5 Most Impressive U.S. Airport Final Approach Views

[Labtec]

Originally Posted by bigstick

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DyVjr2aWsAA436r.jpg

Atlanta Airport is a behemouth..

I like the new LED lights and exterior upgrades.

[LA21st]

Yea, I've noticed passengers are very interested on the LAX landing.

[Will O' Wisp]

Don't get me wrong here everyone. I don't think that the approach into LAX is boring, just that it's not particularly unique. Phoenix, DFW, and a lot of other Western US cities give you fairly similar views of their crowded freeways and flat suburban sprawl as you descend. Even in LA you've got Burbank, Long Beach, and Ontario all with fairly similar views of the city. If I hand to pick a favorite it'd be the rare northbound approaches into Burbank instead of the westbound approach into LAX, even.

• Video Link

There you've got most of those DTLA views, plus close ups with Universal Studios and Griffith Park, and some fairly steep turns to keep things interesting. Still not "the best" approach in the US imo, but it has a lot of charm.

Maybe I'm just spoiled after having landed there more times then I can count, or maybe being able to name a half dozen better places to see the LA skyline just off the top of my head has warped my views a bit. But this is all just people's opinions anyway.

[JAYNYC]

Originally Posted by Will O' Wisp

Don't get me wrong here everyone. I don't think that the approach into LAX is boring, just that it's not particularly unique. Phoenix, DFW, and a lot of other Western US cities give you fairly similar views of their crowded freeways and flat suburban sprawl as you descend. Even in LA you've got Burbank, Long Beach, and Ontario all with fairly similar views of the city. If I hand to pick a favorite it'd be the rare northbound approaches into Burbank instead of the westbound approach into LAX, even.

• Video Link

There you've got most of those DTLA views, plus close ups with Universal Studios and Griffith Park, and some fairly steep turns to keep things interesting. Still not "the best" approach in the US imo, but it has a lot of charm.

Maybe I'm just spoiled after having landed there more times then I can count, or maybe being able to name a half dozen better places to see the LA skyline just off the top of my head has warped my views a bit. But this is all just people's opinions anyway.

I think the best way for you to look at it is to ask yourself this: Does the dense urban core / massive, congested freeway system of Phoenix, Dallas, Houston or any other Western US (or even US in general, for that matter) city begin thirty minutes prior to landing as does the final approach to LAX? From my observations, the answer is no, and it's not even close.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by Will O' Wisp

Don't get me wrong here everyone. I don't think that the approach into LAX is boring, just that it's not particularly unique. Phoenix, DFW, and a lot of other Western US cities give you fairly similar views of their crowded freeways and flat suburban sprawl as you descend. Even in LA you've got Burbank, Long Beach, and Ontario all with fairly similar views of the city. If I hand to pick a favorite it'd be the rare northbound approaches into Burbank instead of the westbound approach into LAX, even.

• Video Link

There you've got most of those DTLA views, plus close ups with Universal Studios and Griffith Park, and some fairly steep turns to keep things interesting. Still not "the best" approach in the US imo, but it has a lot of charm.

Maybe I'm just spoiled after having landed there more times then I can count, or maybe being able to name a half dozen better places to see the LA skyline just off the top of my head has warped my views a bit. But this is all just people's opinions anyway.

End of the day, theres no right or wrong answer. I wouldnt argue with someway saying that jacksonville or Anchorage is their favorite. To each their own

[JAYNYC]

Originally Posted by Buckeye Native 001

Landing from the west at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport.

Speaking of landing from the west at Phoenix Sky Harbor, anyone know what's up with the massive vehicle junkyard that appears to be located somewhere southwest of downtown Phoenix? Saw this there when flying in last week - thousands of scrapped buses, trucks, cars, etc. randomly adjacent to a couple of middle class neighborhoods.

[chris08876]

That Burbank landing is very scenic. LA is a monolith, just flat out huge. It might sprawl, but no doubt it is dense and an urban vista that extends to the horizon. Beautiful topography with the mountain side neighborhoods on a side note.

