BDL-Spot1
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March 29, 2017Hartford Bradley Intl. Airport – Spotting Guide
- last modified on February 11, 2024
Bradley International Airport (BDL/KBDL) – often still referred to as “Windsor Locks” and also commonly known as “Hartford-Bradley” – is the second-largest as well as the second-busiest airport in New England behind Boston Logan International. It is located about halfway between Hartford, CT and Springfield, MA (and also about halfway between JFK and BOS). Considering that this is a rather small airport compared to its big neighbors in New York and Boston it still sees quite some volume and variety of traffic (passenger, cargo, military, general aviation), and it frequently gets diversions from BOS, JFK and EWR.
All US legacy carriers (Delta, American, United, including regional subsidiaries) and Southwest connect Bradley with their major hubs, and it is also a focus city for JetBlue and Breeze. Spirit and Frontier offer several routes as well (some only seasonal). As of March 2023 Aer Lingus has re-establish its flight from DUB, which is operated by an A321NEO. BDL is the number one cargo hub for Southern New England: FedEx (763, A300), UPS (MD11, 763, 752, A300), Amazon Prime/ATI (762, 763, 738) and Kalitta/DHL (734) account for several movements every day. General aviation traffic can be observed as well, and as Bradley is the home of the Connecticut Air National Guard, several C-130 are based at the airport. There is also a Bombardier maintenance base located at BDL, and brand new Bombardier business jets often come here during test flights.
Written by Thomas Okaty, sample photos provided by Julian Mittnacht (Spot 9 & 11), Mackenzie Logie (Spot 10) and Thomas Okaty (Spot 1-8 & 10). Last update: February 2024
| Rating | |
| Movements |  |
| Airline Variety | |
| Photo Locations | |
| Weather |  |
| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 06/24 | 2899m (9510ft) |
| 15/33 | 2087m (6847ft) |
| Terminals | |
| Terminal A | Used for all flights |
| Terminal B | new terminal planned |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | Not required at the listed locations, but also not recommended (for obvious reasons). |
| Car/Public Transport | Car is absolutely necessary, unless some exercise is desired. In that case, most of the spots can also be reached by bicycle. However, use extra caution because there are no bike paths and drivers in the US are not used to share major roads with cyclists. |
| Restrooms | In the restaurants along Route 75 (east of the airport), and at the gas station on Route 20 (southwest of the airport). |
| Drinks/Food | Several restaurants and fast food places are located along Route 75 east of the airport. |
| Hotels | The Sheraton Hartford Airport Hotel is located directly at the terminal and offers fantastic views of the ramp and nearby runway. Several lodging options are located along Route 75 east of the airport. |
| Season | All year. It can get very cold during the winter, it is not unusual that temperatures drop significantly below freezing. |
| Security | The vicinity of the airport is frequently patrolled by law enforcement representatives. Make sure to carry ID, when being approached/checked by police stay calm, be cooperative, be nice! Don’t park your car along Perimeter Rd (red line). |
| Runway Usage | |
| 06/24 | Used in both directions. Gets the majority of traffic throughout the year. |
| 15/33 | Used for landings and take-offs. Due to the usual wind direction pattern 15 is rarely in use. |
Route 20 – 06 Arrivals
| WHERE | Park your car on the northside of Hwy 20 on what used to be the driveway of a house which has been torn down. Keep in mind that this is a private property and that this spotting location is in sight of the entrance to the Air National Guard base, so it’s recommended to stay in your car and only to get out and take a few steps towards the approach path (to clear the powerlines) when traffic is inbound. Alternatively, you can position yourself in the field on the other side of Hwy 20, but mind the usually heavy traffic when crossing the 4-lane road! A good alternative is spot #11, but a longer lens is required there. |
| WHAT | Arrivals on runway 06. |
| TIME | Late afternoon until sunset. |
| MISC. | Restrooms, drinks and snacks are available at the nearby gas station. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | MD-11: 80mm 737: 120mm: |
Hemlock/E Granby Road – 06 Arrivals
| WHERE | Park your car roadside on Chestnut Dr near the intersection, then walk across the intersection and take a spot on the other side of E Granby Rd (to clear the power lines). |
| WHAT | Arrivals on runway 06. |
| TIME | Sunrise until early afternoon. |
| MISC. | Restrooms, drinks and snacks are available at the gas station near spot #1. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | A300: 70mm 734: 110mm |
Ruby Tuesday – 33 Arrivals
| WHERE | This spot is located at a restaurant (currently Ruby Tuesday) on Route 75. Park your car in the restaurant’s lot, but keep in mind that this is a private property. |
| WHAT | Arrivals on runway 33. |
| TIME | Noon until sunset. |
| MISC. | Several fast food places, restaurants and gas stations can be found in walking distance along Route 75. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 762: 150mm A320: 200mm |
