While this video was shot along Spain's Costa del Sol, it was definitely inspired by St. Maarten's Maho Beach, arguably the world's best planespotting strand.
The 747s that touch down in the Caribbean are a bit more, you know, real than this plane, but we still think this clip is cool. After the jump, we've embedded the making of video for your debunking pleasure.
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by pbb
Over the summer, we classified the Princess Juliana airport (SXM) on St. Maarten as one summer vacation with an edge simply because piloting big jets on the stunted runways is rather tough. And because nearby sunbathers on the beach could be exposed to a sandstorm stirred up by the planes.
But one tourist is like "whatever!" about all that because it's the best place for jet enthusiasts to get up close views of their favorite flying machines. Sue writes:
I went to St. Maarten for a week last Christmas (2006), strictly and solely to watch big jets approach and land at Princess Juliana Airport. Had a BALL. Most awesome week of my life. Can't wait to go back.
If something changes during the airport renovation so that jet enthusiasts can't get close to the landing jets, I won't go back. There are too many other places in the world I haven't visited to blow any more time on St. Maarten if jet-watching thrills are removed from the docket.
PLEASE HEAR ME, ST. MAARTEN ... DON'T CHANGE YOUR NEATEST TOURIST ATTRACTION! YOU'LL LOSE OUT ON LOTS OF TOURIST BUCKS!
Whoa, Sue means business. As for renovations, we know that the airport opened a new terminal back in 2006. But if traffic to the island of St. Maarten continues to increase a new terminal will be built as well as a full parallel taxiway system.
Ok, this never gets old. Yes, that's a 747 and no, there's no CGI wizardry involved. Welcome to St. Maarten, home to possibly the only beach where you can catch a wave by the good graces of both Mother Nature and Air France.
The beach in question is right outside the Princess Juliana airport (SXM) on the south side of the island. Pilots consider it a tough spot to land heavier jets as that the bare minimum length runway forces pilots to come in extremely low, about thirty feet over the heads of sunbathers on the strip of sand outside the boundary fence. The effects of arriving jets seems tolerable in the video clip but word has it that departing planes can stir up enough of a sandstorm to clear the beach or, in some cases, enough wake for surfers to catch waves heading out to sea.
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by Judson
