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Scramble 468
thing from small flight training planes to Airbus and Boeing
jets, from ancient Hercules aircraft built in the fifties to brand
new Citations and even some military hardware. The latter
can be expected on most days, also during the weekends.
In order to see all of this, just drive along S Sossaman Road and
E Velocity Way. Starting at the north end, you will encounter:
*Cessna Service Center. For photography from the parking
lot you will need a ladder. Light will be best from late after-
noon onwards, but with most employees going home around
that time, don’t be surprised if you will be asked to leave
sooner than you might like;
*Embraer Service Center. Not much to see from the outside;
*Flight schools of ATP, UND and ASU;
*Gateway Aviation Services FBO. This is where most visiting
bizjets and military aircraft will be parked. Adjacent to the
fence there is a park with some trees and benches, so this can
be regarded as the “official spotting place”. Light is best in
the afternoon for ramp and taxiway shots as well as (large)
aircraft vacating or climbing out of runway 30. You will need
at least a three-step ladder to photograph over the fence.
Alternatively you can walk up the grass hill. When looking to
the south you will see the stored Embraers. I am not sure if
these planes are here for maintenance or if the airport is used
as an overflow for Kingman;
*Airline terminal. Allegiant Air is the dominant airline here,
offering scheduled flights with their A319s. Westjet is sup-
posed to fly to this airport as well, however I didn’t see any
of their planes;
*Various companies/hangars ranging from medical helicop-
ters to military contractors like Top Aces. Photo opportuni-
ties are very limited;
*Some (non-aviation related) factories. The parking lot of
Able Engineering will give you some good views on the south-
ern part of the apron;
*International Air Response hangar;
*Control tower and a long-term parking lot. This is a great
place for taxiway shots. Depending on the runway usage you
will have the sun in your back most of the day. A ladder is
necessary and you may be asked to leave by airport security.
You should keep in mind that the gate will be closed at the
end of the day, so make sure that you have left before that
happens;
*Air Tanker Base. During our trip the base was closed and the
apron was occupied by Swift Air aircraft, which operate on
behalf of the U.S. government.
Scottsdale (AZ) 10 November 2017
C-GAPC Ce560 Air Andrew
N2KL Raytheon 4000 Fükhov Vodka
N11A Global XRS Aramark
N18TD G-IV Threshold Ventures
N60TJ Beech B100 ARK Leasing
N223QS Falcon 2000EX NetJets
N305TC G-IV American Resources
N307MT Beech 400A SevenJet
N312JV/”480” EMB312F Jon S. Vesely
N313QS Ce680 NetJets
N327TX Ce525B Alante Air Charter
N345K Lj45 Koch Industries
N348QS EMB505 NetJets
N350WH Beech 350 Chris Hughes
N360FX EMB505 Flexjet
N441PP Ce441 Pogue Construction
N480VR G-IVSP Executive Jet Management
N508XJ CL-300 XOJet
N513QS Ce680A NetJets
N546QS G550 NetJets
N560LS Ce560XLS STA Jets
N574JS EMB500 JetSuite
N581PJ Ce501 HL Aviation
N783XJ Ce750 XOJet
N805PR Ce414A Carnahan Group
N858TD PA-46-350P
N884BB Falcon 900 Best Jets International
N910E Ce750
N927PK Ce560 Encore
N9943H SF-50 Da Plane
N999XP Ce510 Cypress Equity Inv
N1364J/”UH-54” T-6G
N4148U R22
N4415E PA-46-500TP Whiskey Aviation
N5337N PA-46-500TP Cutter SW Aircraft Sales
Hub traffic
Universal Helicopters R44 (4)
On Veteran’s Day we went to the main Business Aviation
airport of the Phoenix metro area, located in the north east
corner. The airport is much like Van Nuys near Los Angeles:
dominated by bizjets and bizprops. You will also see light
General Aviation traffic including warbirds. There is even
supposed to be a private T-38 based at this field and mili-
tary visitors are not uncommon according to the locals. The
airport has only one runway (03-21) with aprons and taxi-
ways located on either side. Near the threshold of runway 03
there is an abandoned taxiway from where you can observe
and photograph all arriving and departing traffic. You will
have the best light in the morning. A small ladder may be of
help to photograph over the fence, however keep in mind
airport security does not appreciate this. They may ask you
to keep your ladder several yards away from the fence. This
is fine for approach shots, but not for taxiway/runway shots.
With runway 21 in use the situation in the morning is worse.
This Raytheon 4000 was destined for NetJets Europe as CS-DYC but delivered to Yalian Jet as B-3908 in 2010. Four years later the bizjet took up
registration N2KL. Fükhov Vodka is the current operator as can be seen by its tail logo. (Scottsdale (AZ), 10 November 2017, Joost de Wit)