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August 18, 2020Charleston Intl. Airport – Spotting Guide
- last modified on November 30, 2023
Charleston International Airport is South Carolina’s largest and busiest airport as well as it being a military base with 35+ C17’s stationed. Quite the highlight for a lot of spotters is the Boeing 787 assembly line which also produces the exclusive 787-10. Boeing South Carolina offers all kinds of traffic from all over the world that you would usually never see in North America making it a gold mine for spotters. CHS offers something for everyone, with 10 airlines serving it to this day including JetBlue and Southwest with their many special liveries. Also not very uncommon is to see foreign C17’s fly in from all over the world due to the instructors Joint Base Charleston has to offer. Including the likes of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Indian Air Force, Kuwait Air Force, Qatar Emiri Air Force, UAE Air Force etc.
Written by Devin. Last Update: July 2020
| Rating | |
| Movements |  |
| Airline Variety |  |
| Photo Locations |  |
| Weather | |
| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 15/33 | 2.744 m (9.001 ft) Concrete |
| 03/21 | 2.134 m (7.000 ft) Concrete |
| Terminals | Only one terminal served by Alaska, Allegiant, American, British Airways (seasonal), Delta, Frontier (seasonal), Jetblue, Silver Airways, Southwest and United. |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | Useful at position #3 and needed at location #4. For more details see the description. |
| Car/Public Transport | There is no chance to get around without a car. No spots are in walking distance from the terminal. |
| Restrooms | Nothing directly at the locations except spot 1. |
| Drinks/Food | Plenty of dining options along Highway 78 and the Tanger Outlet at spot 1. |
| Hotels | There a dozens of hotels around the airport but no one with a special onto the action. |
| Season | Not really, most interesting traffic comes from Boeing and they operate all year around except Christmas to New Years. Military action is also year round. |
| Security | At S Aviation Avenue expect questioning. Also the Boeing Delivery Center will kick you out if they find you taking pictures. Don’t go to no go areas, you will get kicked out and you will be questioned. |
| Runway Usage | |
| General Info | All runways are used for both departures and arrivals. Mostly 15/33 however. |
| 15/33 | 15/33 runs SE to NW. Winds are usually calm in the morning so they prefer to use 33 since it is a much shorter taxi to 15. |
| 03/21 | 03/21 is used pretty rarely, only used frequently by Fedex in the morning. Only during very strong winds. |
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Spot #1 – Tanger Outlets – 33 Approach |
|---|---|
| WHERE | There is a Tanger outlet mall at the intersection of I-526 and I-26. Follow the signs to the mall and situate yourself anywhere on the parking lot, depending on which angle you prefer. In the morning we recommend the parking lot next to the Walmart and in the afternoon next to “Sportman’s Warehouse”. |
| WHAT | 33 Arrivals only (sample pics are go arounds!) |
| TIME | You can use it the whole day. Light is on the runway around noon. |
| MISC. | No issues here with security. Plenty of hotels, restaurants, grocery stores and restrooms are available within walking distance. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Anything from 75+ will do. Arrival 789 = 120mm, go around 78X = 200 |
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Spot #2 – Boeing Delivery Center – Boeing Ramp |
|---|---|
| WHERE | The Boeing Delivery Center parking lot is accessible from South Aviation Ave (exit 16B (airport) from I-562 and only reachable by car. There is a fence but a camera easily fits through it as it is made of iron rods with sufficient space between the rods. |
| WHAT | Anything leaving the Boeing facility and parked aircraft like the Boeing Dreamlifters. |
| TIME | Sunrise to noon in the summer, sunrise to 10:30 in the winter for taxiway movements. |
| MISC. | This is private property so be careful and don`t stay too long. They will kick you out if they see you taking pictures. Has only ever happened to us once in nearly a dozen visits. The Tanger Outlet is 5 minutes away by car where you have access to various facilities. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Anything from 18mm when 787’s taxi by to depart to 200mm for a parked Dreamlifter. |
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- Parking lot from the main road
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- Parking lot
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- Postion is between the trees at the fence
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Spot #3 – Atlantic Aviation FBO Parking |
|---|---|
| WHERE | Continue from the airport and spot 2 northwards on the South Aviation Ave until you see the Atlantic Aviation FBO parking lot to your left. Park there and walk up to the fence to shoot there. |
| WHAT | 33 Arrivals and departures, 21 Arrivals and departures, 03 departures, Taxiway G and A as well as some GA aircraft parked at Signature FBO nearby. |
