Landin & Take off

WishUWereHere

Hi

This might sound like a stupid question, but please bear with me ( & if Mods this is not justifying a thread on it's own, please do as You deem fit).

I am an avid but totally amateur commercial airlines follower. A few weeks ago I brought my daughter out to The Boot Inn road to watch some take offs & landings - I am trying to get the 'bug' into Her. A pilot of one of the planes even waved, and ( I think ) She was hooked. I promised Her that I would drive up to Dublin and watch the same thing again, and as a treat we'ed go over to Ikea for lunch.

However, here is the stupid question I want to ask: I notice sometimes the planes land from the inland direction. What makes the planes change landing direction - wind perhaps? I would prefer to see the planes take off in the inland direction. I am thinking of taking Her up on Monday, but am wondering is there any way to know which direction the planes are landing prior to driving up to Dublin? Any assistance greatly appreciated.

faoiarvok

WishUWereHere wrote: »

Hi

This might sound like a stupid question, but please bear with me ( & if Mods this is not justifying a thread on it's own, please do as You deem fit).

I am an avid but totally amateur commercial airlines follower. A few weeks ago I brought my daughter out to The Boot Inn road to watch some take offs & landings - I am trying to get the 'bug' into Her. A pilot of one of the planes even waved, and ( I think ) She was hooked. I promised Her that I would drive up to Dublin and watch the same thing again, and as a treat we'ed go over to Ikea for lunch.

However, here is the stupid question I want to ask: I notice sometimes the planes land from the inland direction. What makes the planes change landing direction - wind perhaps? I would prefer to see the planes take off in the inland direction. I am thinking of taking Her up on Monday, but am wondering is there any way to know which direction the planes are landing prior to driving up to Dublin? Any assistance greatly appreciated.

Predominantly wind, yes. Taking off and landing into the wind means they can touch down/lift off at a lower speed (relative to the ground).

Dublin’s favoured runway is 28 (pointing west) for a few reasons - mostly taxiway layout, so sometimes they will still use that runway with a light tailwind.

You may also see during the early morning departure rush, some aircraft depart off 34 (pointing north) while others depart off 28, as they try to get as many away as quickly as possible.

faoiarvok

You could look at the weather forecast to get an idea, knowing they’ll generally be landing from the sea, and taking off to the west if the wind is generally from the west, or even if calm.

Occasionally they’ll have to use another runway even if it’s not best suited to the wind, if they need to do work on one of the runways (generally done overnight) or just do an inspection of the runway, etc.

jjbrien

You can also listen to live atc https://www.liveatc.net/search/?icao=eidw which will give you the radio of the tower and ground it

Also https://www.flightradar24.com/airport/dub will give you a radar of what aircraft are where and heading towords the runway

smurfjed

These are the runways in Dublin so you can decide which is the best place to stop and enjoy the aircraft movements.

Stovepipe

The long runway is 10-28 (that's it's compass heading) so it's near enough East-West. The road that runs alongside the runway, from Dardistown cemetry to the Harristown bus depot, is the most commonly used runway and most spotters congregate at a layby about halfway along that road. that's the ideal spot to watch the aircraft and get photographs. You'll see people with cameras there, standing up on the bank there. just ask a few of them.
regards
Stovepipe