Gateway Airport

Gateway Airport may refer to:

Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport

Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport (IATA: AZA, ICAO: KIWA, FAA LID: IWA), formerly Williams Gateway Airport (1994–2008) and Williams Air Force Base (1941–1993), is in the southeastern area of Mesa, Arizona, and 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona. The airport is owned and operated by the Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport Authority, and is a reliever airport for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. It is a focus city for Allegiant Air. The airport authority is governed by a six-member board: the mayors and tribal governor of the town of Gilbert, city of Mesa, town of Queen Creek, Gila River Indian Community, city of Phoenix, and the city of Apache Junction.

The FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2007–2011 called Phoenix–Mesa Gateway a reliever airport, which is a general aviation airport used to relieve congestion at a large airline airport.Allegiant Air began scheduled service from Mesa in October 2007. Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport records say the airport had 1,242,237 passenger boardings (or approx. 621,000 enplanements) in calendar year 2014.

Gateway

Gateway may refer to:

Computing

Companies

Aircraft spotting

Aircraft spotting or plane spotting is the observation, photographing, and logging of the registration numbers of aircraft, which includes gliders, balloons, airships, helicopters, and microlights.

History and evolution

Aviation enthusiasts have been watching airplanes and other aircraft ever since they were invented. However, plane spotting was not considered a distinct hobby until the second half of the 20th century.

The development of technology and global resources enabled a revolution in spotting. Point and shoot cameras, DSLRs & walkie talkies significantly changed the hobby. With the help of the internet, websites, such as FlightAware, have made it possible for spotters to track and locate specific aircraft from all across the world. Websites, such as Airliners.net, allow spotters to upload their shots or see pictures of aircraft spotted by other people from all over the world.

Techniques

When spotting aircraft, observers generally notice the key attributes of an aircraft, such as a distinctive noise from its engine or the number of vapour trails it is leaving. Observers assess the size of the aircraft and the number, type and position of its engines. Another distinctive attribute is the position of wings relative to the fuselage and the degree to which they are swept rearwards. The wings may be above the fuselage, below it, or fixed at midpoint. The number of wings indicate whether it is a monoplane, biplane, or triplane. The position of the tailplane relative to the fin(s) and the shape of the fin are other attributes. The configuration of the landing gear can be distinctive, as well.