Starting at the east end, the Terminal 4 rooftop garage (map: spot 1) can offer good views of the east end of the airport, including both runways. This area is an acceptable location to spot/photograph aircraft with the airport police. The north side faces the America West hub operation, and the south side faces the Southwest hub operation. Photography of the ramp is variable depending on the sun (the America West side is best photographed in winter, Southwest in summer). Photography of landing traffic on 26 (north runway) requires a 300-500mm lens. During the summer, before sunset, photography is possible of aircraft queuing up to depart runway 25L (south runway); again, a 300mm lens is needed.

Going west to Terminal 3, the rooftop garage (map: spot 2) is another good location to spot activity on both sides of the airport. Level 4 is preferred, as Level 5 is enclosed by a wire fence and Level 6 is the top and exposed to the sun. The east end of the garage faces the midfield airport crossover taxiway (taxiways S and T).  Aircraft taxiing across the bridge will have sun on them in the afternoons.  The new control tower is located here and has obstructed some of the view.  The corners of the parking garage are best for photography, however, beware of shadows falling across aircraft from the control tower and antenna.   Since most departing traffic uses the south runway, a good mix of traffic will use the crossover. Both north and south gate areas of Terminal 3 can be photographed from the garage as well.

Continuing west, the 2-story parking garage at Terminal 2 (map: spot 3) is a great location to photograph/spot aircraft on the north runway. Aircraft taxiing on the parallel taxiway are within 50-150mm lens range. Winter sun is good for this location. Go to the top of the parking garage and photograph over the roadway and fenceline (you need to find a gap in the light poles - yes there are some!!).  The old mound near the fenceline corner, closer to the taxiway, is still there, but a new tall chain link fence was constructed during 2004 which prevents photography over the fence.  

Further west from Terminal 2 used to be Spot 4.  This is becoming a redevelopment and construction area and is no longer useful for spotting.  

Moving to the south side of the airfield, Old Tower Road (map: spot 5) is a good spot for watching/photographing runway 7L/7R action. From the west end of the airport, take 24th Street south until the Old Tower Road traffic signal. Turn left on Old Tower and park in the dirt next to the street (the street is posted for no parking) or continue south to the Best Western on the south side of I-10, and park there. There is a curb between the dirt lot and the street, look for and use the small black ramp instead of attempting to drive over the curb. Photography of landing aircraft on 7R is very good here, and winter sunlight is best for this location. Aircraft lining up to depart 7R are photographable, but it is distant with lots of background clutter.

Continuing east on Old Tower Road, local FBO Cutter Aviation (map: spot 6) has a second-story observation deck, as well as the historic control tower from Phoenix's past. This may or may not be open - check with Cutter before spotting here, or ask for permission in writing before your visit. The deck overlooks Cutter's ramp, and offers views of the south runway. Photography requires a 300-500mm lens, and the views are somewhat limited, making your response time very short to catch a photo.

If you continue east a short ways on Old Tower Road, you will see any aircraft on the south cargo ramp from the fenceline. Do not go too far, as this road ends at the Air National Guard base. Photographs are good from here, although ramp clutter may pose a problem.

The north side of the airport is fairly limited in terms of viewing. From 24th Street, head north past the airport and turn right (east) on Air Lane. On your right, the Left Seat Restaurant used to have a second story observation deck, but it has since closed due to security restrictions. The restaurant is open during the week for breakfast and lunch, and has a great view of the north runway from inside.

Continue east on Air Lane past Honeywell to 40th Street. At 40th Street, turn right, and follow the road around the curve. On your left will be a small parking lot (map: spot 7). This offers a good view of the north runway, US Airways hub, and hangar. Photography of landing traffic is good during summer evenings, and while police pass by this area, we have no reports of anyone being asked to leave. Unlike some of the above spots, this location has no shade, water, or facilities.

