Spotting at ETAD rwy 23 without a ladder

[pedromviana]

Hello everyone,

I was planning to go spotting tomorrow (27/05/2022) at ETAD and from what I see in the weather forecasts, based on the wind direction, runway 23 should be in use tomorrow.
Since I have no possibility of bringing a ladder with me tomorrow, my question is: are there any good spots for taking photos of takeoffs and landings on runway 23 without a ladder? From all the guides that I've seen (including the one here on scramble.nl) it seems that all indicated spots near the threshold of runway 23 require a ladder.

FYI, my camera is a crop sensor one and I'll use a 300mm lens (so equivalent to 480mm on a full frame), therefore I don't know if that is enough zoom to obtain decent results shooting runway 23 takeoffs from Spot 4 in the Scramble Guide.

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.

Kind regards,
Pedro

[Key]

Hi Pedro,

For landings, your remaining options will be close to the centreline, in the clearing around the approach lights. The planes will be quite close and a bit high. It's doable for fighters; transport planes will be very impressive but hard to frame decently in a 'standard' manner.

For departures, you can use the elevated verge of the gravel road along our current spot 9. There are three tiny clearings where you can stand to look and shoot over the fence. This only works with very little heat haze though, so early morning is the best time - with regard to the sun as well.
The other options for departures are our spots 4 and 2, depending on daytime (say before and after 3pm LT). To my knowledge and a bit of experience, the F-16s tend to turn left on 23 take-offs, while the EA-18s and F-35s mostly make right turns.

Good luck!
Erik

[pedromviana]

Hi Pedro,

For landings, your remaining options will be close to the centreline, in the clearing around the approach lights. The planes will be quite close and a bit high. It's doable for fighters; transport planes will be very impressive but hard to frame decently in a 'standard' manner.

For departures, you can use the elevated verge of the gravel road along our current spot 9. There are three tiny clearings where you can stand to look and shoot over the fence. This only works with very little heat haze though, so early morning is the best time - with regard to the sun as well.
The other options for departures are our spots 4 and 2, depending on daytime (say before and after 3pm LT). To my knowledge and a bit of experience, the F-16s tend to turn left on 23 take-offs, while the EA-18s and F-35s mostly make right turns.

Good luck!
Erik

Hi Erik,

Thank you very much for the infos and tips!

Kind regards,
Pedro