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Scramble 468
parable to Las Vegas-McCarran, but variety at Sky Harbor is
less.
The airport has three runways and their usage is pretty
straightforward:
*08-26, the northern runway, is located north of the main
terminals. It is mostly used for arrivals from the north;
*07L-25R, the middle runway, is located south of the main
terminals. It is mostly used for departures to any direction;
*07R-25L, the southern runway, is also located south of the
main terminals. It is mostly used for arrivals from the south,
business jet traffic and the Arizona ANG Stratotankers.
During our visits, the 07/08 side was in use during the morn-
ings. Then sometime around noon, ATC would change the
runway direction so that the 25/26 side was in use for most
of the afternoon.
At Sky Harbor, the lack of variety in traffic is compensated by
the large variety in photo spots. The best places are:
*The multi-story car parks of terminal 2, 3 and 4 for runway,
taxiway and terminal shots;
*The employee parking lot at Sky Harbor Circle for runway
08 approach shots. From the terminals drive westbound on
E Sky Harbor Blvd, then E Buckeye Road, turn right on S
24th Street and then turn right again on Sky Harbor Circle
N. The parking lot is for airport employees only but since it
is unattended you should be able to spend some time here if
you keep low profile. Airport security may ask you to leave
though;
*The cell phone parking lot at 4202 E Sky Harbor Blvd for
runway 26 approach shots. This is a free parking lot where
people can wait before picking up somebody at the terminals.
These people might ask what you are doing with those “big
cameras” or call law enforcement, but even then you should
be able to stay and continue taking photos;
*Along E Old Tower Road for runway 07R approach shots. You
could park at the large sand area between this road and the
I-17. I am not sure if this is completely legal, so don’t be sur-
prised if law enforcement asks you to leave;
*A little further down E Old Tower Road, where you will find
the FBOs of Swift Aviation, Cutter Aviation and the cargo
apron. Photo opportunities are limited and unlike the afore-
mentioned places you might need stairs. There is a nice
roof terrace on the left side of the Cutter Aviation building,
however before entering you should first ask for permission
inside and they won’t allow you to take photos.
Phoenix-Deer Valley (AZ) 8 November 2017
C-GFKK TBM-850 Campbell Dodge Chrysler
N7MZ Ce501
N9NZ SA226T
N23W Beech 90 Dynamic Aviation
N24XZ PC-12/47E
N96BP Ce404 Arizona Game & Fish Dept
N122JB Ce208B Westwind Aviation
N126M RC695
N154EB Ce421B
N170EH ERJ170LR Honeywell
N175AM Ce421C
N186WW PA-44-180 Westwind Aviation
N187SL P180 Jetran
N352HS Lj35A AirCare1 International
N406LA Ce525A Locati Architects
N421SR Ce421C
N425BJ Beech 400
N550LA Ce550 TMA Group
N604DM CM170R as “N604RD”
N705ML Beech 200 Honeywell
N785WW Ce208B Westwind Aviation
N822RS Tucano T1 RS Warbirds, as “200”
N888UH R44 Universal Helicopters
N973AE AS350B3 PHI Air Medical
N990KB Beech C90-1
N4968B Beech 50
N12417 T-33 Thunderbirds c/s
Hub traffic
RS Warbirds L-39 (4)
TransPac Aviation Academy PA-44 (11)
Around noon we drove northbound and spent some hours at
Deer Valley. The airport is quite similar to North Las Vegas:
a busy General Aviation airport with a lot of flight training,
some warbirds and a few bizjets. At the terminal, which is
located on the south side of the two parallel runways (07-
25), there is a restaurant and a nice terrace from where you
can photograph all day long with the sun in your back. On
the west end you will find the Honeywell hangar as well as a
multi-story car park from where traffic on runway 07 can be
observed. The facilities of the Phoenix Police Department Air
Support Unit are located on the east end. Unfortunately this
place is not accessible without an appointment.
Mesa-Falcon Field (AZ) 9 November 2017
53914/8 TBM-3E CAF Arizona Wing
67212 UC-45J US Navy
C-GWRD Bell 429
N13YS MU-2L Air 1st Aviation Companies
N23YK CJ6A Falcon Warbirds “81703”
N32RQ Lake LA-4
N44SA Beech 58P
N63CJ Ce525B
N76BZ AT-6C “7690”
N102LL PA-34-200T Canyon State Aero
N108CC Ce337 Jonathan Flaugher
N125AZ TB-25N CAF Arizona Wing “335972”
N131RR Ce560 Ultra Falcon Executive Aviation
N145AZ Beech D18S CAF Arizona Wing “44511”
N147AZ DC-3C CAF Arizona Wing “223518”
N269TT H269C Canyon State Aero
N300UH R44 Universal Helicopters
N3028D Ce310
N310TM Ce310R
N325CW CJ6A Falcon Warbirds
N3158G T-6G as USN “23999/BP255”
N3246G SNJ-5 “90725”
N335JJ Ce525A Century Aviation
N351NA T-28B “138286”
N395AM Beech B200 Falcon Executive Aviation
N401AZ Ce401B
N402EM Beech C90 Central Virginia Aviation
N427DM Beech C90 Central Virginia Aviation
N444UH R44 Universal Helicopters
N464TW CJ6A Falcon Warbirds
N540NE Ce402C
N589HF AH-1F “15589”
N698SH Schweizer 300C Canyon State Aero
N5833 FM-2 CAF Arizona Wing
N7268C PV-2
N7454C PV-2
N777RJ Ce310
N992RW R44
N9075H/997 MD900 Saudi Air Ambulance
N9323Z B-17G as “44-83514”
N76764 Canberra TT18 as RAF ”WK142”
N76765 Canberra TT18 as RAF ”WJ614/846”
N86492 PV-2 CAF Arizona Wing, as “492”
- MiG-15 CAF Arizona Wing
- UH-19D
Hub traffic
CAE Oxford Avn Academy PA-44 (4)
Mesa Police MD369 (3)
The next morning we visited another General Aviation
airport, this time in the eastern part of the Phoenix metro
area. When looking at Google Maps you can see the huge
amount of ramp and hangar space. Fortunately the airport’s