The east end of the airport has two locations worth checking out. To get there, from Air Lane/Spot 7, turn right and go back to 40th Street. Follow 40th Street north to Washington, and turn right on Washington. Turn right at 44th Street, and drive south on the highway. Take the first exit marked "Sky Harbor Airport" to return to the airport. Exit off for East Economy parking, and turn right. Take this road (43rd Street) all the way until it ends. The end of 43rd Street (map: spot 8) offers good photography of aircraft landing on runway 26 in winter sunlight. US Airways security patrols this area and may notice you if you linger for too long. Adjacent to this road is a parking lot for US Airways employees. You can park in there as well, and obtain the same style of photographs. Do not enter the East Employee parking lot, this is secured and parking cards are required.

Turn back around, drive south, and cross the bridge. Turn right, and just where the road turns north again is spot 9 - 42nd Street. This spot is located between the US Airways and Southwest hangars, parallel to Taxiway R. Parking is extremely limited in this area - you may want to park close to the US Airways hangar and walk back. Close-range photography is possible from here in morning sunlight.

Our final spot for Sky Harbor is at the Salt River - Spot 10. From the hangar, or Terminal 4, take the East Exit and follow signs for the 10/143/153 exit. You will end up on 153, and when the freeway ends, turn right on University. Drive west on University until 40th Street. Turn right on 40th Street and drive north to the end. A dirt embankment is in front of you. You can drive up onto this embankment of the Salt River, or park your car and walk up. From here, you can see the runway 25L/25R (south runways) thresholds. Aircraft landing on 25L can be easily photographed from here in winter sunlight. Police may ask you to leave this area if you are noticed.

Inside the terminals, photographs can be taken of traffic from the end gates in Terminal 4, as well as A18, B17 and C12 for the crossover taxiways, if no planes are parked at those gates. Terminal 3 photography is limited, but some good shots can be taken from the food court of planes in the close-in gates. Terminal 2 photography is limited to the end gates, only when 7L is used for departures.

Radio Frequencies

Tower - North 118.7, South 120.9
Ground - North 119.75, South 132.55
Approach - North 119.2, 120.7, 128.65; South 123.7, 124.1, 126.8,
ATIS - 121.2
Clearance - 118.1

Starting at the airport entrance, drive west.  The large hangars on the left are owned by TIMCO and carry out airliner maintenance & scrapping.  They are also in charge of the airplane storage.  In the past, they were typically unfriendly towards spotters and did not allow any access or photography.  There is a small guard shack between the two hangars that you should probably avoid.  By staying inside your car, and slowly driving to the west, you will be able to see & read off the aircraft present near the hangars.  

At the end of this street is the small but modern Goodyear terminal.  Any transient bizjets will be parked here.  A request inside to walk to the control tower (which is located south & beyond the TIMCO hangars) may yield in permission granted, you will be asked to not enter the TIMCO property and to remain close to the pavement edge.  

From the terminal parking lot, a good view can be seen of the stored aircraft across the runway.  Given an early morning with little heat haze, a number of these aircraft can be read off from here. 

To the right of the terminal, and north of the TIMCO area, is the Lufthansa pilot training academy.  Their light aircraft are tied down on the weekends, and are very active during the week.

Turning around and exiting the airport back on Litchfield Road, turn right.  Cross the railroad tracks and turn right again. Drive west on this highway.  A view of the TIMCO ramp area can be seen on your right, a quick stop on the roadway edge can yield some numbers.  Continuing west along this highway, more stored aircraft on the western perimeter can be read off. There are a few rural dirt roads on the right that lead northerly to the perimeter, near where the stored aircraft are parked. These are worth exploring as they bring you right up to the perimeter fence. After completing this, turn around and drive back to the airport entrance on Litchfield Road.  

