North Side of the Field

The north side of the field offers both close up and side on angles for both the morning and afternoon. PLEASE EXERCISE CAUTION WHEN USING THESE SPOTS AS THEY ARE ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. Note these spots assume RWY15 ops. These spots wouldn't necessarily be useable for RWY33 ops. The aircraft would be very high up by the time they get to you here.

To avoid sitting off the side of a busy road and right next to base where I could draw attention from Military Police, I tend to park just off of Brophy Road. From here you will have no problem hearing all relevant scanner frequencies.

Even if you do not have a scanner, you will have no problem hearing aircraft depart. The loudest plane by far is the U-2. T-38's are loud, but nowhere as loud as U-2's. KC-135's are relatively quiet. The only problem is that you won't notice aircraft arriving.

Morning

The first 2 banks of the day (8AM and 11AM) are best photographed from here. Note that during the summer the 11AM bank will be very toplit and during the winter, the 11AM bank will be very noselit. In general, lighting is not optimal for the 11AM bank.

Close Up Spot

The close up morning spot is down at the end of Hammonton Road. At the end of this road is a gravel production site. This road is primarily used by trucks hauling that gravel. While the company and truck drivers generally do not have trouble with spotters here, it is not a spot to hang out at.

From here you can get more head on shots and close ups, but you'll also be getting a lot more belly in your shots.

Focal Length (Note all focal lengths are given for a full frame camera)

For this spot, a 100 - 400MM lens should work on a full frame camera. For a crop sensor, a 70 - 300MM lens will work fine. Longer focal lengths are needed if you want jets banking in for RWY15, but it is rare for jets to be in a left closed pattern and turning base this far from the runway threshold.

This spot is only around 1000 feet from runway centerline, but almost 2 miles from the threshold.

Sample Shots

450MM (Heavily cropped) 9AM summer

450MM 9:10AM summer

225MM 9AM summer

420MM 9:15AM summer

Side On Spot

This spot is the extended shoulder on the westbound side of the Hammonton-Smartsville Road. The road only has a shoulder just outside the concrete plant on the westbound side of the road. DO NOT PARK OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD ANYWHERE ELSE ALONG THIS PART OF THE ROAD AS THERE IS NO SHOULDER TO PULL OFF ON. If coming from the west, you can a 3-point-turn at the entrance to the concrete plant.

This spot offers a side on angle for aircraft landing RWY15, but note you will have to contend with power lines. Unfortunately the power lines will get in the way for shots that are exactly side on.

This spot also offers great views of U-2's banking in for RWY15 during the morning and into the early afternoon.

Focal Length (Note all focal lengths are given for a full frame camera)

For this spot, you will want the longest focal length you can get. I have a 600MM lens on a crop sensor camera which gives me 900MM focal length. Even then, I wish I had a little more reach for a this spot. At this spot, you are around 1600 feet from runway centerline and a mile from the threshold.