Info request: Honolulu

[dutchphantom]

Soon I have the opportunity to spend 1 or 2 days in Hawaii. Can anybody tell me what the best spots are for taking photos at Honolulu/Hickam. And can anybody recomment a hotel.

Thanks,
Reinier

[HV7572KC]

Reinier,

I was at PHNL in September 2009. There is a parking lot near the domestic terminal. You can easily get up and have a clear view on the busiest runway. But I got chased away after 15 minutes when some scared people called security because of my photographing.

When airside on the domestic terminal you can make some pictures and with binoculars you can easily right down numers from most stuff which comes in. Airside in Intl. terminal you also have a few good views from the open corridors (no windows!) connecting from the immigration/security area to the gate area.

I havent been around the airport but there also is quite some militairy stuff going on so I dont know how hard they are for spotters.
Goodluck!

[jreijmer]

Soon I have the opportunity to spend 1 or 2 days in Hawaii. Can anybody tell me what the best spots are for taking photos at Honolulu/Hickam. And can anybody recomment a hotel.

Thanks,
Reinier

Hello Reinier,

I've been there in August '06. I was in a resort with my wife on Maui so I was limited in spotting. One day I took an early flight to Honolulu with Go airlines for some military spotting on the island. On arrival, there were east winds and I was sitting at the good (read left side) of the aircraft. This allowed me to take pictures of the platforms and QRA sheds while landing. This was already good for quite some numbers. After getting a rental for the day (I had only about 6 hours of effective time), I tried to get on base at Hickam which was unsuccessful. So my next stop was Barberspoint where a quick visit was made to the Coastguard on the old P-3 base which is now accessible. Then it was time to head for Kaneohe Bay for a quick stop (again) to read of some H-53's and a number of P-3's. There is a good spot on the other side of the bay that gives you good views of the platforms.
I ended the afternoon at inter island terminal multi storey car park, where you have a reasonable overview of the Hickam platforms. Unfortunately the light was no good, and heat waves were also persistent. I saw a large number of F-16's parked from there, that later on appeared to be FM birds for the Cactus Aloha exercise. So you should use this spot in the early morning before the heat waves kick in and the light is in your back. Then this is a very good spot (at least I think). Unfortunately my time was very limited and I think I managed to get the best out of it with logging 32 a/c at three different airports.

If you want more details let me know. What Island are you staying?

BR,
Jeroen

[dutchphantom]

Thanks for the replies, they are very helpfull. I will be staying in Honolulu.

Reinier