Light Lane – 33 Arrivals
| WHERE | Park your car in the parking lot of Spare Time Windsor Locks, then walk to the spot. Be careful crossing Route 75! This is a 4-lane road and there are no designated pedestrian crossings and no sidewalks. Position yourself on the dirt area behind the crash barrier along the east side of Light Lane. |
| WHAT | Similar to spot #3 you will get all 33 arrivals, just at a different angle. |
| TIME | Noon until sunset. |
| MISC. | Several fast food places and restaurants can be found along Route 75. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70-300 |
Route 75 – 06 Departures
| WHERE | This spot is recommended to be used only on weekends as it is on a private business property. Park your car in their parking lot, but remain close to your car and don’t position yourself too close to the road, so you don’t distract drivers (and that way attract attention by the police). |
| WHAT | Departures from runway 06 in climb. |
| TIME | Sunrise until early afternoon. |
| MISC. | No facilities close by. Take Route 75 southbound towards spot #3, you will find everything there. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | A342: 140mm E170: 240mm |
School Bus Lot (Route 75) – 24 Arrivals & Departures
| WHERE | This spot is located right next to the runway 24 threshold. It is recommended to be used only on weekends as it is on a private property. |
| WHAT | Arrivals on runway 24. Line-up and departures on runway 24. |
| TIME | Sunrise until early afternoon. |
| MISC. | No facilities close by. Take Route 75 southbound towards spot #3, you will find everything there. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 762: 150mm 734: 210mm |
1160 South Street (Route 75) – 24 Arrivals
| WHERE | This spot is recommended to be used only on weekends as it is on a private business property. Park your car in their parking lot, but remain close to your car and don’t position yourself too close to the road, so you don’t distract drivers (and that way attract attention by the police). |
| WHAT | Arrivals on runway 24. |
| TIME | Sunrise until early afternoon. |
| MISC. | No facilities close by. Take Route 75 southbound towards spot #3, you will find everything there. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 767: 110mm 737: 160mm |
Kenny Roberts Memorial Dr – 24 Arrivals
| WHERE | This spot is located at a cul-de-sac of a small business park north of the airport. Coming from the airport follow highway 75 in northerly direction along the east side of the airport towards Suffield, then once you are past the airport turn left at the next light onto Spencer St and left again onto Kenny Roberts Memorial Dr. Follow the road all the way to the cul-de-sac. |
| WHAT | Arrivals on runway 24. |
| TIME | Late afternoon until sunset. |
| MISC. | Bring everything you need. No restrooms. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | MD-11: 110mm E190: 175mm |
Hotel to terminal walkway - Traffic taxiing west of the piers
| WHERE | Between the Sheraton Hartford Hotel/parking and the airport terminal there’s a full height glass walkway providing excellent views over the apron. |
| WHAT | All traffic taxiing or parking to the west of the piers. Taking photos of the runway is not possible due the distance. |
| TIME | From about 10am in the summer; 12 noon in the winter. Be aware of heat distortion on the taxiway. |
| MISC. | Everything you need within the terminal. Of course, all photos are taken through glass, so care is needed to avoid reflections in your photos. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Between about 35-200mm depending on the type and location of the traffic. A220=40mm; Southwest 737=150mm |
Official Viewing Area - 06 movements
| WHERE | The official viewing area is located at the end of Park Road, which is right by the threshold of runway 06, and can be easily accessed from the terminals by car. A permit is required for this location! |
| WHAT | 06 arrivals – no ladder needed, approaching aircraft are well above the top of the fence 06 line-ups – through chain-link fence. |
| TIME | 06 arrivals: sunrise until noon 06 line-ups: late morning until sunset |
| MISC. | A permit is needed to stay and spot at this location! All necessary information can be found on the official website of the airport. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | B734: 120mm E175: 160mm |
Stone Rd - 06 arrivals
| WHERE | There is an industrial complex southwest of the airport where you can catch the 06 arrivals. Just get to Stone Rd and park by the roadside without blocking the traffic. There is a huge lawn without disturbing objects where you can stay. |
| WHAT | Arrivals on runway 06 only. |
| TIME | Late afternoon until sunset. |
| MISC. | Nothing close. Not the busiest road so you should have no problems. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 738=220mm; A300=180mm |
The official viewing area is good all day long for excellent lineup and taxi views of Runway 6 departures. You can also get decent rotation views for 24 departures all day. Some international diversions will also park at the de-icing pad adjacent to Runway 6 yielding fantastic views. Backlighting only occurs with arrivals on Runway 6 in the afternoon.
