I was very excited about my cruise because there was a stop in St. Maarten, which meant spotting at Maho Beach. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this aviation paradise, it’s a beach right at the end of the runway for St. Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM/TNCM). The location provides an excellent perspective for photography of the landing aircraft, but is also a way to experience jet blast first hand. Just look at the sign posted many times around the edges of the airport:
I was only able to stop by for a few hours, and I wasn’t able to see any big aircraft like the Air France A340, but it was still quite an experience. First, some of the takeoffs:
The Amerijet 727 took off shortly I had arrived and was a nice surprise as I didn’t have it on the timetable I had made before I left. For some reason I found its exhaust to be the hottest of all.
The Dutch Antilles Express Fokker 100 was nice as it provided a good bit of jet blast but not enough to overpower one standing on the beach.
The Insel Air MD-83 packed a decent punch. It was nice and smokey.
The Continental 737-700 was the most powerful of the day, though. It was enough to blow me back a few steps and almost into the ocean.
By the end of the day, there was sand blown all over me, especially in my hair. By the end of dinner that night, the shoulders of my blazer were covered in sand that had come lose – and that was after a long shower. Heck, I even found sand in my ears!
Anyways here’s a compilation of some of the landings I saw.
I really enjoyed my day here and I hope to return to Maho sometime.
Well I think that wraps it up for posts about my vacation. Back to regular news tomorow!
Very cool Dan. Perhaps send this link to Larry Kellner at Continental, who was on my Houston flight recently. He’ll be pleased to know that the 737 is the most powerful of aircraft that day.
I think the 727 was hotter as it likely has older, less efficient engines. I did not think any were in service, so this ws a nice surprise. I used to like flying them. This was a neat addition to your trip. Thanks for sharing and glad you had a….blast:)
All the best,
Mr. N