Malta International Airport: Difference between revisions

[[Image: 10846_wm.jpg |left|thumb|200 px|MD-83 taking taxiway C]][[Image: 10677_wm.jpg |thumb|200 px|Boeing 737-700 taking off from runway 31. Photo taken at 190mm]]This spot is an excellent morning vantage-point for departing aircraft on their way to runway 31 or arrivals exiting runway 13 via taxiways C or D. Aircraft in the nearer parking bays in park 9 are also reachable. Runway 31 takeoffs can be photographed with a moderately long lens. There are cutouts for photographers at intervals in the fence so a stepladder is not necessary, though shooting takeoffs through the cutouts is difficult.

[[Image: 10330_wm.jpg |thumb|200 px|Airbus A320 backtracking on runway 31 at dawn (160mm)]]An elevated vantage-point for runway 31 landings and for take-offs in either direction. However, for runway 31 movements it is only just high enough to clear the airport perimeter fence and the street lights present an additional obstacle. If you have a step-ladder you would be better off shooting runway 31 take-offs and landings from next to the perimeter fence.  

[[Image: Charlespolidano_B752.jpg |left|thumb|150 px|Boeing 757 over the perimeter road (40mm)]][[Image: 10966_wm.jpg |thumb|200 px|MD-11F on approach]]This is an excellent location for photos of aircraft approaching runway 31 if you're content with in-the-sky shots (no terrain visible). There is a wide roadside walkway, though you have to cross to the other side of the road to get photos to avoid the streetlights. The road is beneath the level of the runway at this point so through-the-fence touchdown photos are not possible.

[[Image: 10670_wm.jpg |thumb|200 px|A330 on touchdown]]Good for runway 31 approaches with terrain visible in the photo. Large building blocks have been deposited at this site, apparently as a prelude to future works, but so far it remains accessible. It is also possible to get touchdown shots from here.  

[[Image: 11067_wm.jpg |thumb|200 px|Embraer 170 departing from runway 31]]The Spotters' Wall, as it is known, is really an elevated viewing platform. Built by the Malta Aviation Society some years ago, it offers unobstructed views of runway 13/31 and it is the place from which to shoot takeoffs in either direction. With any luck the aircraft will rotate right in front of you. It is easily the best spot for photography at MLA. Its only drawback is its very popularity: it can get crowded if there is a particularly unusual movement.

[[Image: 10833_wm.jpg |left|thumb|200 px|A320 approaching runway 13]][[Image: 10699_wm.jpg |thumb|200 px|Piaggio P166 in park 3]]This is a good spot for aircraft on approach to runway 13. Unlike runway 31 the road here is at the same level as the runway, but the runway threshold is impossibly far from the perimeter fence. From here you can also see park 3 where the occasional executive jet, light plane or small turboprop may be parked. Beware of heat distortion on hot days however.  

'''Time of day:''' The runway 13 approach is viable for morning photography if you are prepared to take head-on shots from directly beneath the flight path, but this location really comes into its own in the afternoon. For aircraft in park 3 you need to wait for the late afternoon.

[[Image: 10279_wm.jpg |thumb|200 px|C-130 in park 4]]The occasional executive jet, civil or military transport or light plane may be parked here, though light aircraft tend to be parked far from the fence at a point where the ground dips, making them hard to photograph. There are cutouts for photography at intervals in the fence. Unless your subject is close to the fence you'll have to watch out for heat distortion and you may have to wait for the sun to start descending. Nightshots are also possible in this location.

[[Image: 10737_wm.jpg |thumb|200 px|Rare landing by an A319 on runway 05]]Good for approaches to runway 05. As regards traffic the same applies to this spot as to the runway 23 threshold.