I wish the clip had sound though.

[Will O' Wisp]

Originally Posted by JAYNYC

I think the best way for you to look at it is to ask yourself this: Does the dense urban core / massive, congested freeway system of Phoenix, Dallas, Houston or any other Western US (or even US in general, for that matter) city begin thirty minutes prior to landing as does the final approach to LAX? From my observations, the answer is no, and it's not even close.

I am very well acquainted with what my hometown looks like from the air. I spend over 20 years of my life in LA, including one and a half years where I was flying out of LAX on a weekly basis or more. I have probably landed at LAX more times than anyone else in this thread. I know the endless fields of suburban homes stretching off into the hazy gray of a smog filled horizon, specked freeways stretching through them like set of clogged arteries. I've flown low across the rooftops of Inglewood and looked down at the only green grass in sight, the empty rows of demolished houses for the new parking structure LAX has spent years waiting for permission to construct. I don't see anything different from a dozen other places I've been, there's just more of it.

It's like when my friends from Europe ask me how I'm not amazed everyday by how many lanes of traffic the 405 has. I've seen that view more than you can imagine, and to me it just looks like more pavement.

Originally Posted by chris08876

That Burbank landing is very scenic. LA is a monolith, just flat out huge. It might sprawl, but no doubt it is dense and an urban vista that extends to the horizon. Beautiful topography with the mountain side neighborhoods on a side note.

I wish the clip had sound though.

It does! Mostly engine noises, but that's the nature of the beast.

The most impressive views are always the ones at night. Even my salty old heart can appreciate them.
• Video Link

[COtoOC]

Originally Posted by Will O' Wisp

Don't get me wrong here everyone. I don't think that the approach into LAX is boring, just that it's not particularly unique. Phoenix, DFW, and a lot of other Western US cities give you fairly similar views of their crowded freeways and flat suburban sprawl as you descend. Even in LA you've got Burbank, Long Beach, and Ontario all with fairly similar views of the city. If I hand to pick a favorite it'd be the rare northbound approaches into Burbank instead of the westbound approach into LAX, even.

• Video Link

There you've got most of those DTLA views, plus close ups with Universal Studios and Griffith Park, and some fairly steep turns to keep things interesting. Still not "the best" approach in the US imo, but it has a lot of charm.

Maybe I'm just spoiled after having landed there more times then I can count, or maybe being able to name a half dozen better places to see the LA skyline just off the top of my head has warped my views a bit. But this is all just people's opinions anyway.

The Burbank approach is a good one! I lived in norther OC for 20 some years and Burbank is the only SoCal airport I've never flown into or out of. And I didn't even think about it when booking flights next month to take my kids to Universal. I just went with LAX. And flying from DEN on United, we're on 777s each way, which I enjoy.

[jd3189]

I’m going to be flying from LAX to MIA next month via a connecting flight to O’Hare in Chicago. Will coming from the west provide good views of the skyline?

[ThePhun1]

I thoroughly enjoyed Manhattan while flying into Newark.

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by ThePhun1

I thoroughly enjoyed Manhattan while flying into Newark.

Here's a good one with that perspective.

• Video Link

[chris08876]

Another perspective, where you see Newark NJ. Nice glimpse of Newark and the Ironbound neighborhood along with the Eastern fringes of Essex and Passaic County.


• Video Link

[Ralphy-in-TheLoop.]

Originally Posted by Will O' Wisp

Okay, so I was born and raised in LA. I have landed and taken off out of LAX more times than I can count, in every direction, from every runway. Can someone explain what's so amazing about the final approach into LAX?

Maybe I've just gotten used to it, but all I see on landing is a fairly distant view of the skyline and a mass of suburban housing underneath (which admittedly can look pretty cool at night). It always felt like a fairly typical approach to me.

