San Francisco (SFO)
Lufthansa 747 touching down on 28L. View from the Milbrae Ave. Spotters' Lot. SFO, the airport where I cut my plane-spotting teeth watching from the PSA terminal in
the early ‘80’s, is a great airport for spotting, with plenty of heavies and places to watch. There are some obvious flaws, though: aircraft almost always depart on 1L/R and
arrive on 28L/R, where rotations and touchdowns are so far away that you'll need
binoculars to see them and a Miracle Ear to hear them. It also has terrible flaws for travellers; it's an airport that utilizes parallel approaches and departures, but on bad weather days (which are often) planes can only land and depart on one of two parallel runways, cutting SFO's takeoff-landing capacity in half and causing heavy delays. Despite all that, SFO does offer
plenty of action to feast upon and lots of places from which to watch, even if it is pretty
far away.SFO has a beautiful interior to its terminal, which is circular and broken down into
concourses A-F. There are two perpendicular runway systems, 10/28 (L/R) and 1/19
(L&R) which intersect to form an off-centered "X" in relation to the terminal. It is
located right on the edge of the San Francisco Bay about a dozen miles south of the city.
The traffic is made up mostly of United, which operates a hub there, but there is still
good variety to the airlines, which include many international representatives from Asia
and Europe.
United 757 and Southwest 737 departing on 1 L/R. View from the Milbrae Ave. Spotters' Lot.INDOORS:
-Terminal F, Gate 78. From this vantage point you get a complete view of 10/28 from
end-to-end. Takeoffs on runway 28 are infrequent and are usually limited only to
heavies, but the view of these takeoffs is breathtaking. View of landings on 28 L/R are
good from here, although at considerable distance. On stormy days, the 10 L/R are the
primary departure runways, and from here you get a really good view of them.
-Terminal B. Can’t remember specific gate numbers....Term. B is split into two
wings...the north wing provides the best view. Good place for watching takeoffs on 1
L/R and for watching landings on 28 L/R.
Delta L-1011 airborne from 28L. View from the Milbrae Ave. Spotters' Lot.OUTDOORS:
-Millbrae Ave. Spotters’ Lot./Public Shore Directly south and east of runway 1R, this parking lot puts
you within rock-throwing distance of aircraft departing on 1L/R. A very popular area
which is often crowded but is very accommodating, with a catering truck and portable
restrooms. For those who like to sit in the sun, there is a public shoreline with trails and grassy areas directly east of the
parking lot which provides an even better view than the lot itself, although you’re not
nearly as close to the runway. (NOTE: DUE TO SECURITY CONCERNS THE SPOTTERS' LOT HAS BEEN CLOSED, BUT THE PUBLIC SHORE REMAINS ACCESSABLE AND IS JUST AS GOOD). 
Northwest 757 on departure roll on 1R. View from the Milbrae Ave. Spotters' Lot.PRE-9/11 SECURITY REPORT:
-Security at SFO is very relaxed. You can feel free to take pictures and hang out around
the airport perimeter. You won’t be allowed into the International Terminal, and they
have closed down an observation deck that used to sit below the tower, but otherwise,
security doesn’t have many problems with spotters.
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