Pehpsi wrote:I went back today for a bit and no planes were taking off going towards La Perouse like last time, any idea why? it was a bit windy, is this why?
Planes take off and land IN the direction that the wind is blowing FROM. That is, against the winds.
Say, wind direction is blowing from South towards North, normal take-off operations will take place on Runways 16L/R, all heavy type aircrafts will use the longer Runway 16R for take off. The shot I had there was a Boeing 747-400 taking off from 16R.
On the other way around, a Northerly wind will make them take off on Runway 34L/R (that is, the other way around the runway, same pavement). So the larger planes will land/take-off on runway 34L in this case.
Most regional and smaller 737s will use the parallel runway 16L and 34R for take-off and landing, they require shorter distance for this. So as runway threshold is closer to the domestic terminal as well.
Other smaller regionals will be departing and landing mostly on Runway 07/25, as to get a view of this runway you will need to drive around the airport into a abandoned ground with a small hill to get a view of it.
A spot just off to the international terminal, you get a great view of planes landing above your head (literally). They just pass at about ~<500 ft above you... having a 747 flying at 160knots right above you is just a blown off feeling (no pun intended).
Well, that's the gist of it... look at weather and know where they will land/takeoff before heading down to the airport.