I Lived in LA for 5 years before moving to Chicago and I used to think flying into LAX had the best view. When I saw the view coming into ORD I was pretty amazed. Landing from the east gives you the best view. You fly very low over Lake Michigan and then if you’re sitting on the left side of the plane you see the huge Chicago Skyline(huge compared to downtown LA) the LA skyline looks small and not that impressive from the air. The Chicago skyline looks like it goes on for over 20 miles from south to north along the lakeshore. It looks very impressive.

[dave8721]

The northern approach into Miami International from the East gives this nice view of South Beach as well:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/148978073

[homebucket]

My personal favorite:

HNL (Daniel K. Inouye International Airport - Honolulu, Hawaii)

[Will O' Wisp]

Since the thread has gone a little quiet how's about a "traditional" San Diego landing from the cockpit?

• Video Link

I'd bet good money this is a former PSA flightcrew, who were equally known for their lackadaisical sense of humor and a finely honed skill that made lining up the sometimes difficult approach into KSAN look easy.

Here's a couple of annotations to add to the experience

0:04 - "Of course they keep you high though, which makes it harder to get down": Due to the presence of Gillespie Field under the latter part of the flight path and traffic just below coming into North Island, ATC has a tenancy to keep landing aircraft at altitude for longer before authorizing an approach. This requires a steeper, faster decent than usual.

0:31 - "I still don't have him in sight": With just a single, congested runway minimizing the gap between landing aircraft is critical. With the weather clear most aircraft are using visual approaches, which rely on the pilot using his vision and judgment to provide adequate separation closer than flight instruments could allow. If the the crew doesn't spot the other aircraft ahead of them soon they will need to abort the landing, which luckily in our case doesn't happen as the FO catches the fellow jet a few seconds later just as it's crossing the edge of the runway.

1:44 - "Roger no delay traffic is on a one mile final now" "Yeah no kidding" "Son of a- quit talking and get off the runway": The aircraft landing before them missed its turn off and is taking too long to taxi off the runway. Our pilots are annoyed at him for prioritizing reading back the controller's instructions to clear the landing area over performing them. Our aircraft is less than a mile away and will land in approximately a minute, and with all the talking the other pilot now has less than 30 seconds to finish leaving the runway before our flight must abort.

2:12 - "My car!": The five story Laurel Parking Structure is infamous among airline pilots for causing countless stressful landings. Due to a design error it was originally built sticking up into the landing path of aircraft, forcing a lawsuit and a costly rebuild to lower it to the exact maximum height allowed for a structure this close to an airport. Aircraft pass less than 100 feet over the top level, which is likely the closest a normal person can get to a landing aircraft in the US.

3:41 - Arm hanging out the window like a boss. Airline pilots tend to be a little more buttoned up these days.

[JAYNYC]

Just noticed that Dallas appears to have two distinctly different skylines within its overall downtown skyline (at least it appears that way from a bird's eye view.

Beginning at roughly the 4:12 mark in the video below, notice that the Southside of downtown (which appears on the left side of the screen) is comprised of a large swath of very old low- to mid-rise buildings, whereas the Northside of downtown (which appears on the right side of the screen right before Uptown) is comprised almost entirely of towers built after 1980, Sheraton (formerly Adam's Mark) Hotel aside.

I don't think this is as noticeable in the standard postcard view of the downtown Dallas skyline, but it definitely sticks out here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRCdzKhkfKE

[Mister F]

Well seeing as people are posting international airports and this thread is in the international section, I'm going to nominate Toronto's Billy Bishop Airport.

This video has an aborted landing so you get to see the approach twice.
• Video Link


https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...ally-dead.html


https://dailyhive.com/toronto/billy-...ng-record-2019

[Zeej]

I was on that aborted landing flight. The pilot judged that he didn't have enough runway left so he kissed the tarmac and took off again. From where I was sitting, it looked like he was coming in high the 2nd time around too.

I don't love flying as it is, so I just about shit my pants.