UK

Blackpool can hardly be called one of the busiest or most interesting airports in the UK, although it does have quite a sizeable flying training and GA population, and there should be something to catch your attention during a short stop. There's very little in the way of airline schedules (currently only about 5 or 6 flights a day), so it doesn't really make much difference as to what time of day you come here in terms of what you're likely to see.

Unfortunately, Blackpool is not very helpful for getting photos of anything that's here - for one thing the layout means that most aircraft will be parked behind hangars or various other obstructions, and the other is that you're generally facing into the sun from almost all the possible locations anyway. However, there are a few possibilities to try.

a) Outside the actual airport complex, to the right of the terminal (as you exit) there's a shopping centre/superstore, with a fence that runs alongside one of the taxiways. This is probably a good place to get shots of the training/GA aircraft in the morning (larger aircraft don't seem to use this taxiway).

b) The helicopter terminal (used mostly for oil support flights) can provide some reasonable shots. There are a couple of gates through which you can take photos, although the angles are not always the best, so a ladder is probably useful here to elevate yourself above the chain-link fence.

G-BTNC Bond SA365	G-BKXD Bond SA365

c) The public car park, just next to the terminal, would have great potential as it looks out onto the main apron, but unfortunately from here you're facing directly into the sun.

d) Probably the best photographic opportunities here can be found at the crash gate located at the end of a lane around from the Blackpool Air Centre. Although a large hangar blocks any views of the airport itself, all of the larger (ie. non-GA) movements taxi past here on the way to and from the runway, allowing good shots from early afternoon onwards. A 300mm lens is necessary for best results.

G-BKMX JEA Shorts 360	G-JEAX JEA BAe146	G-OBPL Comed Aviation EMB110	G-AMPZ Dakota	ZE295 RAF Tornado F3

e) There are apparently some other possibilities on the other side of the airport, overlooking the runway. These would be ideal as the sun would then be behind you, but I didn't manage to get around there on my visit to confirm this. Any further information on this would be welcome.

Wrecks and Relics

XL391 Vulcan

Visited on 4 September 1999	Top of page

Maps

Click on the icons below to see various maps and images relating to Blackpool airport. Note that these are all external links to other sites, and will open in a new window.

Official CAA Blackpool airport map Courtesy of: NATS Ltd. Note that you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader (v4.0 or later) installed in order to view this. Click here to download this from the Adobe site if you need it.		OS street map of the Blackpool airport area Courtesy of: Streetmap.co.uk		General map of the Blackpool area Courtesy of: maps.expedia.com

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