I just went through the process of getting a permit. Literally couldn’t be easier, and the very pleasant lady to administers it is a joy. I don’t understand the need for the permit, but I was only too happy to comply.
So, my son is really into airplanes and wants to go plane spotting. I just have no idea what the policy for kids is for the application and actually plane spotting.
There is no policy/special rule for kids. Just contact the local authorities in advance, take IDs with you and you should be fine – even in the case they approach you.
Hi,
I’ve noticed quite a bit of negative feedback about spotting around BDL and as an airport employee, I hope this helps. The only designated spotting location is on Trap Rock Rd. Unfortunately they do require a permit for whatever reason. I haven’t ever gone through the process but it seems fairly simple according to the website(I’ll post the link at the end).
Perimeter Road is a definite no as the state police and airport operations patrol the road frequently since it is owned and maintained by the airport. And there is PLENTY of signage that says “ no parking,” etc. So just follow the rules and no one is going to bother you.
The spotting location is actually in a decent spot for RWY24 departures and RWY6 arrivals and is open sunrise to sunset year round. I can’t speak for non-airport properties but if you all have questions about the spotting location, I’m happy to answer!
Zach
Hi Zach, thanks for the feedback. We are aware of the issue and we already mention the no go areas in our description as well as in the google map.
Would be nice if more spotters would read that carefully 🙂
-Julian
In case anyone is looking for information about plane spotting at BDL, here is the link from the airports’ site:
https://bradleyairport.com/learn/plane-spotting/
Hi, according to the actual Bradley website, there is a designated place you can go to plane spotting and that’s the trap rd
Hi Ken Wei,
That’s correct and we are aware of it, but we haven’t added it yet, because we haven’t had a chance yet to take sample pictures. Also, it’s only good for taking photos of 06 arrivals from sunrise to early afternoon and – provided the lens fits through the mesh of the fence – of 06 line-ups, however, currently the taxiway to the 06 threshold is closed due to construction.
We will certainly add it at some point.
Thanks and happy spotting,
Thomas
-spotterguide.net crew-
I don’t know if this is good, I googled it, but couldn’t you go on Park road as well because there’s a free park there.
HI, a friend and I want to go spotting in the afternoon during the week or weekend, what is the best spot to avoid any confrontations with police? I’d really prefer to not get arrested, and I might raise some suspicion because me and my friend are both under 18. Thanks for any help!
Hi Toby,
It’s difficult to recommend any spot as it depends which runway is in use. In general, on weekends all spots are good. If you have a car and park it at spot #2, then police might send you away or in the worst case give you ticket, but they won’t arrest you. All other spots are on private property.
My only general recommendation would be to rather go spotting on a weekend than on a weekday as then the businesses are closed. My preferred spots are #1, #3, #5 and #8.
Happy Spotting,
Thomas
Hello!
This is a warning to anyone who wants to spot here*****
**BE EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS**
Me and a friend went spotting here at BDL for a day and here is what happened.
Along perimeter road (and many other roads near the airport) there are signs saying no parking and on hills (or other popular spotting locations) there are signs saying “no trespassing”. We went to ask a cop if there was somewhere we would be allowed to stand (as runway 33 was in use). He told us how it was common for him to arrest spotters who stand on those hills but because we asked they were going to allow us for 15 minutes the next day…. this just started our troubles!
Hours later we were on top of the parking garage for 33 action when 5 TSA agents asked us what we were doing (and we told them); they said ok and left. shortly after we had a very aggressive cop grab me/ friend away from our car and searched us (very aggressive pat down) and as we were trying to tell them our purpose for being there they told us to delete all our pics (so we did). And we had no choice but to leave after 30m of being interrogated by these very rude/ aggressive officers.
What they told us anywhere near the fence / at the airport is on airport property and it is forbidden for pictures to be taken…….
This has been the worst spotting experience in our lives – to anyone reading this be very cautious that this does not happen to u
I have one more question. If I go to spot #9 walkway at the airport, where can I park to get to the walkway?
At the airport parking garage.
Is there a way to find out which runway planes are coming in on?
Lauren,
Mainly, it depends on the wind direction, however, there is no guarantee, especially with westerly wind and/or low wind speed both 24 and 33 are being used.
You can check windfinder.com to find out from which direction the wind is blowing.
Best regards,
Thomas
– spotterguide.net crew –
When I went, am I supposed to go inside the hotel to go to spot #9?
You can enter it from the hotel, parking or terminal. Its a sheltered walkway open to public.
-Julian