| TIME | Sunrise to 10:30 in both summer and winter due to light and heat haze. |
| MISC. | You can bring a ladder if you want, but there is also an electrical box or the base of the lamp post you can climb on, which will clear the top of the fence. However it is possible that the FBO staff ask you to leave this place as it is still private property. Tanger Outlets is about 10-15 minutes from here. This spot is only available by car. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 18mm for the aircraft at Signature 737 on runway = 130mm |
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Spot #4 – South Aviation Avenue – 15 Approach |
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| WHERE | Continue from the Atlantic Aviation FBO parking lot (spot 3) until you see a gravel parking area by the 15 threshold. |
| WHAT | 15 arrivals and line ups, and also 33 departures, but they are already quite high in the air at that point, so we recommend spot #3 for that. |
| TIME | Sunrise to 10:30 in both summer and winter due to light and heat haze. |
| MISC. | A ladder is necessary for 15 line ups, but not required for 15 arrivals as you can catch them on short final. We don’t recommend to bring a ladder as this can quickly get the attention of security. Just stay in your car and shoot when a plane moves and you’ll be fine. Tanger Outlet is 10-15 minutes from here. This spot is only available by car. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | F-15 = 350m; C-17 = 180mm |
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Spot #5 – Grainger Industrial Supply – 15 approach |
|---|---|
| WHERE | There is an industrial area on the northern end of the airport. Find the Grainger Industrial Supply parking lot on Pepperdam Ave and start taking pictures from there. This spot is quite far away from the other locations and it can take up to 20 mins to get there with traffic. |
| WHAT | 15 arrivals only. |
| TIME | Noon to sunset both summer and winter. |
| MISC. | There are several hotels and gas stations nearby. No issue with security here at all even if you are on “private property”. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | around 150mm for A320/737 |
Update on my previous comment regarding Boeing:
The construction fence along Aviation Ave near International Drive isn’t blocking the view anymore, but it’s still a very busy intersection. There’s space on the side of the road but there’s usually a cop sitting there waiting for someone to run the red light.
Update on the Boeing plant. Currently there’s construction and the fence now blocks the view. You can see planes from the road, but unless you can stop on the side of the road (not recommended, there’s no shoulder) and get on top of your car, you won’t see much more than tails.
The airport parking garages are reasonable but the view is partially blocked by the terminal. From there you can see 33 arrivals/15 departures from the east end of the garage, and the military area and 03 arrivals/21 departures from the west end. The newer and taller garage further back from the terminal might be better, but I haven’t tried it yet.
If you like trains as well, there’s a spot on a gravel road off the end of Piggly Wiggly Drive by the I-26 bridge with an okay view of 33 arrivals/15 departures. Best in the mornings. There’s the highway bridge and a billboard in the way but you can get clear shots with a good zoom. It is on railroad property but they won’t care or kick you out as long as you stay safe and out of the way. The road is rough, so I recommend cars with good ground clearance and good tires. I also recommend tuning your scanner (if you have one) to also pick up railroad radio as trains do sometimes block shots.
Spot #2 has been demolished. Entire building, parking lot, everything is leveled.
Nothing great for 03/21 arrivals that isn’t the FBO, hmm? I’ll have to take my chances then.
If you’re okay with being further out, 21 arrivals come in over the Trident Tech campus near the railroad tracks at Hanahan. There’s campus security during business hours but they don’t bug anyone who isn’t causing an issue. As for 03, options are limited but your best bet is somewhere along Dorchester Road south of Michaux Pkwy. There’s a strip mall, gas station, and convenience store around there but I wouldn’t go for it since the area is a bit rough. Anywhere west of that, other than a boat in the river, and you’ll get blocked by trees.
The detailed information about spotting locations, tips for photography, and aircraft spotting opportunities make it an invaluable resource for plane spotters. I want to express my gratitude for your dedication to sharing this wealth of information, which enriches the experiences of aviation enthusiasts like myself. Happy spotting!
So Atlantic Aviation do not have a problem using their parking space, I used to go spotting all over the world when I worked for BA, moved here 22 years ago and stopped spotting apart from overhead pics, might make the trip down from Ridgeville, my son flies the F18/G and came in several years ago, we took photos of the landing from the FBo at the next door, and got airside when he left…
Thanks For This Article. It’s very helpful.