New developments at the Airport make it harder and harder to get uninterrupted views of the aircraft aprons. Hopefully the following information will give the unfamiliar enthusiast a guide to the best places to see and photograph EMA's varied visitors.

Air Band Radio frequencies:
Approach 134.175
Tower 124.000
Radar 120.125
Ground 121.900
ATIS 128.225

BEST PLACES TO VIEW FROM

Spotting Locations Plan (see text below)

These are getting fewer and fewer but the main ones are:

1. The passenger terminal - there are now no aircraft apron views from anywhere in the terminal.
2. Driving around the site - limited views of aircraft parked on the east (location 1) and west (location 2) aprons can be had from driving around the airport's internal road system. You should be able to read most things off. Views from the roads allow everything in the maintenance area to be identified. The east apron is best viewed from the road from the Business Park to the east cargo area and the west apron is best viewed from the car park at the back of the bmi hangar (the old FIELDS / Hunting hangar).
3. The "Nags Head Lane" (location 3)- this famous spot is one of the best for watching the night cargo operation. It can be found as follows: exit the airport main entrance turning right towards Castle Donington and Breedon at the main entrance traffic lights. Continue on for about a mile until you come to the DHL roundabout, go straight across then turn right at the next set of traffic lights. Continue past the Donington Park Motor Racing Circuit entrance (on your left) and the road bears round to the right, keep going through the cutting through the 09 runway lights until you come to the roundabout at the entrance to the Aeropark and take the first exit towards Castle Donington. As you start to go down the hill in to the village the Nags Head pub is on your right hand side. Turn right IMMEDIATELY after the pub (Diseworth Lane) and follow this road to the end where it comes to a crash gate. From this crash gate you can look across the runway to the DHL operation and the central apron. PLEASE PARK YOUR CAR WELL CLEAR OF THE CRASH GATE - IT IS ACTIVE !!! Also, please don't block the farmer's access (five-barred gate) and don't park up this track if the farmer's gate is open. There is a footpath that runs along the northside perimeter fence for those more active spotters. You can stay here all night (some do !!) and you won't be hassled as long as you keep 10ft from the fence. Please, please take your rubbish home with you.....this area has become a bit of a mess with people chucking rubbish out of their cars so lets make sure the spotters aren't to blame.

CENTRAL APRON
The central, or passenger, aprons are located in the middle of the airfield to the north of the passenger terminal. They currently have four entrances (November, Quebec, Romeo, and Tango - from left to right). Stands 1-20 are nose-in / push-back and contact with the cargo terminal (No.2) to the east, the central passenger terminal and the old Royal Mail building (now Prestige) to the west.
Stands 20-25 are located on the central north edge between bellmouths Quebec and Romeo and are used for all kinds of aircraft and the larger types such as B767, DC10 etc.
Stands 30-33 are located in the north west corner of the apron and are used for smaller GA.
Large GA tend to use the 20s stands.
The new central-west apron is now complete and has five east facing nose-in stands - stands 40-45 - for B737-800 size aircraft and combination stands will allow use up to B767-300 size aircraft. A "pier" structure for departures is currently being built between the two aprons to serve stands 40-45 and 33. Arrivals will continue to be coached. It will be linked to the western end of the departure lounge by elevated walkway.

WEST (cargo) APRON
The DHL development at the western (Donington Park Motor Racing Circuit) end of the airport, is called Cargo West. The main DHL building and the earth landscaping mounds severely restrict views from the south. Best views of the site are available from the lay-by / bus stop on the Castle Donington road (B6540) as you can look down on the apron from there however as it is a bus-stop you cannot park here for long periods. Views can also be had from the Aeropark and from the end of Diseworth Lane (next to the Nag's Head pub - see above) as you enter Castle Donington from the south.
The west apron has two entrances - Foxtrot (west) and Juliet (east). Stands are numbered 100-111 along the north side of the building. Stands 120, 121/121L and 122/122L are located along the eastern face of the building and can take aircraft up to AN-124 size. Self-manoeuvring aircraft usually park on Stand 120 - AN-12, C.130, VC-10, IL-76 etc.
A new hangar for JCB's fleet (GS5 and 2 x S76s) has recently been completed on the western end of the west apron (the old stand 112).
Most activity is at night (2130-0500). This apron can be used for other aircraft (incl. pax) during the day if the central and east aprons are at capacity.
The Kalitta Air (B747-200F on Saturdays) also uses Cargo West.

AEROPARK
The "new" Aeropark and Spectators Area is located in the north west corner of the airfield (behind the Nag's Head pub) near Castle Donington. This area consists of a small free car park and a fenced exhibit compound with its own car park. 1,000s of trees have also been planted. The Vampire and Sheriff have now been moved over from the old site into the Romney Building to join the Vulcan, Argosy, Varsity, Buccaneer, Lightning, Hunter, Canberra and Canberra nose, Meteor, 3 x Wessex, Whirlwind and Spitfire replica as well as the Viscount and Merchantman noses already on display.

The exhibit compound is open between May-Sept on Thursdays 1030-1700, Saturdays 1200-1700 and Sundays 1030-1900 and all Bank Holidays except Xmas Day and Boxing Day. From October to April, opening hours reduce to just Sundays 1030-1700 or dusk whichever is earlier. Entrance is just £2.00 per adult with children under 16 free. (In the summer, the Aeropark usually remains open until the AVA go home !!).

The new Romney Building opened to the public in summer 2006 and houses "work in progress" as well as exhibition panels along the walls.

The site is run entirely by volunteers - the Aeropark Volunteers Association - hence the limited opening hours. All funding for the Aeropark comes from the gate money - the Airport does not subsidise the site in any way.

The new site has excellent views over the runway 09 threshold when arrivals from the west are taking place and a viewing mound has been constructed as part of the development. The downside of the site however is that it looks into sun which sadly makes it poor for photography except in the late summer evenings from about 17:00 hrs onwards.

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