Pratica di Mare Air Base - Spotting Guide

Pratica di Mare Air Base – Spotting Guide

August 20, 2022 - last modified on November 29, 2023

Pratica di Mare (-/LIRE) is Italy’s major air base, 40km southwest of Rome at the coast. Having said that, LIRE is Italy’s busiest airbase and this is also the reason for the high safety standars, so keep away from the fence! The airfield was opened in 1937 and is not a home for fighters or CL415, but instead base for various aircraft like (roughly 20) P180s, ATR42s, ATR72s, B350s, 4 KC767A (B767 Tankers), 2 Gulfstream G550 CAEW observers and plenty of helicopters. You can see these here almost on a daily basis flying out for missions as Polizia di Stato, Carabinieri and Guardia di Finanza have their headquarters here

Furthermore the airport gets visits from fighters, C27s, C130s, ATR42s and ATR72s as well as different helicopters from all other Italy’s air bases. In addition, you may also see foreign air forces sometimes or air force display teams stopping here enroute to airshows with their support aircraft. LIRE is also used by cargo and similar support aicraft during state visits – USAF sends its C17s and C40s here for example once POTUS is about to come to town.

+++ NOTE: Spots 2-5 are on sort of private property which is also used for hunts sometimes! Be aware of that! You may be approached by the owners, police or military and sent away rudely maybe even get fines! Enter at your own risk! +++

Written by Severin Hackenberger in cooperation with Maik Voigt and Daniel Veronesi. Last Update: June 2023 – all spots checked

Rating
Movements
Photo Locations
Weather
Airport Information
Runways
13R/31L	2540 x 45m – CLOSED PERMANENTLY
13L/31R	2480 x 30m
Spotting Information
Ladder	Not needed and not recommended at all. Keep away from the fence!
Car/Public Transport	Definitely needed, you are screewed without a car.
Drinks/Food	Along the coast and in the city of Pomezia away from the coast you can find plenty restaurants/shops.
Hotels	None here for spotting.
Season	Summer is hot and hazy, best season is spring and autumn as weather in winter is not that stable.
Security	This is Italy’s busiest air base, so there are high safety standards! Keep away from the fence, hide your equipment at all time, do not use ATC scanners and do not hang around the airport on open meadows all time. Sit in your car as long as possible and only get out for pictures to avoid attention and problems!
Runway Usage
General Info	Although LIRE is Italy’s busiest air base, there is not too much traffic here. So if possible regarding the wind, traffic departs/arrives according to the direction of its destination while avoiding FCO’s movements. Mostly you will see 31 arrivals and 13 departures.

	Spot #1 – Via Arno – 13 Arrivals + 31 Departures
WHERE	This spot is located along Via Arno actually at the corner of the row of houses and the fence around a field. Park the car 200m further away from the arrival path at the roadside and come here by foot quickly if something is about to land. Keep the camera in your back until you really want to take pictures and stow it there again afterwards.

WHAT	Good for 13 arrivals, low 31 departures may also work. Both are quite rare though.

TIME	Early noon till sunset.

MISC.	Do not come to the spot by car, park back as marked and come here by foot quickly if something is about to land. Keep the camera in your back until you really want to take pictures and stow it there again afterwards. Do not show off your equipment, you are directly in front of the fence and a small gate! Haze and bushes are an issue here and may disturb your view.

FOCAL LENGTH	70-300mm Casa 295 = 230mm / ATR72 = 190mm

	Spot #2 – PSN Horse Ranch – 31 Arrivals + 13 Departures
WHERE	This spot is located in the fields southeast of the airfield. If you are coming from Rome, pass Pomezia and then turn off SP101a onto small field roads. These will become gravel/sand after a while, but there is no better way in. The drive in takes roughly 5 minutes, just head towars “PSN Horse ranch” and proceed a few meters after reaching its gate to park your car between a row of trees in the shadow.

WHAT	31 landings and 13 outbounds.

TIME	Early noon till sunset.

MISC.	Nothing around. Stay away from the farm fence next door as the dogs will go crazy. Rather sit here quietly and keep a very low profile, only come out with your camera once you wanna shoot something. Be careful when driving in with sports car or after heavy rains. Grasses and rocks on the roads are mostly quite high. This spot is on sort of private property which is also used for hunts sometimes! Be aware of that! You may be approached by the owners, police or military and sent away rudely maybe even get fines! Enter at your own risk!

FOCAL LENGTH	100-400mm B767 front = 200mm

	Spot #3 – Field – 31 Arrivals + 13 Departures
WHERE	Continue on from spot #4 or just a few meters east of the PSN horse ranch take a small dirt road onto the fields. Then you will reach the one and only Y-junction here of gravel roads on the fields close to the fields. This is roughly where you can simply stop by the roadside and shoot the approach path.

WHAT	31 landings and 13 outbounds.

TIME	Sunrise till late morning/early noon only.

MISC.	Nothing around. Rather sit here quietly and keep a very low profile, only come out with your camera once you wanna shoot something. Be careful when driving in with sports car or after heavy rains. Grasses and rocks on the roads are mostly quite high. This spot is on sort of private property which is also used for hunts sometimes! Be aware of that! You may be approached by the owners, police or military and sent away rudely maybe even get fines! Enter at your own risk! To attract less attention, you can also consider parking your car at the PSN horse ranch (spot#2) far away from the fence and walking in here by foot!

FOCAL LENGTH	70-300mm P180 = 260mm

	Spot #4 – Power building – 31 Arrivals + 13 Departures
WHERE	From spot 3 on, continue on the field road next to the fence to the northeast for ~100m. There you will see a little bridge leading over the little river to the field directly at the fence. Park your car here by the roadside and just wait on the bridge for some aircraft to be just about to pass by. Then take your picture from here or quickly go out to the field or the road depending your favourite angle and the haze, take your pictures and come back to the bridge where you are harder to be spotted that easily.

WHAT	31 landings and 13 outbounds.

TIME	From later noon till sunset.

MISC.	Nothing around here at all. But you are directly at the fence and easy to be seen! So keep a very low profile, only come out with your camera once you wanna shoot something. Luckily there are some bushes here next to the bridge where you can easily hide behind. Haze may be an issue on hot summer days. Be careful when driving in with sports car or after heavy rains. Grasses and rocks on the roads are mostly quite high. This spot is on sort of private property which is also used for hunts sometimes! Be aware of that! You may be approached by the owners, police or military and sent away rudely maybe even get fines! Enter at your own risk! To attract less attention, you can also consider parking your car at the PSN horse ranch (spot#2) far away from the fence and walking in here by foot!

FOCAL LENGTH	100-400mm B767 = 165mm / ATR72 = 240mm

	Spot #5 – Power building – 31 Arrivals + 13 Departures
WHERE	Again turn off SP101a onto Via Campo Verde, but head on this road now all the way done to the west. You pass an abandoned warehouse and an offload area on your right. Once you reach the farmers’ houses as next waypoint on your right, there should be a small gravel/dirt road turn off to the left. Take this one done till you almost reach the fence at a small house in the curve. Here you can park your car a bit hidden behind the building to avoid attention and then just wait for movements.

WHAT	31 landings and 13 outbounds.

TIME	Sunrise till late morning/early noon only.

MISC.	Nothing around. Rather sit here quietly and keep a very low profile, only come out with your camera once you wanna shoot something. Be careful when driving in with sports car or after heavy rains. Grasses and rocks on the roads are mostly quite high. This spot is on sort of private property which is also used for hunts sometimes! Be aware of that! You may be approached by the owners, police or military and sent away rudely maybe even get fines! Enter at your own risk!

FOCAL LENGTH	100-400mm

	Spot #6 – Q8 Parking – 31 Arrivals
WHERE	Simply located in the parking of the Q8 or even bit south a bit of the Q8 gas station. You can park there roughly and then position yourself around here as you want.

WHAT	31 landings only.

TIME	Sunrise till late morning/early noon only.

MISC.	The spot is quite far away from the runway but therefore safe. You can stand here without worries and don’t destroy your car neither. Plus everything is nearby in the gas station.

FOCAL LENGTH	100-400mm