If you like to see variety at its best in the Delaware Valley, take a trip up PA Route 611 to NAS/JRB Willow Grove. Willow Grove is home to a squadron of C-130T Hercules (VR-64), four C-9 Skytrains (VR-52), CH-53E Super Stallions from MAG-49, C-130E Hercules from the 913th Airlift Wing, A-10 Thunderbolt IIs from the 111th Fighter Wing (Pennsylvania ANG), and two C-12 Hurons. These aircraft are somewhat active around the base, flying training sorties to the Warren Grove firing range in New Jersey, to practicing approaches right at Willow Grove. The base is a one runway operation, with 15/33 being the only runway available.

The above map was provided by Google Earth and modified to show the spots around NAS/JRB Willow Grove.

About the Spots/What You'll See

Spot A: This spot is along an access road for TNS Intersearch's business parking lot.  The best way to access the road is from 611, although you can access it from the back via Horsham Road.  There is no left turn lane on 611 (coming from the south) for this road, and be careful, because the sign for TNS is low to the ground and you will more than likely miss it the first time.  If you do miss it, make a left turn onto Maple Avenue, then another left onto Horsham Road, and then left into the back entrance to the lot.  The spot is great for 33 approaches and arrivals and not as great for 15 activity.  A rule of thumb is that you should not venture any more than 50 feet east (heading towards 611, if that helps) from the speed bump.  Going any further will result in the military police from the base to come out and tell you to leave.  Also, remember to pull into a parking space - you cannot park along the access road! It is only a short walk.  When you're at Spot A, you will be getting great side shots of the aircraft, but be aware of the tree line in front of you, as that might hamper some good shots. You will be able to get excellent views of aircraft on final approach at least a couple miles away, depending on visibility, and you will get to see scary approaches, if the winds are providing a crosswind.  Spot A also shares a large field with the approach lights. Under any circumstances, DO NOT spot from anywhere on that field, regardless if you are on the north side or on the south side of the field.

Spot B: Along the northbound side of Route 611 is Lancer's Diner, which is become the substitute spot for the observation area on the other side of the highway.  You'll get the same view as at the observation area, only you're set back another 200 or so feet and you will have to put up with traffic going by along four lanes of 611.  Parking might be a problem, depending on the time of day, since there are not that many parking spots that can easily be accessible to view runway 33.  If it is the day or two before the airshow, Lancer's Diner will be the top spot to watch the practices from, especially for the jet team(s), keeping safety in consideration.  Lighting at this spot and at the observation area across the road is good until the afternoon comes, when the sun will be in your face.  Remember, DO NOT CROSS ROUTE 611 TO STAND BY THE FENCE!!!  More on that below.

C-9 Skytrain shots taken at Spot B with about 70% zoom. Blue Angel #7 shots taken with at least 75-85% zoom.

KC-10 shots from just east of Spot A taken with 75% zoom in the first and about 25% zoom in the second.
C-9 and C-130 shots taken at Spot A with about 25-35% zoom in both shots.

As far as aircraft you will see, let's put it plainly - all the based airplanes.  On a normal day, you will see the A-10s flying around, two C-130s will be up on a mission (they land in the early afternoon - I know this because they fly by my house about 10 minutes before they land at Willow Grove!), a C-9 or two, and maybe the C-12s will be flying.  Common transient traffic include F/A-18 Hornets from Oceana, Beaufort, and Lemoore; C-130s from nearby bases, and KC-135s from Pittsburgh and McGuire. Sometimes you will see "oddball" transients come in, which have included RNLAF F-16s; MS ANG KC-135s; ND ANG F-16s; Hornets from Fallon, NV; C-17s from Charleston and McChord; to name a few. Remember, there are times where you will get lucky and see a fair amount of traffic and there are times where you will see no traffic in and out of Willow Grove. I have been through both situations.  As I said earlier, you will more than likely see any of the based aircraft making the rounds, but Willow Grove is not nearly as active as, say, NAS Oceana, except during certain times of the year.  If you drop by the day or two before the airshow, you will see a LOT of activity, mainly from performers. If you stop by the day or two before the Army/Navy game in Philadelphia, there is a chance you will see a lot of transient traffic come in. Below I have listed what the spots are good for and what you'll see.    Unlike airliners, which you can probably guess what is taking off by the callsign (Eagle 4075, Speedbird 67 Heavy, for instance), judging military aircraft by their callsign can get tricky if you don't know what squadron operates what aircraft. Below are some common callsigns you will hear from Willow Grove-based squadrons:

A-10 shots taken with 75% zoom from Spot E. First KC-135 shot taken with about 40% zoom and second shot with about 60% zoom.
The P-3C Orion shot was taken with about 55% zoom and the C-130T shot was taken with about 40% zoom.

The shots above were taken with about 45% zoom, on overhead breaks and arriving, respectively.

Security

This is where it is interesting.  Spotting at NAS/JRB Willow Grove, to my knowledge, has been declared ILLEGAL because of actions of several individuals during Army/Navy weekend in 2005.  I have witnessed several people nearly get arrested because they were not following the orders by local and military police officers.  This was at Spot B, across Route 611 (the southbound side), while waiting for a bunch of Super Hornets to take off.  I got real lucky getting a picture of one of the Super Hornets departing, with police car lights going off in every direction and such.  Nobody was arrested and the regular spotters were even harassed by the military police about spotting and photography at and outside the base.  The Horsham Police see things differently, however, but they frown upon other people spotting there (the regulars have it okay, and unfortunately, I'm not considered a regular spotter).

If you do decide to make a spotting trip to Willow Grove, I would advise against it no matter how much of a craving you have.  It is way too risky.

F-14 Tomcat and F/A-18 Hornet shots taken out in the field just north of the access road to Spot A, with about 30% zoom.
The third Hornet shot was taken with about 60% zoom. As mentioned above, the field the Tomcats and Hornet were shot from is off-limits.

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© 2006-2007 Steven Holzinger