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April 9, 2021Indianapolis Intl. Airport – Spotting Guide
- last modified on October 24, 2023
Indianapolis International Airport (IND/KIND) is the main gateway for the city of Indianapolis and the state Indiana. IND was opened in 1931 roughly 15km southwest of the city centre. Today it is served by a quite small amount of airlines and the airport does not play a big role as a passenger hub. But IND is one of the most important hubs for the cargo carrier FedEx – in the US and the world. In addition, the airport sometimes handles special cargo charters as IND is the preferred destination if they need to come into this area. Furthermore there are some sports plus business/general aviation aircraft and a few military ones here from time to time.
Written by Jerry Zhang (JC) with gracious contributions from Hongming Zheng and Achim Walther (Spot 5). Last change: October 2023 (Spot 1 updated)
| Rating | |
| Movements |  |
| Airline Variety |  |
| Photo Locations | |
| Weather | |
| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 05R/23L | 3048m / 10000ft, Concrete |
| 05L/23R | 3414m / 11200ft, Concrete |
| 14/32 | 2218m / 7278ft, Concrete |
| Terminals | |
| Concourse A | Concourse A (on the South East side) houses gates A3-A25 and is served by Air Canada, Delta, Spirit and United. |
| Concourse B | Concourse B (on North West side) houses gates B3-25 and is served by Alaska Air, Allegiant Air, American, Frontier and Southwest. |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | Not needed and not recommended. |
| Car/Public Transport | Needed as soon as you wanna leave spot #1. |
| Drinks/Food | Food available inside terminal. Fast food and other restaurants available in the neightborhood to the northwest of the airport perimeter. Restrooms in terminal for Spot 1 A&B, No restrooms nearby otherwise. |
| Hotels | Hotels are dotted throughout the north & northwest perimeter of the airport. |
| Season | Traffic rush near Christmas. More cargo airplanes visiting. Year-round sport charters bring some passenger widebodies. |
| Security | No encounters at the locations described in this guide, but ALWAYS maintain a LOW PROFILE. |
| Runway Usage | |
| 05R/23L | Mostly used by FedEx since their apron is nearby. Used by United, Delta, etc. |
| 05L/23R | Used by traffic going to the other side of the terminal such as Southwest. |
| 14/32 | Crosswind runway, usually not used if the wind is not too harsh from the side for 05/23, but sometimes by the FedEx ATR at any time. |
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Spot #1 – Terminal Parking Garage – 05R/L + 23R/L Movements |
|---|---|
| WHERE | This spot is located on the daily/hourly parking garage, which is located infront of the terminal – you could either walk to it from the terminal or drive onto it and park on the top deck. Then position yourself either at the western or eastern front depending on the light – both sides are accessible.
UPDATE OCT 2023: A new parking garage is being build in between the existing garage and runway 05L/23R. Right now almost all view is blocked. Pictures are possible, but spots are small and you cannot move to get planes between lamps on taxiway. So your options are limited but pictures are possible. |
| WHAT | Both 05R/23L and 05L/23R are visible. |
| TIME | 05L/23R (northwest runway) from sunrise till early afternoon. 05R/23L (southeast runway) nicely lit during late afternoon. |
| MISC. | Food, restrooms, and drink are accessible inside the terminal. It is about a 10 minute walk from the top deck. PLEASE MAINTAIN A LOW PROFILE, otherwise security may come and kick you outta here! Heat haze may be an issue on very hot days. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 100-400mm Widebodies = 120-250mm |
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Spot #2 – Lift Academy Parking Lot – 23L Landings |
|---|---|
| WHERE | This spot is within the parking lot for the “Lift Academy”. From interstate 465 exit at “Sam Jonex Expressway”, drive westwards and turn south at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Drive down on Cargo Dr till the end and turn left at the hangars and park at the “Lift Academy” parking lot. |
| WHAT | 23L landings only. |
| TIME | From sunrise till early afternoon. |
| MISC. | No food or drink accessible but if you drive for about 5-10 minutes there are restaurants near the perimeter of the airport. PLEASE MAINTAIN A LOW PROFILE. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70-300mm B757 = 105mm / Business Jet = 180mm |
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Spot #3 – Challenger Dr – 05R Landings + 23L Departures |
|---|---|
| WHERE | The spot is at the end of Challenger Dr – a dead end road. Exit I70 at Ameriplex Pkwy, drive east and at the next junction turn left into Exploration Dr. Drive all the way up until the end and you can enter Challenger Dr. Just park at the end of the turning point and start spotting. |
| WHAT | 23L departures, 05R landings. |
| TIME | From sunrise till early afternoon. |
| MISC. | No food or drink accessible but if you drive for about 5 minutes there are restaurants near the perimeter of the airport or you can also just head for the subway/mobil gas station a few hundred meters south of the spot. PLEASE MAINTAIN A LOW PROFILE. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 100-400mm Beechcraft = 400mm / B757 = 185mm |
 |
Spot #4 – Shell station/Cell Phone Lot – 05R Arrivals + 23L Departures |
|---|---|
| WHERE | After you have left I70, follow the signs to the terminal but immediatly take the first right which will lead you to a Shell station and the nearby cell phone lots. Chose your favourite postion in that area but for arrivals we recommend to use the cell phone lot. |
| WHAT | 23L heavy departures, 05R arrivals. |
| TIME | From late afternoon till sunset. Only nicely useable form February to October. |
| MISC. | There is a subway/gas station next to you where you will find everything. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 150-400mm 200mm = DC-10 / 310mm = MD88 |
 |
Spot #5 – Gridley Avenue – 23L/R arrivals |
|---|---|
| WHERE | This is small unused parking lot of a former fast food area or similar and the ground is concrete. Drive to the airport on Sam Jones Expy and turn right into South Highschool Road. After the end of the airport turn left into the Pierson Dr. On the right you can see the lawn and the area. Turn right into Gridley Ave and look for a parking lot. Park there but you can move down the meadow to get a bit closer to the 23L approach or change the angle. |
| WHAT | Best for 23R arrivals. 23L are a bit further down. |
| TIME | 23R: from sunrise till early afternoon. 23L: from late afternoon till sunset but only useable form February to October. |
| MISC. | Nothing nearby. It is a quiet area and you should not be disturbed. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 100-600 for both runways. 180mm for A320 on 23R. 450mm for 772 on 23L. |
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Spot #6 – Fast Food parking lots – 23R Arrivals |
|---|---|
| WHERE | Leave Interstate 465 and head west on Washington Street until you pass Yanni’s Golden Gyros on your left. Then pull over to one of the other fast food restaurants (Mc Donalds or Arbys) and stay in their parking lot. Just shoot from outta your car then, only leave it once an aircraft is actually coming. The address you should roughly head for or can use for navigation is: 6780 W Washington St |
| WHAT | 23R arrivals. |
| TIME | From late afternoon till sunset but only useable form February to October. |
| MISC. | There are fast food restaurants just all around you where you can eat/drink or find restrooms. PLEASE MAINTAIN A LOW PROFILE. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 100-400mm 150mm = AN-124 / 200mm = MD-88 |
Dose anybody know if you need any kind of permit to go to the parking ramps ?
Thanks
I spent one day at IND in September. There is a construction going on on spot 1. They are building new garages between the spot 1 and 5L/23R. Right now almost all view is blocked, other than corners of the parking lot. Pictures are possible, but spots are small and you cannot move to get planes between lamps on taxiway. So your options are limited but pictures are possible. If new garages will be lower, spotting could be still possible. If the new garages are higher, spotting will be impossible. If the new garages will be open for public, even better spot would occur since you would be much closer to runway (and possibly even higher). Departures from runway 23R are possible from economy lot too, but nothing fancy, cargo planes are quite low and again many lamps limit your angles. During my visit, runway 23L was closed for maintenance, so 23R was used even for Fedex.
Thanks for the update Michael. I left a notice in the guide. So lets hope the new garage is open for public 🙂
Maybe you can provide some photos from the eco lot so I can add it to the guide.
-Julian
You say parking along a public road is not recommended. May I ask why? I did street views along several roads around IND but saw no No Parking signs. Also, you recommend keeping a low profile. Does security get nervous about people photographing aircraft? I have photographed aircraft at other airports with no problems. Security has driven by and waved. Thanks for your help!
In the US people that drive by tend to call the cops/security if they see some “suspects” lingering around with a camera. But that totally depends on the area where you hang around. At the spots we have descriped above you should be fine.
-Julian
Spot 6 Kmart lot is maybe not accessible anymore after Kmart closed, however you might be able to find a place along the road nearby. The location is now a heavy equipment company and the lot is now fenced. I’ve since moved and left Indiana and this was what I saw during the very last time I visited KIND back in Dec 2021.
I have noticed just the naming of the location were misleading. The fast food restaurants are now mentioned as the main spots.
Thanks for the hint
-Julian
Hi..great report! I am planning a freight run trip next summer (Covid allowing but optimistic)…I was thinking of an overnight stay for a FedEx hub as I have seen 50+ flights. I am not sure which hotels would have views of the runways? Does anybody have any thoughts / recommendations? This is not an area I have overnighted at before..many thanks and great website!
The Crowne Plaza has rooms that are directly under the approach to 27L.