Alverca Air Base - Spotting Guide

Alverca Air Base – Spotting Guide

August 26, 2021 - last modified on August 26, 2022

Alverca Air Base (LPAR) offers a lot of very rare maintenance visits from all over the world. You can expect Tchad Air Force C130, Afghanistan Air Force C130, Ethiopian Air Force C130, USAF C130, Pakistani P3, China Eastern ERJ-145, French Air Force C130. But the main maintenance visits are from Embraer. So when you are in Lisbon you always have to have a close look at the traffic in direction of Portugal, it can be a rare Embraer coming in for maintenance, be also careful at checking ADS-B for eventual test flights of the military aircraft, they mostly last 2 hours and are being performed above the Atlantic Ocean. Alverca is also used as a storage Airport for Embraer’s, when they return to lessor or what for a new owner.

General Information
Security	Spotting is okay here, but keep a low profile here to be safe.
Runway	04/22: 2990m – 04 is used most of the time, 22 only with rare Southern winds. Regarding the runway use in Alverca, it actually depends from Lisbon, they have to follow their circuit – keep that in mind.

	Trilho de Verdelha – 04 Arrivals
WHERE	Spot located on a walking route named “Trilho de Verdelha”, being used a lot by bikers and pedestrians, so pay attention when walking on this route. A bicycle can cross your path at any time! You have to park your car next to ETAR de Alverca entrance, since it is prohibited to drive on this route with a car. The walk is about 40 minutes from ETAR de Alverca until the spot, so you have to be there really in advance. Always straight ahead and follow the path until you have a clear view without any bushes above a small bridge, you can’t miss it.

WHAT	04 Arrivals.

TIME	Early afternoon till sunset.

MISC.	Nothing nearby, bring with you what you need.

FOCAL LENGTH	130mm = C130J