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What is aircraft spotting ?  Aircraft spotting is simply a fancy name, essentially, for plane watching:  You go to an airport, hang out, and watch planes take off, land, and taxi around, but while doing so, you keep a written record of the aircraft you've seen by noting down their tail (registration) numbers, airline, and type.  You sort of end up with a souvenir of your day at the airport.  Just how detailed you want to make your reports is up to you.  You can just keep track of the registration numbers on scraps of paper, or you could keep a journal listing the individual aircraft along with descriptions of their activities.  Or you don't have to write anything, and just enjoy the sights and sounds.  (For a much better description of plane spotting, please see Marco Dirkx's What is Spotting?)

Ok, so why do spotting or airport watching at John Wayne?   First, its so convenient.  It is right in the center of Orange County--very easily accessible from the 405, 55, and 73 freeways--and lacks the omnipresent traffic snarl that plagues LAX.  Second, it is small in size, but very, oh so very, busy.  With only two small parallel runways (2887' and 5700'), John Wayne manages about 1,355 operations (takeoffs and landings) per day--nearly half a million per year.  Last, its small size provides a more intimate airport experience than at a larger, international airport.

But it is the airport's daily operation that makes it so interesting.  Airliners landing on runway 19 Right share the airspace with small aircraft landing on 19 Left, requiring perfect corrdination and management by the Air Traffic Control Tower operator.  Also, unlike other, larger airports, from certain vantage points around SNA you can see large aircraft approach the aircraft and turn on final.  Sometimes, you'll be able to see airliners coming from a number of different directions and watch as they get sorted out into a certain order for approach.  This is particularly fascinating if you are listening on a VHF radio receiver or scanner.  SNA is also home to a wide range of interesting aircraft.  A DC-3 and a PBY are both based at John Wayne, as are a number of old Navy and Air Force trainers, biplanes, and specialized stunt planes.  And if you like executive jets, you'll be in heaven.  Unusual aircraft often visit as well; in recent months I've seen a Spitfire (World War Two fighter) and a de Havilland Otter seaplane down from Alaska.

John Wayne Airport Offical Web Site: www.ocair.com

All text copyright Thomas M. Heaney 1998.