Are you a fan of airplanes? Here are eight cult destinations to choose from for your next summer vacation
If you read The Flight Club, it means that you are a travel enthusiast, or at least a frequent traveler. But if you are also passionate [...]
Thailand
United States of America
If you read The Flight Club, it means that you are a travel enthusiast, or at least a frequent traveler. But whether you are also aircraft enthusiasts, as is the Barbone Matteo Rainisio, there are eight destinations that are must-sees and, who knows, might fit into your summer vacation plans.
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Three of these are at the seaside. In fact, literally on the beach. The most iconic of all is Maho Beach, located on the Caribbean island of Saint Marteen which is separated from the Princess Juliana International Airport runway by a small wall, a small road, a metal fence and a few dozen feet of lawn.
Planes fly over it at a few dozen meters altitude on landing. And when they take off, they are so close to the beach that they sweep away the sand with the jet of their reactors. These are mostly of flights from the United States and Canada, but there is no shortage of long-haul connections operated by Air France and KLM with A330-200s and A300-300s, respectively, who are the authentic 'stars' of the place.
Another legendary beach for watching planes landing is the Mai Khao Beach in Phuket, Thailand. Here the aircraft transit slightly higher than on Maho Beach, but nn the course of the day, there are many more wide-body aircraft, and there are also many more landings.
Staying a little closer to Italy, in Greece in particular, the island of Skiathos is a 'Saint Marteen in miniature', meaning that even here the planes pass really low (perhaps even more than over Maho Beach), but they are relatively few in number and all narrow-body, given the limited length of the runway at the Greek island airport. The place to stand for the best view is a parking lot just south of the end of the runway, next to the harbor, where you will be literally brushed by the wheels of A320s, Boeing 737s but also larger A321s and B757s crammed with vacationers.
If you prefer the city to the beaches, there are three must-see destinations, all in the United States. One is Washington, where two of the world's largest and most beautiful aviation museums are located. One is The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution., which is located right along the famous 'Mall,' just a few hundred meters from the building that houses Congress.
Other, the Steven Udvar Hazy Center, which still reports to the Smithsonian Institute but Is located near Dulles airport., some 30 kilometers west of the U.S. capital. Here, in addition to dozens of civilian and military aircraft models from the postwar period to recent times (including an Air France Concorde), there is also one of Nasa's shuttles, the Discovery.
On the opposite side of the United States, Los Angeles International Airport offers several spectacular vantage points, the most fabulous of which is The small public garden that is located in front of the fast food restaurant In 'n Out Burger located at the corner of 92nd Street and Sepulveda Boulevard in Westchester, just below the end of the landing path for Runway 24R. Everything comes down there (including several A380s and B747-8s), in large numbers and from before dawn until well after midnight. With the convenience of having a place next door to eat, drink and, in case, use the bathroom.
From LA, a drive of just over an hour will take you to San Diego which, in addition to being a beautiful place is also a city with the airport literally at home, positioned as it is between the bay and Pacific Highway. Here the best place to stand is on the roof of a public silo, Laurel Airport Parking, that planes graze in the last seconds of flight before setting their wheels on runway 27. The traffic is for the U.S.-made 90%, but Japan Airlines (Boeing 787-8), Lufthansa (Airbus A350-900), British Airways (Airbus A350-1000) also land there..
Still remaining on the U.S. West Coast, but moving from its southern end to its northern end, Seattle area is the 'aircraft capital of the world.' It is, first and foremost, because in Everett (about fifty kilometers further north) there is the headquarters of Boeing and, in 'secundis', because. A little further south, next to Boeing Field is perhaps the most beautiful of the existing aviation museums in the world: The Museum of Flight which, on the Boeing side, traces the history of commercial aviation with dozens of aircraft on which you can also climb, including the first Boeing 747 ever built and the Air Force One that presidents up to Johnson (a Boeing 707) used.
Returning to Everett, on the northwest side of Paine Field. (the airport overlooked by the U.S. manufacturer's factories). Future of Flight Center is located. which has a terrace from which there is a resounding view of all the aircraft awaiting delivery and the runway and aprons, and which is a bit of a museum, a bit of a gadget and memorabilia store but, most importantly, the starting point for tours of the huge hangars where the 777s and 787s are assembled (The visit takes about a couple of hours).
Here one place where you can't miss sleeping is the Hilton Garden Inn Seattle North/Everett, from whose odd-numbered rooms there are excellent views of all the airport movements.
The eighth must-see destination for aircraft enthusiasts is still in the United States (after all, aviation was born there...), but this time in the desert. In Pima, Arizona, not far from Tucson, is the Pima Air and Space Museum. where they are displayed, some outdoors and some inside the hangars, Approximately 400 aircraft ranging from a Wright Brothers Flyer (those who first flew in 1903) to the Dreamliner. Adjacent to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, it was for years a 'graveyard' a 'graveyard' where aircraft taken out of service by the companies were parked, before transforming into the exhibition center with the largest number of aircraft in the world.
