We flew out to Las Vegas for a few days to celebrate our anniversary, we married there 15 years ago. When we arrived at LAS (McCarren Airport) we landed on 25R and quickly taxied to the D concourse. A quick trip on the tram to the main terminal and by the time we arrived our suitcase was on the belt. 100 feet away was the exit and taxi stand, and within 15 minutes we were at the MGM Hotel checking in.
Our room was on the 29th floor facing east, about midway on the south tower. This afforded a great view of the north end of the airport, especially the approach ends of 19R and 19L as well as the Atlantic and HighOptions FBO’s. Although slightly obstructed the EG&G and the Sands bases could be seen. Non-descript red and white 737’s were constantly going in and out from there as well as some of the smaller Beechcraft. Sand’s green and white 747SP and 767 were parked the entire time there as well as some of its smaller aircraft, it appears that the high-rollers these planes are used for are elsewhere this week.
From our room we were able to watch departures and arrivals on the 19’s with ease, greatly assisted by a scanner on the tower channel of 118.750. It was harder to see the operations on the 25’s, but they were visible at a distance (119.9 is used on the 19’s).
There is so much helicopter traffic at LAS that they have their own Tower channel, 123.825. Most are sightseeing operations to the Grand Canyon or Hoover Dam, but there also is at least one traffic chopper there and several others that I could not identify the users of. The fleet of Sundance choppers tend to fly off to the east towards the Grand Canyon as a group in the early evening and occasionally other times of the day.
Most of the three days we were there 19R was used mostly for landings and 19L for departures. Most of the few widebody aircraft used the 15’s except for the Hawaiian 767’s which used the 19’s a couple times. On Wednesday a chopper pilot specifically requested to watch the Virgin Atlantic 747 depart, I am assuming this was for a video shoot.
Most of the smaller aircraft used the 19’s during the days, with the many biz-jets and “Janet” flights there, probably to reduce taxi times. In addition many of the 737 and 757 flights used these. Most of the rest of the full-sized airliners used the 25’s however. On Thursday afternoon many operations were turned around and used 1R and 1L as well as 7R and 7L.
Other interesting aircraft operations included a USAF F-16 leaving from 19R. Interestingly the aircraft used the civil Tower channel instead of the UHF one, I guess these craft have both UHF and VHF comm radios installed. There was a KC-10 tanker parked at the military section near Las Vegas Blvd, but it didn’t move while we were there. Freight dogs included a couple FedEx DC-10’s and A300’s as well as 757’s.
Airport spotters would do well at any of several hotels on the Strip, while we didn’t request a room with an airport view we lucked out. Mandalay Bay probably has the best view of them all. The Luxor, MGM Grand, Excalibur, Tropicana and Hooters all have rooms with a view of the airport. You can see much of the various FBO, government and helicopter operations as well as the International Terminal from these hotels.
[FONT="]These are great places for airplane and airport spotters. LAS is one of the busiest airports on the world, with a decent variety of aircraft. While heavy on RJ’s, 737, 757 and A319/320/321’s there are a few widebodies and even some military ops. The choppers add an interesting touch that is not often seen at large commercial airports. A scanner and the current FAA diagram make it easy to track operations and a pair of binoculars will help log tail numbers. There are few airports this size that offer such spectacular views of the entire field like this.[/FONT]
Our room was on the 29th floor facing east, about midway on the south tower. This afforded a great view of the north end of the airport, especially the approach ends of 19R and 19L as well as the Atlantic and HighOptions FBO’s. Although slightly obstructed the EG&G and the Sands bases could be seen. Non-descript red and white 737’s were constantly going in and out from there as well as some of the smaller Beechcraft. Sand’s green and white 747SP and 767 were parked the entire time there as well as some of its smaller aircraft, it appears that the high-rollers these planes are used for are elsewhere this week.
From our room we were able to watch departures and arrivals on the 19’s with ease, greatly assisted by a scanner on the tower channel of 118.750. It was harder to see the operations on the 25’s, but they were visible at a distance (119.9 is used on the 19’s).
There is so much helicopter traffic at LAS that they have their own Tower channel, 123.825. Most are sightseeing operations to the Grand Canyon or Hoover Dam, but there also is at least one traffic chopper there and several others that I could not identify the users of. The fleet of Sundance choppers tend to fly off to the east towards the Grand Canyon as a group in the early evening and occasionally other times of the day.
Most of the three days we were there 19R was used mostly for landings and 19L for departures. Most of the few widebody aircraft used the 15’s except for the Hawaiian 767’s which used the 19’s a couple times. On Wednesday a chopper pilot specifically requested to watch the Virgin Atlantic 747 depart, I am assuming this was for a video shoot.
Most of the smaller aircraft used the 19’s during the days, with the many biz-jets and “Janet” flights there, probably to reduce taxi times. In addition many of the 737 and 757 flights used these. Most of the rest of the full-sized airliners used the 25’s however. On Thursday afternoon many operations were turned around and used 1R and 1L as well as 7R and 7L.
Other interesting aircraft operations included a USAF F-16 leaving from 19R. Interestingly the aircraft used the civil Tower channel instead of the UHF one, I guess these craft have both UHF and VHF comm radios installed. There was a KC-10 tanker parked at the military section near Las Vegas Blvd, but it didn’t move while we were there. Freight dogs included a couple FedEx DC-10’s and A300’s as well as 757’s.
Airport spotters would do well at any of several hotels on the Strip, while we didn’t request a room with an airport view we lucked out. Mandalay Bay probably has the best view of them all. The Luxor, MGM Grand, Excalibur, Tropicana and Hooters all have rooms with a view of the airport. You can see much of the various FBO, government and helicopter operations as well as the International Terminal from these hotels.
[FONT="]These are great places for airplane and airport spotters. LAS is one of the busiest airports on the world, with a decent variety of aircraft. While heavy on RJ’s, 737, 757 and A319/320/321’s there are a few widebodies and even some military ops. The choppers add an interesting touch that is not often seen at large commercial airports. A scanner and the current FAA diagram make it easy to track operations and a pair of binoculars will help log tail numbers. There are few airports this size that offer such spectacular views of the entire field like this.[/FONT]
