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North Carolina claims to be “First In Flight” and is home to a significant milestone in the history of aviation more than 100 years ago. There is only 1 official viewing area called Overlook Park (locals call it “The Overlook”), located on Old Dowd Rd. It is called Overlook because it is on a rise which looks slightly down upon the center runway right near the holding point for traffic departing to the south on 18C. It has a large area for parking and gets quite crowded.
You will get a close view of planes waiting to take off as well as planes approaching for landing on this runway. If traffic is operating to the north (36C) you will still get a decent view of planes after takeoff and those that have landed exiting the runway. Since you are facing east when looking at the planes, sunlight is good for photography in the afternoons any time of year.
The largest airline here is US Airways and its Express affiliates and the variety of aircraft isn’t too great. There are large Airbus jets operating daily flights to London and Rome as well as Frankfurt and Munich on Lufthansa.
Click for photos from The Overlook