To the north of the airport, intersecting Litchfield Road, is Western Avenue.  Driving along Western Avenue to the west, a view can be seen of Goodyear's ramp area, the northern threshold of the runway, and finally the stored aircraft on the western perimeter.  Turn left on the first street after the stored aircraft.  This unused street (Bullard Avenue) roughly parallels the stored aircraft to the west, and eventually dead-ends.  You can park your car and venture on foot to the perimeter fence to read off more aircraft, even taking a photograph or two of the stored aircraft (mostly record shots).  Security/police from inside have been known to question you if they see you (as you are in a very remote area) but usually they are kind to our hobby and let you continue, especially if you keep your distance from the fenceline.  

A few aircraft are stored across the runway along the northern perimeter.  These can be seen from Greenfield Road, and the few driveways leading to the east of Greenfield.  

Located 25 miles southeast of PHX on US Highway 60.  Exit at Power Road and drive south.  The airport entrance is at Ray Road, turn left to enter.  A drive along this entrance road will lead past the flightline to the hangar areas.  Typically parked here are the Pipers flown by the Mesa Airlines Pilot School, transient civil and military aircraft (military especially on Friday afternoons), the US Marshalls Service all white MD-80s, and the USAF T-38s that rotate in and out of the Boeing facility.  After you pass the terminal, the roadway angles to the right, passing the ATSI A-4s, Native Air's air rescue helicopters and PC-12, a large quonset hut containing the resident F-104 and T-33, and ending with a large hangar housing Intel's corporate shuttle EMB-135s.  Winding southward along the divided roadway, a left turn past the apron leads to the control tower and cargo area.  This area is still under development and is used by the US Forest Service Aerial Firefighting team during the early summer months.  Boeing uses Gateway as a hot-weather test site, and during the summer months anything up to B747-400s have been seen here.

For the bizjet enthusiast, Scottsdale Airport is located 15 miles north of PHX. Take the Loop 101 north from Tempe and exit on Cactus Road. Drive west on Cactus to Hayden Road and turn right. Drive north on Hayden Road to Redfield Road and turn left. The streets leading north off of Redfield bring you very close to the southeast perimeter (76th Street in particular) - and offer great viewing of aircraft parked across the runway. To reach the airport terminal, drive west on Redfield to Scottsdale Road and turn right. Drive north on Scottsdale Road to Butherus Drive and turn right. Drive east on Butherus until the end at the terminal complex. A quick drive both directions from the terminal will reveal nooks & crannies in which bizjets can be read off. Scottsdale is best visited in the wintertime, and on Fridays, when bizjet activity is more prevalent.

Located 15 miles north of PHX on Interstate 17, exit at Deer Valley Road and drive east.  Mostly everything can be seen from the terminal (simply walk inside and out onto a rampside waiting area) or the parking lots surrounding the gen. aviation terminal.  There are perimeter roads extending both east and west from the GA terminal which offer additional views of aircraft on the GA ramps. Honeywell's facility can be seen by driving west on Deer Valley Road.

Chandler Memorial has been closed since 2006.  The airport's owner asked International Air Response (formerly T&G) to relocate to Coolidge, AZ, and began to scrap the remaining aircraft.  Located 10 miles south of PHX on Interstate 10. Exit on Queen Creek Road and turn left, drive east on Queen Creek Road to the first traffic light. Turn right and stay to the right, on the dirt road, not on the paved road (which leads to an Intel plant).  There may be a few remaining aircraft (or parts) but definitely not the graveyard it used to be.  

Coolidge is located southeast of Phoenix, between Mesa and Tucson.  There are several routes to reach Coolidge. perhaps the easiest route from Phoenix is exiting Interstate 10 at Exit 185 and driving east on State Route 387.  Once in Coolidge, in the center of town, turn at Coolidge Avenue and drive east.  The airport is 6 to 7 miles east on this narrow road.  Turn right at the airport entrance sign, the road leads around the runway and ends at the large hangar.  Inside this hangar is the immaculate resident Lockheed Lodestar N631LS.  An ex-ATI DC-8, and ex-United and ex-Casino Express B737s were all scrapped here as well. The other airports not mentioned here in this list can all be easily scoped out using an internet map service, like Google Maps.