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Old 05-22-2008, 06:39 PM
 
96 posts, read 218,082 times
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Are there any places close to the airport that are good for watching airplanes take off & land? My son LOVES planes so we thought this would be a fun outing. I know a lot of the area near the airport is sketchy this would only be an outing with my husband & son during daylight.

Thanks!
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Old 05-22-2008, 07:01 PM
 
Location: The 12th State
22,974 posts, read 65,261,093 times
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Carolinas Aviation Museum
Charlotte/Douglas International Airport
4108 Airport Drive
Charlotte, NC 28208
704-359-8442

The Carolinas Historic Aviation Commission and Carolinas Aviation Museum features more than 30 historic aircraft on display, a viewing area to watch planes take off and land, a gift shop and more.


The best place is off Old Dowd Road and there is a small park to watch planes with picnic benches and benches but wear shoes and keep your feel off the ground as much as possible due to fire ants.

It is before you reach Reese Drive or Wallace Neal Road in the curve.
Little Rock Road turns into Old Dowd Road
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Old 05-22-2008, 07:13 PM
 
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I am not familiar with the exact road, but there is a McDonalds right after you exit I-85 (exit 32 i think) to the airport. Go left at the light and the McD's is a bit down on your left before the turn towards the airport. The airplanes usually land directly over that (pretty low) and its pretty neat to see them.

How do I know? Well, usually when I land, I got to McD's for a sweet tea and get to see the planes often, lol.
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Old 05-22-2008, 07:15 PM
 
Location: The 12th State
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperchargedSS View Post
I am not familiar with the exact road, but there is a McDonalds right after you exit I-85 (exit 32 i think) to the airport. Go left at the light and the McD's is a bit down on your left before the turn towards the airport. The airplanes usually land directly over that (pretty low) and its pretty neat to see them.

How do I know? Well, usually when I land, I got to McD's for a sweet tea and get to see the planes often, lol.
I have sat in that Krystals I mean MC D parking lot eating my lunch with sun roof open watching the planes fly over.
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Old 05-22-2008, 07:16 PM
 
Location: Up above the world so high!
45,218 posts, read 100,308,463 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by martikus View Post
Are there any places close to the airport that are good for watching airplanes take off & land? My son LOVES planes so we thought this would be a fun outing. I know a lot of the area near the airport is sketchy this would only be an outing with my husband & son during daylight.

Thanks!
Just fyi, the area immediately around the airport is not sketchy - really. I might not walk around there at night by myself because it's all kind of isolated but there is nothing particularly dangerous about the property surrounding the airport, especially where you go watch the planes take off and land
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Old 05-22-2008, 07:45 PM
 
Location: Lake Norman, NC
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I agree with the suggestion of the McDonalds lot. My son and I stopped there while we were out geocaching one day and that first jet flying over took us by surprise! So, we hung out and watched several more before moving on.
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Old 05-22-2008, 08:27 PM
 
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I am sorry I don't know the road names, but if you follow the signs to where the cargo terminals are, you can actually park very close to the runways. I took my wife and kids there one afternoon, and there were several other families there. While I am sure we were kept under a watchful eye, we were not bothered nor questioned by the police/security, in the 45 minutes we were there. Enjoy!
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Old 05-23-2008, 08:28 AM
 
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I took my 8yr old nephew to the Carolinas Aviation Museum next to the airport last year and had a blast. The museum has a lot of nice exhibits and a viewing area close to runway 18L allowing excellent views of planes taking off. The museum has signs on Billy Graham Parkway to assist in locating the entrance. The viewing area off Old Dowd Road has been popular among locals for many years.
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Old 08-30-2009, 01:21 PM
 
1 posts, read 14,888 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hoagie58 View Post
I am sorry I don't know the road names, but if you follow the signs to where the cargo terminals are, you can actually park very close to the runways. I took my wife and kids there one afternoon, and there were several other families there. While I am sure we were kept under a watchful eye, we were not bothered nor questioned by the police/security, in the 45 minutes we were there. Enjoy!


Really? Cuz I called the airport first to make sure, and they were like "you can't park there unless you're getting cargo." And my girlfriend really wants to watch the planes, lol.
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Old 08-30-2009, 02:02 PM
 
Location: CLT native
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There used to be many places, gravel lots, where you could watch planes around the old and then 'new' (current) airport.

I hear they were called 'make-out lots' at night and that police would knock on windows and make sure the occupants were OK.

That is what I have heard anyway.
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