Grand Rapids Gerald R. Ford Airport - Spotting Guide

Grand Rapids Gerald R. Ford Airport – Spotting Guide

September 8, 2020 - last modified on September 8, 2022

Gerald R. Ford International Airport (IATA: GRR, ICAO: KGRR). located southeast of Grand Rapids, Michigan, handelds around 3 mio passengery annually. It is a focus city for Allegiant Air.

General Information
Terminal	There is one terminal with two concourses
Runway	The airport has three runways, but 08R/26L is the busiest one.

	Geralton-Mount Magnet Rd – 21 Arrivals
WHERE	The location is the official viewing area of the airport. Take MI Route 6 to the Broadmoor AVE SE exit (#15). Then, you want to take Patterson AVE to the end of Kraft AVE North, the park is on the right. One will need a vehicle to get to this location. There is a fence, but the park is situated on a hill. Typically, we stand on top of the picnic tables when photographing and that is sufficient.

WHAT	From the park, one can see all ops on 8R/26L (The main runway). Since the park is quite long, it does not matter the direction of traffic. Also, taxiways A and D are visible. 8L/26R is not visible, and is only used for small props. 35/17 is also not visible, but the majority of traffic use 26L/8R.

TIME	Backlighting is never a problem at GRR, but heat haze can be. We typically go only in November or December. Even in January or February, the heat haze can be bad.

MISC.	There are bathrooms, over 100 parking spaces, drinking fountains and a shaded area, but no restaurants are nearby. GRR is one of the last remaining airports with a designated spotting area. Police patrol the area, but they won’t bother you.

FOCAL LENGTH	All pictures can be achieved with 400mm. An A320 or 737 needs about 100 to 200 mm, while a Phenom or a Citation needs about 400 mm.

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