Airplane Spotting For Some Adrenaline Rush
Extremely low landing at St. Maarten princess Juliana Airport is a daily must-watch.
Phillipsburg, Saint Martin Wednesday, March 8, 2017
St. Martin is the smallest island in the Caribbean governed by two sovereign countries. There is no physical borders between the Dutch and the French territories and people and goods can travel freely between the two territories. The only indication that one is going to another country are the "Welcome" signs posted as you cross the border. Each side has its special features.
The Dutch side, (St. Maarten) is heavily populated and has large resorts, casinos, bustling beaches and shop-till-you drop Duty Free shopping. The French side (St. Martin) on the other hand, has laid-back beaches, quaint bed and breakfast, and the charm of local artisans and market on the waterfront.
St. Martin is our last port stop for our 67-day South American cruise. But upon our arrival in the morning, we were shocked to see 5 behemoth cruise ships docked in front and alongside our tiny ship, the M.S. Prinsendam. According to the local tourist information, it was estimated that there were about 27,000 plus cruise ship passengers descending on this tiny island. Fortunately, all the taxis were regulated and everything was organized. All you have to do is to look for the taxi stand with the name of the place where one intends to go for the day. Vehicles varies from a 16-seaters to a few smaller 4 x 4s. The fees also varies from one-way to round trips.
Since, we've been there, done that, we decided to go to Maho Beach for some adrenaline rush. It is a small stretch of beach and one of the 37 beaches in St. Martin. It's probably, the only place in the world where a Boeing 747 will be passing as close over ones head! The beach is located at the western end of the runway of Princess Juliana International airport. Touchdown is about 40-100 yards behind the beach thus, providing a very special experience.
The Princess Juliana airport is not only really close to the beach, it also has an unusually short runway of 2,180 meters. In order to get a smooth take off, the aircraft gets as close to the beginning of the Runway 10 as possible and ends up flying over the heads of excited tourists with their cameras on selfie position. Sandblasting can be so strong at times that humans, beach items and even cars have been thrown into the air.
The beach has no natural shades like trees so lounges and umbrellas are available for rent. For those who like the thrill and just plain love airplanes, they prefer to sit and watch by the beach under the umbrellas. The bigger the airplanes, the more anticipation. People can actually be blown into the water because of the jet blast or at least that's what the posted signs warns you about!
How’s this for a lunch view ?
During take off, the aircraft accelerates at start and people try to hold onto the airport fence despite the thrust and exhaust fumes. The sand is like powerful sandblaster and people are blown into the water or jump in order to escape the painful contact into the skin.
Timetables of the arrivals and departures are posted on a surfboard and at the Sunset Bar and Grill, there is even a broadcast of real-time radio transmissions between the airports control tower and the aircraft.
So for all the rush, how many roaring aircraft over our heads do you think I was able to handle for one afternoon?