Sydney Airport
| Continent: Oceania | Country: Australia |
| Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport |
|
| Location | Sydney, Australia |
| IATA code | SYD |
| ICAO code | YSSY |
| Airport type | Commercial |
| Website | [www.sydneyairport.com.au/ www.sydneyairport.com.au/] |
| Overview map | [ ] |
| Communications | |
| Tower | 120.5 rwy 16R-34L & 07-25 / 124.7 rwy 16L-34R |
| Ground | 121.7, 126.5 |
| Clearance | 133.8 |
| Approach | 135.1 |
| Departure | 123, 129.7, 118.4 |
| ATIS | 126.25, 112.1, 428 |
Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport is the main airport for Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1920, it is Australia's largest airport and is the world's oldest continually operated commercial airport. The airport is named after Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, the famous aviator who was the first to fly across the Pacific Ocean. Home to Qantas Airways, Sydney Airport is also regularly served by over 50 other airlines, domestic and international. Currently, more than 26 million passengers pass through the airport each year.
Sydney Airport has some excellent spotting locations, with movements on all three runways (16R-34L, 16L-34R and 07-25) clearly visible from at least one spot each. Sydney is home to a large community of aviation enthusiasts, many of whom regularly take advantage of the great views from popular viewing locations such as the Tower Mound and the Beach.
Official Spotting Locations
International Terminal Observation Deck
The only official spotting location at Sydney Airport is the observation deck located in the northern part of the international terminal. The observation deck incorporates the Esky Bar, and food, drinks and seating are available. This makes it a comfortable place to spend some time spotting. The best views from the deck are of 16R takeoffs and landings, and 34L takeoffs. The Sydney skyline provides a nice backdrop for aircraft on approach to 16R. Views over the northern part of the international terminal and of aircraft taxiing to and from the domestic terminal are also good. Part of runway 07-25 is visible, but the observation deck is not a good spot for watching movements there.
The observation deck can be accessed through the Esky Bar, which is located at the far northern end of the international terminal check-in hall. This is to the left as you enter through any of the main doors. The deck is on the level above the departures level, so you have to use the stairs or lift from the outdoor seating area of the Esky bar in order to get up to it.
Photography is best in the afternoon and evening, when the light is best. The approximate required lens focal length is 50 to 300mm, though 200mm is still fine as a maximum. The best place to shoot from is right at the top of the stairs up to the deck. This is useful for everything except 16R approach photos (in front of the city) and some cargo apron movements. For these, it is necessary to use the convenient holes in the glass wall at the far northern end of the observation deck, just next to the lift.
Be aware that parking at the International Terminal carpark is very expensive. It is possible to park over on the other side of the Cooks River (to the west of the airport) and walk across - takes about 10 minutes - much more preferable than lining the coffers of SACL even more! Sample photos from the top of the stairs:
Sample photos through holes in the glass:
Other Spotting Locations
The Beach
The Beach is a favourite spot for both photography and viewing. The Southern end of 16R/34L is visible, with 16R and 34L rotations often occuring in front of either Sydney ATC Tower or the city skyline. 34L landings can also be observed in the distance, as well as 16L arrivals behind the tower. Aircraft taxiing along taxiway Alpha are always crowd-pleasers, with wingtips passing just meters from the fenceline - don't forget to wave to the pilots! Other taxi movements can been seen across the runway, with smaller aircraft frequently taxiing to or from 16L/34R. The gates to the carpark at The Beach are locked at around 7 or 8PM.
To get to The Beach travelling west on General Holmes Drive (from the east side of the airport), continue along until you pass through the tunnel under 16R/34L. Exiting the tunnel, stay in the lane in which you can either go left (for the M5) or straight (for General Holmes Drive). Go straight, and immediately after the M5 entrances branches off to the left there is a small left turn lane which leads into an Airservices Australia facility. Turn left into there, then turn right around the buildings in front of you, then left (continuing around the buildings) and then left again. There should be a carpark straight ahead of you, in which you park. For carpark spotting (see photography info below), stay put. Otherwise, head towards the bushes at the far end of the carpark and follow the fenceline there until you reach a cleared area and another fence preventing further forward progress - this is The Beach fenceline area. To get to The Beach travelling east on General Holmes Drive, look for a small turnoff to your left after passing over the Endeavour Bridge. This leads to the Airservices Australia area, at which point you can skirt around the buildings to the carpark following the directions outlined above. There is no way to get to The Beach going east on the M5, so you need to pass through the tunnel under the runway, turn around, and following the directions for travelling west on General Holmes Drive.
There are two main spots for photography: the fenceline, and the carpark. The fenceline gets you close to 16R and 34L departures, and can afford some decent angles of 34L arrivals. Taxiway Alpha movements are excellent from the fenceline, with other taxiway movements behind the runway visible but not ideal. A relatively tall ladder is essential for fenceline spotting in order to see above the fence. Be sure to keep your ladder at least three meters from the fence, as airport security will probably ask you to move it back if it too close. If you don't have a ladder, there is a large rock at the edge of the bushes which you can stand on, however this only helps a little. The carpark affords views of 16R and 34L departures and 34L landings. A ladder is not required. Lighting for photography is best in the afternoon and evening. The approximate required focal length for fenceline photography is 15 to 20mm for wideangle shots of aircraft approaching on taxiway Alpha, and 160 to 400mm for everything else (though 200mm is still fine as a maximum). For carpark photography, the approximate required focal length is 200 to 500mm.
Sample photos from The Beach fenceline:
- Airliners.net sample photo: medium large
- Airliners.net sample photo: medium large
- Airliners.net sample photo: medium large
Sample photos from The Beach carpark:
Photo from The Beach carpark of spotters at the fenceline: