Airplane Watching

Prince

Prince

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Many people say there's a correlation between sportbike riders and fighter jet pilots. Basically, we're riding road-jets. There's a few spots at the airport (Pearson) where you can get pretty close to the planes taking off. I love watching the planes take off and land. Every single one of them amaze me. The smell of jet fuel exhaust is like nectar. One time I was sitting by the fence in a restricted fence area on my Gixx, and a van passed, then passed again. He was a runway supervisor and asked if I wanted a tour. Of course I said! He took me through all the under ramps of the runways, under the wings of 747's, 757's. Took me into meet the RCMP and their bomb-sniffing dogs. We even sniffed out a suspicious piece of luggage. And for the grand finally, he took me to within twenty feet of two CF-18 fighter jets taking off. He put the loudspeaker on so the CF-18 pilot's parents could hear them talking to the tower. And then the fifty foot flame shot out of the after-burners as they rocketed down the runway. Sometimes, you're in the right place at the right time.

Anyone else like watching planes?
 
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Not about planes, but I have a "right place at the right time" story to share too.


I was going to a scrap yard to get pieces for my truck when I saw a few nice older cars (the Gran Torino caught my eye) on the lawn in front of some building. I didn't know what this place was but I decided to stop and look at the cars and check them out.
Then a man comes out and says that these are just a few of the cars they restore/work on and offered a free tour of the place. He said normally it's very exclusive to only the clients but I seemed so intrigued at the cars outside he walked me around.

The place is called Autodream in Niagara Falls.
This building is HUGE inside. The workshop was basically bigger than a home depot but not as high.
It was divided into 5 or 6 different sections. In the first one we walked through they were building fully custom off-road machines from the frame up. All the tools and machinery any wrench-head could ever dream of having was here.
There was another section for bodywork and paint, and a couple older Camaros and Stangs were there waiting to get painted in the next couple days.
The 3rd section was their "landing zone" he called it. Basically where all the new arrivals are stored and parked inside the building for safety.
There were over 60 of the old trucks that Canadian Tire has in their stores sometimes...some of them were in horrible shape and some of them were decent for their age. The man explained that they will be restoring each of them to 100% over the next year or so.
Then we walked into another storage looking section and this was nearly full of very rare models of certain cars, such as 3 prestine condition Yenko Camaros, a handful of different original Indianapolis 500 pace cars from the 70s and 80s, all original (and dusty cause they have been here a long time), and a bunch of others that would need a list.

One of them caught my eye though. A 1993 GMC Typhoon. I have had the hots for this truck ever since high school. I instantly walked away from the Yenkos to check this truck out. The man said the doors are not locked and that I could sit in it if I took my shoes off (they were dusty).
Oh man. I was in heaven. I have been wanting this truck for so long, and I still do.
On the windshield, what's that? A for sale sign!!
This truck was there on consignment from a man living in Florida and trying to sell it.
(fast forward a little bit, i went to my bank to try and get a loan but they wouldn't lend me the money because of the age and price of the truck. they didn't understand when i said "this is a rare truck").

Once I finally got over the Typhoon enough to carry on, there were a couple more sections with a few cars in them but I forget what they were for.
The whole thing took about an hour (cause I was metaphorically drooling at all the cars I saw) and I thanked the man a hundred times.
He gave me his card because of my interest in the Typhoon and I walked out of the building with a giant smile on my face as I got back into my 95 GMC Jimmy that was falling apart lmao.

Now everytime I drive by on the highway I always look for the building because sometimes they have cars in the front lawn on display and it's always nice to check out older cars that have been completely and professionally restored.

http://www.theautodreamgroup.com/index.html
 
When I lived in the UK I used to work for a company selling equipment for the airfreight industry. I never got tired of going airside at Heathrow. Standing under a 747 watching the hold being loaded makes you realise how big aircraft really are. And occasionally i'd be airside when Concorde took off. Even seasoned airport workers used to stand and watch Concorde take off.
 
Cool story Jeero. Florida is still hurting for money...maybe you could leave the owner your offer and phone number. You never know!

jeero said:
Not about planes, but I have a "right place at the right time" story to share too.


I was going to a scrap yard to get pieces for my truck when I saw a few nice older cars (the Gran Torino caught my eye) on the lawn in front of some building. I didn't know what this place was but I decided to stop and look at the cars and check them out.
Then a man comes out and says that these are just a few of the cars they restore/work on and offered a free tour of the place. He said normally it's very exclusive to only the clients but I seemed so intrigued at the cars outside he walked me around.

The place is called Autodream in Niagara Falls.
This building is HUGE inside. The workshop was basically bigger than a home depot but not as high.
It was divided into 5 or 6 different sections. In the first one we walked through they were building fully custom off-road machines from the frame up. All the tools and machinery any wrench-head could ever dream of having was here.
There was another section for bodywork and paint, and a couple older Camaros and Stangs were there waiting to get painted in the next couple days.
The 3rd section was their "landing zone" he called it. Basically where all the new arrivals are stored and parked inside the building for safety.
There were over 60 of the old trucks that Canadian Tire has in their stores sometimes...some of them were in horrible shape and some of them were decent for their age. The man explained that they will be restoring each of them to 100% over the next year or so.
Then we walked into another storage looking section and this was nearly full of very rare models of certain cars, such as 3 prestine condition Yenko Camaros, a handful of different original Indianapolis 500 pace cars from the 70s and 80s, all original (and dusty cause they have been here a long time), and a bunch of others that would need a list.

One of them caught my eye though. A 1993 GMC Typhoon. I have had the hots for this truck ever since high school. I instantly walked away from the Yenkos to check this truck out. The man said the doors are not locked and that I could sit in it if I took my shoes off (they were dusty).
Oh man. I was in heaven. I have been wanting this truck for so long, and I still do.
On the windshield, what's that? A for sale sign!!
This truck was there on consignment from a man living in Florida and trying to sell it.
(fast forward a little bit, i went to my bank to try and get a loan but they wouldn't lend me the money because of the age and price of the truck. they didn't understand when i said "this is a rare truck").

Once I finally got over the Typhoon enough to carry on, there were a couple more sections with a few cars in them but I forget what they were for.
The whole thing took about an hour (cause I was metaphorically drooling at all the cars I saw) and I thanked the man a hundred times.
He gave me his card because of my interest in the Typhoon and I walked out of the building with a giant smile on my face as I got back into my 95 GMC Jimmy that was falling apart lmao.

Now everytime I drive by on the highway I always look for the building because sometimes they have cars in the front lawn on display and it's always nice to check out older cars that have been completely and professionally restored.

http://www.theautodreamgroup.com/index.html
Click to expand...
 
SunnY S said:
Not quite.

There is a better correlation between F1 cars/drivers and fighter jets.


.
Click to expand...

Disagree. Most professional superbikers (i.e. Matt Mladin) are into planes. The next buzz up from flying on the ground (superbike), is not driving on the ground, but flying in the air. The correlation has been there for decades.
 
jeero said:
Not about planes, but I have a "right place at the right time" story to share too.


I was going to a scrap yard to get pieces for my truck when I saw a few nice older cars (the Gran Torino caught my eye) on the lawn in front of some building. I didn't know what this place was but I decided to stop and look at the cars and check them out.
Then a man comes out and says that these are just a few of the cars they restore/work on and offered a free tour of the place. He said normally it's very exclusive to only the clients but I seemed so intrigued at the cars outside he walked me around.

The place is called Autodream in Niagara Falls.
This building is HUGE inside. The workshop was basically bigger than a home depot but not as high.
It was divided into 5 or 6 different sections. In the first one we walked through they were building fully custom off-road machines from the frame up. All the tools and machinery any wrench-head could ever dream of having was here.
There was another section for bodywork and paint, and a couple older Camaros and Stangs were there waiting to get painted in the next couple days.
The 3rd section was their "landing zone" he called it. Basically where all the new arrivals are stored and parked inside the building for safety.
There were over 60 of the old trucks that Canadian Tire has in their stores sometimes...some of them were in horrible shape and some of them were decent for their age. The man explained that they will be restoring each of them to 100% over the next year or so.
Then we walked into another storage looking section and this was nearly full of very rare models of certain cars, such as 3 prestine condition Yenko Camaros, a handful of different original Indianapolis 500 pace cars from the 70s and 80s, all original (and dusty cause they have been here a long time), and a bunch of others that would need a list.

One of them caught my eye though. A 1993 GMC Typhoon. I have had the hots for this truck ever since high school. I instantly walked away from the Yenkos to check this truck out. The man said the doors are not locked and that I could sit in it if I took my shoes off (they were dusty).
Oh man. I was in heaven. I have been wanting this truck for so long, and I still do.
On the windshield, what's that? A for sale sign!!
This truck was there on consignment from a man living in Florida and trying to sell it.
(fast forward a little bit, i went to my bank to try and get a loan but they wouldn't lend me the money because of the age and price of the truck. they didn't understand when i said "this is a rare truck").

Once I finally got over the Typhoon enough to carry on, there were a couple more sections with a few cars in them but I forget what they were for.
The whole thing took about an hour (cause I was metaphorically drooling at all the cars I saw) and I thanked the man a hundred times.
He gave me his card because of my interest in the Typhoon and I walked out of the building with a giant smile on my face as I got back into my 95 GMC Jimmy that was falling apart lmao.

Now everytime I drive by on the highway I always look for the building because sometimes they have cars in the front lawn on display and it's always nice to check out older cars that have been completely and professionally restored.

http://www.theautodreamgroup.com/index.html
Click to expand...

Haha I used to drool over a picture of a Typhoon when I was a kid.
 
jukon said:
Haha I used to drool over a picture of a Typhoon when I was a kid.
Click to expand...

And the GMC Syclone too!

@ Prince: that story was over 2 years ago now. I've got the bike to get in trouble with, don't need a factory turbo'd S10 right now haha.
The bike is cheaper in every aspect compared to the Typhoon. Cheaper to buy, to fix, to insure, to maintain and to ride around.
 
I have watched airplane landings and take-offs on a regular basis as I am a avid photographer. It is truly interesting to see them up close. The most amazing sight is the landing of the biggest airplane from UAE. That plane is huge and awesome!
 
I sat in the jump seat in the cockpit of a 747 as it taxied and left Pearson one time, that was very neat. This was before 911...then I got a free seat in business class and drank champagne for 5h. I've also flown on one of the Queen's RAF fleet and ****** in her loo.
 
Prince said:
Many people say there's a correlation between sportbike riders and fighter jet pilots. Basically, we're riding road-jets. There's a few spots at the airport (Pearson) where you can get pretty close to the planes taking off. I love watching the planes take off and land. Every single one of them amaze me. The smell of jet fuel exhaust is like nectar. One time I was sitting by the fence in a restricted fence area on my Gixx, and a van passed, then passed again. He was a runway supervisor and asked if I wanted a tour. Of course I said! He took me through all the under ramps of the runways, under the wings of 747's, 757's. Took me into meet the RCMP and their bomb-sniffing dogs. We even sniffed out a suspicious piece of luggage. And for the grand finally, he took me to within twenty feet of two CF-18 fighter jets taking off. He put the loudspeaker on so the CF-18 pilot's parents could hear them talking to the tower. And then the fifty foot flame shot out of the after-burners as they rocketed down the runway. Sometimes, you're in the right place at the right time.

Anyone else like watching planes?
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That's pretty awesome. My office desk is at the base of the air traffic control tower at Pearson and I have yet to get a tour that good. I haven't even been airside at Pearson yet (although I've driven on the runway at a few other airports). Definitely some good places to watch planes around Pearson. The best is when the airshow is going on we can go on the outside of the tower (antenna ring) and sometimes the jets will buzz the tower.
 
I work at Pearson and I see 50+ planes take off and land a shift and I am still mesmerized. I also seen those 2 f18 take off and went around the whole airport. What a sight

I know a lot of good places to park and watch.

On Britania rd go east past Dixie. It will look sketchy and not open to public but trust me it is. It is where you pick up animals that air Canada ships. There is a little opening right by a runway where u can park at least 20 bikes. Would be a cool shot while the planes are landing
 
Prince said:
There's a few spots at the airport (Pearson) where you can get pretty close to the planes taking off. I love watching the planes take off and land. Every single one of them amaze me. The smell of jet fuel exhaust is like nectar.
Click to expand...

Where iz this!! Please show me! If there was a timmies stationed there, I'd be there every day all day =D

daisoman said:
On Britania rd go east past Dixie. It will look sketchy and not open to public but trust me it is. It is where you pick up animals that air Canada ships. There is a little opening right by a runway where u can park at least 20 bikes. Would be a cool shot while the planes are landing
Click to expand...

Hoah daamn! Just google mapped it! Looks like a pretty sweet ride! I've always been fascinated with airplanes and airports since I was young. Large machines in general, trains+train stations too! But I love just riding around the airport through the different terminals and such...I love the twisty roads there. Convair Dr. looks fun too!
 
Hey unL33T

I think we share a parking spot! I ride the silver V-Strom with the topcase and tankbag.


unL33T said:
That's pretty awesome. My office desk is at the base of the air traffic control tower at Pearson and I have yet to get a tour that good. I haven't even been airside at Pearson yet (although I've driven on the runway at a few other airports). Definitely some good places to watch planes around Pearson. The best is when the airshow is going on we can go on the outside of the tower (antenna ring) and sometimes the jets will buzz the tower.
Click to expand...
 
I LOVE jets :D My bike's nicknamed 'Tomcat' and I refer to it often as 'The Jet'. The day I first checked it out it got that name. I said, "That's a typo.....it's not an F4i. It's an F14!".
​
 
I'm an aircraft mechanic and man do I hate airplanes! Not hate but I guess it becomes the norm. I've seen some cool stuff especially up on the north end hangers. It's mostly private jets and specialty aircraft. It was neat to see the V-22 Osprey during the airshow. That is one cool machine.
 
thisischris said:
I'm an aircraft mechanic and man do I hate airplanes! Not hate but I guess it becomes the norm. I've seen some cool stuff especially up on the north end hangers. It's mostly private jets and specialty aircraft. It was neat to see the V-22 Osprey during the airshow. That is one cool machine.
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Cool ur at north aviation? I'm at fedex ramp you take care of our cessna 208's?
 
thisischris said:
I'm an aircraft mechanic and man do I hate airplanes! Not hate but I guess it becomes the norm. I've seen some cool stuff especially up on the north end hangers. It's mostly private jets and specialty aircraft. It was neat to see the V-22 Osprey during the airshow. That is one cool machine.
Click to expand...

I went on the first day of the show, where the V-22 demo was cancelled. :cussing::cussing::cussing::cussing::cussing::cussing:
 
I live directly under the flight path circuit to the Hamilton International Airport main runway - home of the Canadian Warplane Museum. Watching the Lancaster, Mitchell, DC-3 as well as the smaller vintage types flying overhead at less than 500 feet on a routine basis never gets tiring for me. Additionally, i now try to attend a (non-motorcycling related) recreational event in Mount Hope every couple of Saturdays - more low level vintage aircraft spotting opportunities open up there. People wonder why i stop in my tracks and gaze upwards until the aircraft is beyond view - the sound of those Merlin engines is beyond mesmerizing to me.

I too think that there is a corollary between Motorcycles, and that same drive and appeal that makes pilots out of ordinary people. I myself got into motorcycling years back, after going through flight training, only to be refused a license on medical (visual issues) grounds. I also come from an aviation oriented family - instead of going to a weekend ball-game with dad, or whatever, I was being strapped into the jump seat of a light aircraft for a day of pursuing the Ultimate Airport Hamburger in Southern Ontario.. those were some expensive hamburgers, when gas costs were factored in. My first flight was in an Aeronca Chief at age 6 weeks..
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