Hello, I will be traveling through detroit metro airport in a couple weeks, and I have a 3-hour layover. Since one of my hobbies is to watch and photograph aircraft, if anyone could share some good spots in the McNamara terminal through security to watch planes, that would be great. Thanks!
November 8th, 2009 at 5:18 am
Fortunately, DTW is far enough from the city of Detroit that you won’t have to worry about getting attacked. And you should be able to see some take-offs and landings from most of the gate areas.
November 8th, 2009 at 9:21 am
It won’t be hard for you to find a good spot, but here are some suggestions anyway:
1) Near gates A1 and A3 near the Coffee Beanery. You should be able to get views of planes taking off from the side view and the more direct head on perspective as well as planes taxiing to the gates.
2) to the right of gate A34 near the Max and Erma’s restaurant.
3) there are good views of multiple planes taxiing and pulling up to the gates between A38 and A40 near the large water fountain.
4) The area next to the food court near A74 (look for a caribou coffee, Taco Bell, Edy’s, Charlies, and Spectracool).
5) In concourse C across from Fundrucker’s near C24.
6) Near gates B20 and B21.
November 8th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
I was based at DTW for a couple of years, and sadly, a lot of the good old planes are gone… but just about anywhere you care to go you are going to get a pretty good view. The terminal and the walkways between them are safe during daylight hours, and reasonbly so at night… but then any place such as that at night in a big city carries the same risk. We ate dinner many many times in less than stellar neighborhoods for years and NEVER even had a hint of trouble… but these are different times, and with the unemployment reaching 11%, people are more likely to do bad things now than then. YIP is where you would have enjoyed being… just across the way… because some of the freighters that come in there are great old airplanes.
November 8th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Detroit is not that bad, but I do recommend staying in the terminal. There are a lot of places throughout the terminal which are great for pictures. There are huge windows and most point directly toward the active runway. Good luck!
November 8th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
I wouldn’t even bother leaving the terminal. You WILL get mugged or murdered. It is that dangerous of a place, and as a tourist you will stand out because we don’t have tourists in Detroit. Good Luck.