Plane Spotting at Bradley

De Plane! De Plane!
Viewing Area at Bradley Int’l Airport

East Granby, CT

I know, this is stupid, but I once got an email asking me if I knew if there was a place to “plane spot” in Connecticut. I guess this is what they mean; a place where people with less of a life than I have sit around and watch planes land. (I didn’t see any take-off towards us while I was there.)

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I do like this picture.

I drove up there with Damian once and it actually was pretty cool – for about half an hour or, about 3 planes. Damian liked it too, but the infrequency of landings was a bit frustrating for him. Other people, though, appeared to really enjoy sitting there for hours on end and do whatever it is they do when planes fly by low and close.

bradley
Here’s the lot where you too can go watch some planes land up close and personal.

Enjoy.

5 responses to “Plane Spotting at Bradley”

  1. Amy Smith says:

    This page is almost exactly what I’m looking for – I need to find that parking lot so my kids can look at the planes. However, the map doesn’t help me much because the names of the roads leading up to the parking lot are cut off! I still have no idea how to get there.

  2. Steve says:

    It’s along route 20, SW of the airport, directly across from Walnut Drive in Windsor Locks. So if you input Walnut Drive, Windsor Locks CT in any map software, you’ll find it.

    There’s another, far less popular spot on Perimeter Road over by the Air Museum that overlooks the smaller runway.

    Enjoy.

  3. cindy says:

    I took my kids to the field across the street a couple years ago. It seemed like a great idea to let them run around while we waited and waited for planes. But there was a ton of litter in the field including big chunks of mysterious metal. I also felt like I was interrupting some drug deals or other shady activity for the other folks hanging out in their cars.

  4. cindy says:

    I recently noticed that this lot is now roped off and marked Private Property.

  5. Rich says:

    Cindy’s right, the lot on route 20 is now closed off. The field across the street is now posted. I got a ticket for parking there to watch the planes. Bradley is no longer a cool place to take the kids on a warm afternoon.

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