Scouting airports in advance: Google Maps, Google Earth and Street View for spotters

Are you planning a spotting trip to an airport you have never been to? Then you can save yourself a large part of the wandering around on site. With Google Maps, Google Earth and Street View you walk the airport on screen before you drive the first kilometer: Where are the runways, where do they end, which paths run along the fence, where are the hills, parking lots and stops? This guide shows you which tool answers which question, how to estimate distances and sightlines, and where the limits of map images lie.

The short answer: what you can settle on screen

An airport can be scouted surprisingly well in advance if you combine the three tools. The satellite imagery in Google Maps provides the floor plan: runways, taxiways, apron, terminals, fence line, surrounding roads. Google Earth adds the third dimension: terrain heights, berms, buildings and therefore possible sightlines. Street View, finally, shows you the eye-level perspective – how high the fence is, whether it is made of chain-link or bar fencing, and whether you can see anything behind it at all.

What you can’t settle on screen, on the other hand: whether a path is still open today, whether parking is allowed there, which runway direction is in use on your day and how the light falls. For that you need other sources – more on that below.

Which tool answers which question?

The three Google services overlap but have clear strengths. This overview helps you avoid trying to do everything in one tool.

Question	Google Maps (satellite)	Google Earth	Street View
Where are runways, thresholds and taxiways?	very good	very good	barely
How far is it from the position to the runway?	very good (measuring tool)	good (measuring tool)	only roughly
Are there hills, berms or elevated points?	limited	good (3D terrain)	good, if imagery exists
How high and dense is the fence?	no	no	good
Where can I park, where is the stop?	good	medium	good for checking
How have the surroundings changed?	no	good (historical imagery)	good (earlier periods)

For a first overview, Google Maps in the browser is often enough. Google Earth is available as a web version and as the free desktop application Google Earth Pro, which brings additional tools.

Step 1: reading the airport in satellite imagery

In Google Maps, switch the layer to satellite and zoom in on the airport grounds. Before you look for spots, it is worth taking a structured look at the layout:

• Runways and their numbers: The large digits at the runway ends are usually easy to read in satellite imagery. They tell you the orientation – runway 26 points roughly west, runway 08 roughly east. How the system works is explained in the article Runway designations at airports.
• Thresholds and touchdown zones: The white markings at the start of the runway show roughly where landing aircraft touch down. Behind these ends lie the classic approach spots.
• Taxiways and apron: Where taxiways run close to the fence, the best spots for taxiing shots often arise. Where cargo aprons or maintenance hangars are located, you can expect parked aircraft.
• Terminals and parking garages: Observation decks are usually on or at terminal buildings; parking garage roofs are sometimes used by spotters too, where permitted.

If you want to go deeper, the official aerodrome chart is the perfect complement to the aerial image. How to read it is covered in the guide How to read AIP aerodrome charts. And if you like working with map data rather than photos, OpenStreetMap for spotters offers taxiway names, paths and fences as vector data.

Step 2: measuring distances and estimating focal length

The most important number for gear planning is the distance between you and the aircraft. Google Maps has a built-in measuring tool for this: in the browser, right-click your planned position, choose “Measure distance” and then click the middle of the runway, the taxiway or the touchdown point. The distance appears at the bottom of the window. Further clicks extend the line, and you can move or remove points. The function isn’t available in the simplified Lite mode.

With the measured distance you get a feel for what awaits you:

• A few hundred meters to the middle of the runway are comfortable – a typical telephoto zoom is enough for most airliners.
• Well over a kilometer means: long focal length, more heat haze and rather small subjects. The article Avoiding heat haze goes deeper into the topic of haze.
• Under the approach path it is best to also measure the distance to the threshold: the closer you are, the lower the aircraft pass over you.

Which camera and lens suit which distance is summarized in the gear checklist. It is best to measure several variants – fence to runway center, fence to the nearest taxiway, hill to threshold – so you can decide flexibly on site.

Step 3: checking heights and sightlines in Google Earth

Flat satellite imagery has one big drawback: it doesn’t tell you whether a berm, a noise barrier or a building blocks the view. This is where Google Earth plays to its strength. With the tilted 3D view you see terrain and buildings in three dimensions and can virtually “stand” at a location.

Here is how to go about it:

• Tilt the camera and set it low: Tilt the view until you are looking across the terrain at roughly eye level. That way you can see whether there is an obstacle between you and the runway.
• Look for elevated points: Hills, embankments and bridges lift you above the fence. The Munich Airport visitors’ hill (Besucherhügel) is a well-known example of a spot where height makes the decisive difference.
• Check building edges: Terminals, hangars and parking garages can hide entire stretches of runway – or, conversely, offer an elevated position.

The 3D models are simplified, however. Trees, fences, poles and small structures are often missing or shown inaccurately. Treat the 3D view as a hint, not as proof of a clear view.

