KMIA @ El Dorado Furniture Spot

OMG! 20 minutes into spotting at Miami International and I run in to LEOs. I still don't know what agency but, while standing on the rock taking pics of a Southern Air 747, about 5 unmarked Crown Vic's and an Tahoe SUV rolled up around me and with the friendliest of attitudes all with smiles on their faces, jumped out and literally ran towards me. One officer in plain clothes spoke to me directly and asked me to point the lens at him to make sure it was a legit camera

Apparently my 200-400mm f/4 was a little out of place and looked suspicious enough. He then quickly brushed me off as I tried to apologize for bothering them :tongue: and ran back to his RMP and sped off with the rest of the Cavalry! It was early and I was the only spotter.

About 30 minutes later, three other spotters showed up and one Miami Dade officer in a marked car who remained about 50 yards away from the barrier.

Absolutely amazing spot, except for the traffic taking off 27 :mad: the view and proximity to the RWY is delicious. Cargo traffic here is just amazing.

Ok, back to spotting!

Haha Nice Work Manny!!! If you get the Alaska inbound let me know, I have a couple friends on it.

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Originally Posted by seahawks7757

Haha Nice Work Manny!!! If you get the Alaska inbound let me know, I have a couple friends on it.

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Thanks Brandon... Too bad they are on the 26/27/30 :mad: so no landings (I don't know the unofficial spots :tongue:). So a few departures (mostly belly) and one lucky Southern Air 747 that rolled to the end for a beauty shot hehehe. Did catch one horizon taking off.

Good luck with the rest of your time there .. Cant wait to see your shots :smile:

Manny, what Horizon? We don't fly to MIA lol.

A Hawker Horizon?

The only time people are bothered at El Dorado is if you get too close to the tracks, and then the CSX cops make the most of their one opportunity to do something.

wow Manny something must have changed since I was there in June. Didn't see any LEO's there the whole day. Can't wait to see your fantastic shots by the way!
Gene

In Miami? They probably thought you were a Cuban spy... :wink:

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Originally Posted by Spunker

wow Manny something must have changed since I was there in June. Didn't see any LEO's there the whole day. Can't wait to see your fantastic shots by the way!

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Manny is a cloud and law enforcement magnet.

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Originally Posted by Cary

Manny is a cloud and law enforcement magnet.

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Oh no! That is worse than Whitebird! At least he brings the hotties!

It happens at Miami - look at the issue Mike had a couple of weeks ago - he just went onto El Dorado's parking lot - LE couldn't touch him. We get this around MIA unfortunately - there are a couple of gung-ho LE officers - that like to show their presence - I've been there when LE comes around with their cameras to spot with us - it's really hit and miss - they tend to get more gung-ho during week days - there aren't a lot of us there :) During the weekend - it's a different thing..

Well I must say they were very friendly... not even suspicious. He almost was apologetic but did ask me to point the lens at him so he could make sure it was a camera. Now that I think of it, maybe he was CSX? As for the tracks, some guys were all over the tracks taking pics (not sure why) and crossing back and forth. I thought it was a bad idea but what do I know. I was actually moving way back to try and catch as much side as possible since the traffic was from RWY 27 departures. The El Dorado spot is way down at the end of the RWY so most rotate early, especially the newer cargos. The MD-11s never disappointed :-)

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Originally Posted by moose135

In Miami? They probably thought you were a Cuban spy... :wink:

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But I [am] a Cuban Spy :tongue: and also a Cloud Master and Cary's thorn! LOL

Hope you're enjoying your trip! So much for South Beach spotting! Looking forward to your catches.

I got a taste of South Beach at the terminal... :cool:

BTW, some pics here