My Letter to Boston Logan Security regarding spotting

Hi everybody,

This is a short letter I sent to the folks at Logan airport in the hopes of maybe getting permission, be it with ID's or what ever, to spot from the airport grounds particularly the garages. Do you think I am wasting my time doing this?

Thanks,

Gene

Hello, I am an aircraft enthusiast/hobbyist and I have a question regarding taking pictures at Logan. Prior to 9/11 I and many others spent time on the tops of the Logan garages taking photos of the comings and goings of all the airliners. I know things are quit different now. I miss doing this greatly as do many others. I guess my question is how can I/we get clearance to be able to be up on top of the garages at Logan to take pictures. Could we get security clearance to do this. I know I and I'm sure others would be willing to have background checks done to be able to enjoy our passion again. I have heard that there is a Spotter's program at O'hare in Chicago and the spotters have photo ID's. Spotters actually can be another set of eyes and ears for airport security because we would know if something did not look right at the airfield. I would love to hear back from you regarding this and willing to answer any questions you may have about the large hobby of many folks. I sincerely thank you.
Eugene H. Delaney Jr

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Originally Posted by Spunker

Do you think I am wasting my time doing this?

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In short, unfortunately, yes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spunker

Hi everybody,

This is a short letter I sent to the folks at Logan airport in the hopes of maybe getting permission, be it with ID's or what ever, to spot from the airport grounds particularly the garages. Do you think I am wasting my time doing this?

Thanks,

Gene

Hello, I am an aircraft enthusiast/hobbyist and I have a question regarding taking pictures at Logan. Prior to 9/11 I and many others spent time on the tops of the Logan garages taking photos of the comings and goings of all the airliners. I know things are quit different now. I miss doing this greatly as do many others. I guess my question is how can I/we get clearance to be able to be up on top of the garages at Logan to take pictures. Could we get security clearance to do this. I know I and I'm sure others would be willing to have background checks done to be able to enjoy our passion again. I have heard that there is a Spotter's program at O'hare in Chicago and the spotters have photo ID's. Spotters actually can be another set of eyes and ears for airport security because we would know if something did not look right at the airfield. I would love to hear back from you regarding this and willing to answer any questions you may have about the large hobby of many folks. I sincerely thank you.
Eugene H. Delaney Jr

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The few times I have been to Boston the last couple of years I spotted from the Garages without any problems. on a couple of occasions I have met several people up there.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spunker

Do you think I am wasting my time doing this?

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In a nutshell, yes. I hate to be a buzzkill, but these days, all it takes is some idiot to pull some stupid s**t and everything you worked for goes down the toilet. Look at what happened to the JFK ramp tour that was supposed to be given during Airliners 2010- it was cancelled immediately when that schmuck tried to bomb Times Square. PAPD won't hesitate for a moment to clamp the jaws of security down tight- and it doesn't matter how friendly you think you've become with them- national security interests will always trump photographers' rights. Add to that the almost complete lack of understanding by your average citizen of why we would be interested in taking pictures of planes, and there isn't much sympathy. It is certainly a shame, but that is they way it is.

Honestly, you're better off taking your chances just going up there, being as discreet as possible, and being ready to deal with whatever happens. Sometimes, the more attention you create and the more people you tell, the more you end up screwing yourself in the end.

While I agree it will probably be a waste of time, I say you should do whatever it is you feel like doing. If you are passionate enough go after what you desire. Imagine if someone told Bill Gates:

"You're going to ask IBM to buy the OS for their new PC from you? Don't waste your time, CP/M is king and IBM will laugh you out of the park"

Similarly with Steve Jobs telling his board of directors that Blackberry phones were not all that great and the king would be dethroned by this new gizmo.

The list goes on. I do wish you luck and good will in your conquest. May we all benefit from your success if so!

Cheers...

P.S. MAKE SURE you do a proper spell check and grammar check. Nothing worse than an unprofessional and unpolished letter. The more professional sounding, the better. I would also consider being VERY NEUTRAL in what you say. "Tops of Parking Lots" sounds more like a bunch of loitering kids than adults congregating for quiet enjoyment without raising eyebrows. Just my opinion.

Spotting on the garages actually seems easier these days, though I rarely go up due to the sheer cost of an afternoon on top of the garage. You'll likely have more success on the second to top level than the very top level.

I have gotten special dispensation in the past by emailing Massport a few days ahead of time with some information, but I do not abuse this privilege. At best I use it once or twice a year. Just don't be a jerk about it. Politeness will go a long way.

No Eugene, you aren't. I emailed Massport most times to let them know...and it was never a problem while I lived there. I would take my chances still going up on a good day when I lived in the city and not worry about it...since it's such a nice spot...and since I could always come back. If I intended to spend the day though, I'd write.

Thanks Jeremy, I contacted the powers that and that's what he suggested, email at least 24 hours and he'll try to set it up. Best we could do theses days I guess.

dvincent, had a long day up there, 5 hours, had a chat with a really friendly State Trooper he was really nice and understood but still asked me to stop. Felt good to be up there again. I'm going to be doing the emailing route now so I'm going to be hoping for a few mild late fall and winter days for some shots.

A letter like this can only help. Can't hurt. If you reach the rightr person and maybe get a contact name you can use if you get a officer with a crappy attitude wheh your there.