In plane view

The Midwest Airlines Boeing 717 aircraft leaves its gate, turns, and awaits its signal for take-off from the air traffic control tower.

At the Airport Observation Area, a specially designated parking lot on the 1100 block of E. Layton Avenue, people of all ages relax in their cars or sit on their hoods, taking in the idling plane the way folks used to take in a drive-in movie.

They sit. They wait. Some eat. Others chat. They watch as the aircraft taxis down the runway. And suddenly, a deafening rumble erupts from the engines as the plane gains speed and ascends. Onlookers gaze up at the crisp blue sky as the plane disappears into a spec, making its way to its destination city. 

“Plane!” cried 2-year-old Nick, who watched along with his grandparents, Rich and Jeanie Kleczkowski of Bay View one early summer day.

The Kleczkowskis are just some of thousands of people who, over the years, have frequented the General Mitchell International Airport Observation Area. The area is popular with aviation enthusiasts, couples seeking a special place, and people of all ages just looking to get some fresh air on a summer’s evening while getting a closer look at airplanes in action. While air travel is a common part of modern life, there’s still a thrill to bear witness to the actual moment when tons of metal, racing across the tarmac, suddenly lift off the ground onto nothing but air to achieve the centuries-old human dream-flight.

Under the Flight Pattern

The Kleczkowskis said they live under a flight pattern. “But we come down to get closer. It’s a really nice thing for people to do,” said Jeanie Kleczkowski.

“He loves planes,” Rich Kleczkowski said of Nick, who pointed his tiny finger at another plane in the distance about to taxi down the runway. Kleczkowski said he and Jeanie frequently bring Nick to the Observation Area, which Milwaukee County maintains.

For decades it was a big open area of gravel used informally for plane observation, said Pat Rowe, airport director of communications. But in the late 1980s, the lot was paved and curbs constructed. Cyclone fencing surrounds the lot. Vehicles enter through the drive off Layton just east of the Signature Flight Support fixed base operator.

While the Observation Area has been open for decades, there are times when it is off-limits. The area was closed for approximately a year after Sept. 11, 2001, Rowe said, and it has been closed during vice-presidential or presidential visits, or for any candidates once they are selected as their party’s nominee for the presidential/vice-presidential ticket.

Rowe said they also close it for approved requests from the Secret Service for visiting dignitaries or heads of state. “Of course,” Rowe added, “we can close it if information is received about an increased threat and/or the [Homeland Security] threat level is raised to where we have to inspect vehicles coming into the airport.”

Rowe said airport observation lots, while on the decline, are still common throughout the United States. “For example, BWI [Baltimore], LAS [Las Vegas], LAX [Los Angeles], DFW [Dallas/Forth Worth], FLL [Ft. Lauderdale], and MIA [Miami] all have them. There are many more. Some of them are parks that have been modified and greatly improved for the enthusiast. Baltimore’s BWI, for example, has a place called Friendship Park that is a very beautiful spot for plane watching.”

McCarran Airport in Las Vegas has a long parking lot that runs to the south of one of the main runways, Rowe said, and Los Angeles/LAX has a spot on top of a high hill that overlooks the entire airport.

“As to the rest of the world, Europe has even more observation lots than the USA,” Rowe said. “For example, ZRH [Zurich, Switzerland] has 10 observation lots around the airport. These lots give the enthusiast vantage points of the entire airport. Basically, every runway configuration can be covered.”

Like Las Vegas, Milwaukee has a radio system that enables the enthusiast to listen to the aircraft communication from their car radios. “It is 88.5 FM; it is a rebroadcasting of the tower frequency of 119.1Mhz,” Rowe said.

Addicted to Airplanes

Airplane aficionado Dan Grimm, a Bay View resident, currently works in the air cargo industry and has for over 25 years. Aviation has always been a part of his life-he even has 205 model airplanes in his living room.

“I visit the observation lot at least five to 10 times a week. Sometimes it may be just for a few minutes to watch some take-offs or landings and other times it will be for several hours,” Grimm said.

Grimm also visits observation areas in other cities, and said Milwaukee’s Observation Area ranks favorably. The lot is kept clean and safe, Grimm said, and the Milwaukee County Sheriff department patrols it regularly. “I’d give it at least an eight [on a scale of one to 10] with 10 being the best.”

He ought to know. Recently returned from a trip to Alaska where he took 3,041 digital photographs, most of planes, Grimm said he goes to the Farnborough International Airshow every other year in England and is also a longtime EAA attendee. When in London, he stays at the Renaissance Heathrow hotel where he can photograph planes taking off right from his room.

“My mother used to say I had jet fuel in my blood and jet exhaust in my lungs,” Grimm said. He recalls when Mitchell also had an outdoor observation deck right on top of the concourse. When the first 747 landed in Milwaukee, Grimm said the pilot saw him with his camera. Grimm gave the pilot the thumbs-up and the pilot invited him on board for a tour.

Grimm said Milwaukee’s Airport Observation Area is a regional draw. He first met a friend from Illinois there 13 years ago. They still share an interest in watching and photographing airplanes. “He comes up just for the purpose of taking pictures,” said Grimm, adding, “We’re fortunate to have an airport that supports the enthusiast.”

For more on aviation viewing areas and airplane photos, check out airliners.net. Grimm also recommends visiting the Mitchell Gallery of Flight, a free nonprofit aviation museum in the airport. More: mitchellgallery.org.

Michael Timm contributed to this story.

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