Historical imagery: how old is what you see?

Google Earth offers a historical imagery view, which you open via the toolbar or the “View” menu. A timeline shows you for which years imagery exists; with “Back” and “Forward” you jump between them. Two things you need to know: the function only works with the satellite base map, and while it is active, the 3D buildings are hidden. Older images don’t exist for every location.

This is useful for spotters in two ways. You see how current the image is that you are relying on – and you notice changes: new terminals, extended runways, construction sites or earth berms that weren’t there before. A spot from an old forum post may be built over today; a look at the imagery history often shows you quickly why.

Step 4: stepping up to the fence with Street View

Street View is the tool that comes closest to a real visit. You drag the little figure (Pegman) from the corner of the map onto a blue-marked road or a point, and you are virtually standing at the airport fence. That answers questions no aerial image can:

• Fence height and construction: Is the fence so high that you can only photograph through the mesh without an elevated position? How tight is the mesh? Tips for this case are in the article Photographing through the fence.
• Clear view or vegetation: Hedges and shrubs along the fence are often just green patches in satellite imagery. At eye level you see whether they really block the view.
• Parking and no-stopping zones: Signs, shoulders and parking bays are often recognizable in Street View. What to watch out for is covered in Parking at spotting locations.
• Footpaths and stops: For getting there without a car, you check whether there is a sidewalk and where the nearest bus stop is. More on planning in the guide Getting to the spot.

Don’t forget the capture date

Street View images age too. Google shows the capture date, and in many places you can page through older imagery via “See more dates”. That helps in judging whether a place has changed. Street View doesn’t exist everywhere, and in some countries coverage is patchy or certain buildings are blurred. On dirt tracks and access roads, imagery is often missing entirely – there you are left with the aerial image.

How to combine everything into a scouting plan

With a little routine, scouting an airport in advance takes no longer than a coffee break. This process has proven itself:

It is best to save your candidates in a map of your own – for example as saved places in Google Maps or in a custom map you create. How to turn that into a lasting spot collection is shown in the article Visualizing sightings and spots on a map.

What the map doesn’t know: light, wind and rules

A perfect location in satellite imagery can still disappoint on spotting day. No aerial image gives you three factors:

• Runway direction in use: Whether aircraft land or take off at your runway end is decided by the wind. The guide Understanding runway direction in use at airports explains how to predict it; weather maps as in the article Windy for spotters help as well.
• Sun position: With the runway axis from satellite imagery and your position next to it, you can calculate the light in advance. How that works is in Planning sun position.
• Access rules: Many paths around airports are service roads, private land or security areas. What is generally allowed at the fence is summarized in Is plane spotting legal?; for trips, Spotting abroad is also worthwhile.

Examples: what to look for at well-known airports

The method works at any airport, but depending on the layout, different questions come to the fore:

• Large hubs with parallel runways: At Munich Airport with its two parallel east-west runways, you first work out in the aerial image which runway is closer to your position – because the distance to the far runway is many times greater.
• Sprawling airports with remote runways: At Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, several runways lie far apart. If you measure the routes between spotting locations like the Polderbaan spotter place (Spotterplaats) in advance, you can plan travel times realistically.
• Compact airports by the water or beach: At places like Maho Beach on Sint Maarten, the aerial image immediately shows how close road, beach and runway threshold are to each other – including the question of where you can stand safely.

Especially on vacation, when you visit an airport only once, the preparation pays off. You will find more ideas in Plane spotting on vacation.

Common mistakes in map research

• Trusting the image blindly: Satellite and Street View images are snapshots. Check the date and expect changes, especially at growing airports.
• Planning for only one side of the runway: Wind and light can force you to switch sides. Always plan at least one backup spot.
• Underestimating heights: A berm of just a few meters can block your view of the runway completely. The 3D check in Google Earth takes a few minutes.
• Forgetting the trip there: A spot without parking or a stop nearby may well be a long walk away. Also measure the way from the car or the stop to the position.
• Ignoring offline conditions: Mobile reception around airports is usually good, but not always at remote runway ends. Download the area in Google Maps beforehand as an offline map.

If you also want to find out which aircraft are coming in your time window at all, take a look at Departure and arrival boards for spotters. The article Google Earth, Maps and Street View for spot planning also covers the difference from pure spot planning by light and subject.

Conclusion

With Google Maps, Google Earth and Street View you get to know an unfamiliar airport before you set foot in it. Satellite imagery provides the floor plan with runways, taxiways and access roads, the measuring tool the distances for your gear, the 3D view possible sightlines, and Street View the honest eye-level view. What remains important: every image has a date, and no map replaces signs, runway direction in use and light. If you combine screen research with these factors and the experience of other spotters, you spend more time photographing and less time searching on site.