into Hahn like SilkWay Cargo, Atlas Air or Nippon Cargo, all using their 747 freighters. There is also the occasionall US Air Force charter using a Delta 767 or Omni Air 777/767. Sometimes there are also other special cargo operators coming in. The future of the Hahn is unknown as the airport has not been profitable for years and the number of passengers and cargo flights has been steadily shrinking.
Written by Julian Mittnacht, Severin Hackenberger, Jan Seba, Patrick Weis and André Lemb. Last update April 2019.
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| Airline Variety | |
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| Weather | |
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| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 03/21 | 3.800 m (12.467ft) |
| Terminals | One for all flight operations. |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | Might be helpful at some spots for some shots but you can make it without one. It is most useful in summer when the grass is higher and the gear can be obstructed by that. |
| Car/Public Transport | Car is absolutley necessary as there is no public transport to the locations except to the terminal. |
| Restrooms | Inside the terminal or the gas station. |
| Drinks/Food | Supermarket and Fast Food Restaurants as marked on the map and inside the terminal. |
| Hotels | There is a B&B just next to the terminal. |
| Season | Traffic is almost the same all year round. |
| Runway Usage | |
| 03/21 | Used in all directions and changes frequently. Please keep in mind that if 03 is used, the runway is shorter due to the moved threshold. |
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Spot #1 – Hill – 03/21 movements |
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| WHERE | Its a little bit tricky to find this location. If you leave the B50, follow the signs to the airport but don´t drive to the terminal. At the first big junction turn left into the “Flugplatzstraße”. Follow the road until you see the signs for “Winterdienst” and turn right. After a few hundred meters turn right again, still to the “Winterdienst”, and follow this road straight forward until you reach the perimeter fence. Park your car somewhere in this area. Once you have arrived, you have two options:
a) Just walk along the fence towards the airport for a few minutes until you see a huge hill on the right and just walk up there. From here you have a nice elevated view over the whole airfield. |
| WHAT | You get all 03 arrivals here but the planes are still in the air here due to the moved threshold. 03 departures are possible too but just the heavies as they use the full runway length. The Ryanair aicrafts don´t need this but you can photograph them on the taxiway Charlie for the line up. Heavy arrivals on 21 are possible as they usually use taxiway charlie for a 180 degree turnaround and taxi back on the ruwnay to the cargo apron. 21 departures are no problem. |
| TIME | In the summer from sunrise until noon. For taxiway Charlie photos until late afternoon. |
| MISC. | The spot is in the middle of nowhere so bring everything with you. For option b at some points you may need a ladder. However, there are several bigger rocks, from where you can shoot over the fence and the area next to the fence is partly high enough to be able to shoot over it, too. But a ladder is recommended, if you wanna choose your position totally freely. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 160mm for the A320. 180mm for the taxiway |
Option a – the hill:
Option b – along the fence/on the rocks:
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Spot #2 – Terminal P1 Parking Garage – 03/21 movements |
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| WHERE | From the B50 just follow the signs to the airport and drive up to the uppest level of the P1 parking garare. From the terminal its just a short hop by foot. |
| WHAT | You are almost in the middle of the runway and you see all movements from this position and parts of taxiway alpha. Some light poles may disturb the sight and in the summer month there is a lot of heat haze at this place. |
| TIME | In the summer from sunrise until noon. |
| MISC. | Parking fee for 1 hour is 4 Euros. Everything you need is within the terminal. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 140mm for the 748 on the runway. 160mm for the 738 on the apron |
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Spot #3 – Ryanair Hangar – 21 arrivals |
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| WHERE | From the B50 don´t drive till spot 2 but instead leave the road to the right and head to the cargo area. Pass all the cargo terminals and follow the road along the old military taxiway along the shelters. Once you have passed a go-cart racetrack make a turn to the left into a dead end road. Park your car in the forrest and walk a few meters to have a good sight for the 21 arrivals. |
| WHAT | All arrivals on 21 are possible from here as well as the northern ramp (huge fence, ladder recommend) |
| TIME | In the summer from sunrise until noon. |
| MISC. | The spot is in the middle of nowhere so bring everything with you. Don´t be afraid if a fence is blocking the street. Just walk through the forrest to get to your position. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 100mm for the AN124 and 50mmm for 777 on the ramp. |
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Spot #4 – Bus stop – 21 arrivals |
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| WHERE | Leave the B50 and go on the L194 through the town Bärenbach, follow this road until the end and turn left onto the L193. Alternative is just continue on the road to spot #3 until the L194. The location itself is right next to the road and a bus stop. You can park your car somewhere in the town Hahn and walk back from there. |
| WHAT | This location is good only for arrivals on RWY 21 in the evening. |
| TIME | Light is good here in the summer in the evening. In winter the sun does not come around the runway far enough to use it. |
| MISC. | Choose a location somewhere along the main road where you can stand safely. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Will be similar to Spot #5, see there. |
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Spot #5 – Western Perimeter – 03/21 movements |
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| WHERE | To reach this spot it is also best to drive past #4 and just continue further along the fenceline. At some point the main road will make a corner to the right leaving the fence. Here you have to turn left into a smaller side road which continues along the fence. Just park your car next to the road (there is enough space on the right side) after a few meters. |
| WHAT | You can vary your location here, but you will probably close to the marked point. Arrivals for RWY 03 will still be in the air here, but you will have grass in the image frame. Aircraft lining up on RWY 03 usually require a ladder so that part of the gear is not obstructed. Small aircraft lineup right in front of you and Heavies backtrack on the RWY so that you can shoot them from both sides. |
| TIME | Light is good here in the summer in the evening. In winter the sun does not come around the runway far enough to use it. |
| MISC. | Sometimes tractors pass this point and you have to clear the street. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 125mm for a B738 and pretty much exactly 70mm for a B744 (Canon, very close crop). |
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Spot #6 – Observation Deck – Ramp action/runway |
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| WHERE | Pretty easy to find. Get in the terminal A (1) and follow the signs up to the “Besucherterrasse”. Its on the first floor, landside withouth security cecks and free of charge. Disadvantage is its behind glass. |
| WHAT | Almost the same sight like from #2 (runway) but you can see parts of the ramp too. For the runway we recommend you spot #2. This is just for the ramp. |
| TIME | In the summer from sunrise until noon. |
| MISC. | Everything you need within the terminal. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | For the ramp around 50-100mm |
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Spot #7 – Sport court fence – 03 Arrivals and heavy departure backtracks + 21 heavy arrival turner |
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| WHERE | This spot can be found close to spot #1, just on the other site of the airport ground stuff storage area/hall. In order to get here, drive as you would go to spot #1, but instead of turning right before the mentioned storage hall, continue a bit till you can see a road stuffed with an enter restricted sign on the right. Park you car infront og the abandoned houses directly there and walk in the restricted street by foot. Once you ended up at the fence, search your favourite position regarding angle and light. |
| WHAT | From here you’ll be able to see 03 Arrivals for sure. The rest is a bit of poker as you may be lucky and see those aircraft, which landed on runway 21 and now turn via the taxiway o infront to taxy back to terminal, or those, which want to depart on runway 03 and need the full runway while turning here for departure. |
| TIME | Depending on the aircraft’s position/angle, you should be able to shoot here from sunrise till later afternoon. |
| MISC. | Nothing around. Don’t enter the street as there is a restriction sigh (marked the position on the map). Ladder needed, nothing around. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 40-250mm |
Will be added soon… Mark on the map as well!
Enter this street by foot only as on the right here is the mentioned “entrance by car restricted” sign:
You will end up at this fence, where you can freely choose your exact position:
1 Comment
Very very helpfull ! Thanks