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I'm going to be in Ft.Myers,Florida July 26-July 29,and I was wondering what the spotting was like at Tampa,Miami,and Opa-Locka. I know about the holes at Miami,and my main question is will the sun angles be good at these airports? I'm going to have two full days for spotting,so my main two I want to check out are Miami and Opa-Locka. Tampa I'm hoping to catch Edelweiss.
Doug
OPF is good if you have a car, a wide lens, a ladder, and don't mind fences and other planes being in all your shots. The only interesting stuff is the stuff that's stored in the scrap yard, and you have to deal with fences. Having said that, they'll generally leave you alone unless you're using a ladder.
MIA is a spectacular airport for spotting, as long as they're using an easterly flow (the 08s, and 12). The holes are fine from about 2PM and later, but before that you want to be at El Dorado on 12th & 72nd. The sun will be great from 9AM until about 5PM and there are nice rocks to climb up on to get a shot over the fence. Heat haze can be a major issue both at El Dorado and (especially) the holes after about 10AM. Police won't ever bother you here, and there are always tons of spotters out.
I very much recommend FLL, but it's far more interesting in the winter (in July it's JetBlue, Southwest, and Delta mainly). Even if you just stop by for 30 minutes on your way up from MIA, the Viewing Park on the west side is awesome. And the parking garage on the east side offers great shots from an elevated angle as long as you're there in morning.
TIS
Thanks for the info. I figured in July that I would be having heat haze issues,but since the in-laws live in Ft.Myers,maybe I can head back down there again in the Winter or Spring. I'm looking forward to seeing some airlines that I haven't seen before.
Doug