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General
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Situated in the southern part of The Netherlands, Maastricht-Aachen Airport (or Beek as it's called locally), is a nice airport with a variety of traffic. As it is the main base of KLM exel, a couple of their fleet can allways be seen at the apron or in the hangar area. There is also quite a lot of cargo traffic and the GPA paintshop or the Schreiner maintenance hangar are allways good for some exotic birds.
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Layout
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Along the Terminal Road
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For this spot you must begin at the exit of Highway A2. Drive parallel with the A2 to the Cargo-Area. At this area, the planes can be photographed with best light in the early morning or late afternoon/evening.
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Terminal Terrace
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Drive further to the terminal and park your car at the Mercury Hotel. Now it is possible to enter the terrace. From the terrace you can take good quality pictures. An Boeing 737 needs about 70 mm. Light at the terrace on it's best at four o'clock; the sun is at your back.
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Next to the apron
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Another possibility is a small road that leads into a field, and ends at an emergency exit of the airport. Drive well past the terminal (in the direction of the small town of Ulestraten) and take a -very small- entrance to the left. You're not allowed to stop here anymore and violators will be fined rather quick.
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Around The Airport
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Landing Runway 22
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If runway 22 is in use, you can park your car at the side of the road when you come from highway A2. Best lens here is 75-300 mm. Another possibility is to follow that road (Holsterweg).
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At the Business Park
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Eventually you will drive onto a business-park. Turn right at the building of the Frans Maas company, turn right again and then the first on your left. You are now at the GPA-hangar, where you can take pictures of aircraft lining up runway 22. To photograph a Boeing 747 you would need about 150 mm. It is also possible to photograph aircraft outside the hangar with a 50 mm lens.
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The Schreiner Hangar
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If there are any aircraft parked outside the Schreiner-hangar, follow the road (keep right) and park your car at the hangar. On the right of the hangar is a small (foot) path which leads you to the fence. Pictures can be taken with 50 mm. If you follow the road until the end, it is possible to photograph the small aircraft of the Air school (NLS). From here you can also overlook the airport.
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Treshold Runway 04
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When runway 04 is in use, drive even further past the terminal in the same direction and take the first major road to the left (right after the dome of the Terminal Approach Radar). You're now driving round the threshold of runway 04. There is a spot right at the fence. Bring your steps and you will be able to take perfect pictures. An Airbus A300 needs about 70 mm, a Boeing 707 about 100 mm. Every aircraft from the size of a Boeing 737, will use this point. The light is here perfect from sunrise in the morning until two o'clock in the afternoon.
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Getting There
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 Public Transport Info
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There is a regular bus service to and from the train stations in Maastricht and Sittard, and an Interliner (fast bus) service via Maastricht to Aachen.
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