Photopositions @ Zürich - Kloten

Frequencies

Tower:	118.10 MHz 127.75 MHz
Radar:	118.00 MHz 120.75 MHz

Click on the spots on the map and you will be directed to the description of that spot.

General
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With the demise of Swissair, Zürich airport has lost its largest customer and the new airline Swiss has not as many aircraft/flights as Swissair had, but Zürich is still a good place for spotters. Beside Swiss many other airlines are based here such as Balair, Helvetic, Edelweiss Air, Zimex Aviation and some others which are especially Biz-Jet operators.

A visit once a year is normal for me, but also 2 times is not uncommon. End of January there is always the World Economic Forum held in Davos, which is close to Zürich and so many business and government aircraft come to Zürich. In summer you will see many charter aircraft especially from Serbia, Croatia, Slovenja and the Kosovo.

Accomodation
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As at most airports there are many hotels around it, but they are expensive as Switzerland is a rich country many things are more expensive than in Germany, so we always spend the night in Germany, but fill up our cars in Switzerland.

Runway usage
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The runway usage at Zürich seems to be almost the same except extreme crosswind conditions. Before 08:00 a.m. on weekdays and 09:00 a.m. on weekends all landings are carried out on runway 28/34 while nearly all aircraft will depart from runway 28/32.

14 used for nearly all landings --- 32 only used for departures in the early morning and very seldom during the day

16 used for most long-haul departures and very few landings --- 34 used for take offs and landings (mainly in the mornings)

10 used only for take offs --- 28 used for landings and take offs

I have the following pattern during a normal day: First I visit spot A and photograph arriving traffic and in the afternoon I will switch to point B to also get arriving traffic, or if I want to get some departing traffic, I will spend the afternoon at spot C. Especially the long haul traffic to south east Asia can be photographed from here.

If runway 10 is in use, a visit to spot D is more than an option and even if runway 28 is in use you can get some pictures of departing traffic or traffic taxiing around, but heat haze can be a problem.

Spot A
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70-300mm for approaching aircraft

good from sunrise until noon

aircraft approaching runways 14 and 16

Spot A is the spot for pictures of approaching traffic during the morning. From here almost every inbound aircraft can be photographed as this is the main landing runway. There is enough space to find a decent place and a nearby hedge offers some protection from the sun. There is also a snack bar at the parking.


aircraft landing on runway 14

Spot B

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	70-300mm lens
	from noon until sunset
	landing traffic on runway 14

Spot B is more or less equal to spot A. It is just located on the other side of the approach path and in the afternoon/evening some very nice pictures can be taken. I am not staying at the parking, but going some hundred meters to the north next to a hut in the fields. The first advantage here is that you can earlier see the approaching traffic and second that the angle is better, but at the parking there are many trees that will protect you from the sun. There is also a snack bar there.


approaching runway 14

Spot C

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	70-300mm lens
	from the afternoon until sunset
	departing traffic on runway 16
	This spot is part of a wildlife protection area and so don't leave any rubbish here (which should be the normal behaviour) to keep this spot open and as it is a protected area you are not allowed to park your car directly at the spot, but in the nearby village and it is only a 15 minutes walk to the spot.

For spot C you have to park your car in the small village nearby and walk the last meters (about 15 minutes) to a hill next to the fire training area. There is also a former Air Afrique DC-8 stored there that is used for fire training. The hill is part of a wildlife protected area and so the police often comes along and checks your ID (police in Switzerland is very friendly and used to spotters here) and if you have parked your car here they will force you to remove it and/or give you a ticket, but plane watching photographing is not prohibited here. If you want to take pictures of aircraft on the ground, this spot is one of the best at Zürich. Mainly longhaul and wide body departures use this runway, but also some smaller ones heading for a destination in the south.


Examples showing aircraft just lined up on runway 16			picture of the fire training DC-8

Spot D

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	28-200mm for aircraft on runway 16/34 28-200mm for aircraft taxiing to runway 10 200-500mm for aircraft on runway 28 200-400mm for aircraft taxiing on the apron 35-300mm for aircraft on the long term stands
	from the afternoon until sunset for traffic on runway 16/34 and the taxiing traffic on the apron almost all day for traffic for/on runway 10/28
	departing traffic on runway 16/34 departing traffic on runway 28 aircraft taxiing to runway 10 and on the apron aircraft parked on the long term stands
	There has been a new fence installed here, which is very high. Unless you have a 3 meter ladder, you needn't to bring it here, but Zurich airport authority has cut some holes in the fence and so you are able to shoot through it, but be aware that the number of holes is limited and so not everytime a free hole is granted.

Spot D, also called Heligrill, is perfect if runway 10 is used for take offs, but this seems to happen very seldom. When aircraft use the main departure runway, runway 28, you can get pictures of aircraft climbing out. Also aircraft taxiing on the apron can be pictured, but be aware that in summer there is a lot of heat haze when you try that kind of pictures. Another possibility at this spot is that you can take pictures of aircraft taking off from runway 16 and if you are lucky most aircraft will just lift off at this spot. Besides the pictures of moving aircraft there are also sometimes aircraft parked next to this spot on long term stands and they can easily be photographed from here.


taxiing to runway 10	stored on the stands		taking off on runway 28

Spot E

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	70-300mm for aircraft on runway 16/34 28-200mm for aircraft pushed back or parked on their stands
	in the morning for traffic on runway 16/34 or aircraft passing the terrace depending on the aircraft stand
	landing/departing traffic on runway 16/34 aircraft being pushed back aircraft parked on the stands

Spot E is the terrace on the terminal. Access is 2 SFr and some nice shots can be made, although you will only see half of the traffic from here as a good part of the traffic is now using the Dock Midfield Terminal. If you have a car with you I would not use this spot, as parking in one of Zürich airports parking garages is expensive and the other spots are better (in my opinion).


aircraft pushed back from their stands

Spot F

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	70-300mm
	almost all day
	landing traffic on runway 28

Normally only smaller aircraft will use this runway for landing, but sometimes during extreme crosswind conditions for the other runways this one will be used as the main landing runway. So this spot is not very useful most of the time, but it is always good to know that it exists.


the last IL-14 in flying condition is approaching runway 28	Air Littoral ATR42 also approaching runway 28

� by Mathias Henig, AVIATION FRIENDS NÜRNBERG