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kellwolf · September 5th, 2004, 23:44

[ QUOTE ]
I wish more cops were like this guy along with other citizens. But I totally understand that they have a job to do and that there are really people out there that could possibly provide a problem to aviation. I'm glad that people are being checked out. I get alittle aggravated being labeled by some police officers and citizens as a terrorist, but that's what I have to go through every now and then to enjoy my hobby.

[/ QUOTE ]

I went out to MEM with my dad to watch planes the other night. We used to do this DAILY when I was a kid. They had spots all along the fence you could pull up to and watch planes. Now? Oh, you'll get run off real quick. The airport authourity has bought out a lot of neighborhoods in the surrounding area (including the one where I used to live) and levelled the houses there. I found a back street and we parked there. Could really only see the planes after they rotated and on climb out. Made us both a little sad.

Airports and cities in general could go a long way towards both alleviating some of the paranoia AND helping the spotters if they had designated watching areas. ORL has one off the aproach end of rwy 7 that really isn't that bad. MCO used to have a great spot right below the flight path and off the approach end of 18R/18L. Then the craziest started fearing terroirst with shoulder fired rockets. They closed down the viewing area, but curiosly the toll road, surface road and apartment buildings were untouched. I've heard of other int'l airports that have great viewing areas, too. LAS even pipes in the tower frequency over an FM station for spotters.

September 5th, 2004, 23:44	#39
kellwolf Old Skool Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Memphis, TN Posts: 13,870	Re: Legitimate concern or simple paranoia ? [ QUOTE ] I wish more cops were like this guy along with other citizens. But I totally understand that they have a job to do and that there are really people out there that could possibly provide a problem to aviation. I'm glad that people are being checked out. I get alittle aggravated being labeled by some police officers and citizens as a terrorist, but that's what I have to go through every now and then to enjoy my hobby. [/ QUOTE ] I went out to MEM with my dad to watch planes the other night. We used to do this DAILY when I was a kid. They had spots all along the fence you could pull up to and watch planes. Now? Oh, you'll get run off real quick. The airport authourity has bought out a lot of neighborhoods in the surrounding area (including the one where I used to live) and levelled the houses there. I found a back street and we parked there. Could really only see the planes after they rotated and on climb out. Made us both a little sad. Airports and cities in general could go a long way towards both alleviating some of the paranoia AND helping the spotters if they had designated watching areas. ORL has one off the aproach end of rwy 7 that really isn't that bad. MCO used to have a great spot right below the flight path and off the approach end of 18R/18L. Then the craziest started fearing terroirst with shoulder fired rockets. They closed down the viewing area, but curiosly the toll road, surface road and apartment buildings were untouched. I've heard of other int'l airports that have great viewing areas, too. LAS even pipes in the tower frequency over an FM station for spotters.