
Capturing the wonder of human flight —
Plane spotting aviation enthusiasts trot the globe capturing stunning photos of aircraft like this one from the Caribbean island of St. Maarten. Maho Beach is world famous for its low flying aircraft. "If you like airplanes, Maho is like the cherry on top" of a beautiful beach vacation, says Justin Schlechter, a 747 pilot who's visited Maho several times.

Danger in paradise —
When pilots preparing for take off from St. Maarten's Princess Juliana International Airport rev their engines, daredevils sometimes stand against the airport fence and hold on. The jet blast is so close and powerful that it can throw people off the fence and onto the ground.

'Like it was an earthquake' —
Customers at the Sunset Bar & Grill on Maho Beach "go crazy," when the big planes fly overhead, says bar employee Dianne Carbon. "When they're taking off or coming in -- it's almost like it was an earthquake."

Manchester Airport, England —
Plane spotters rave about the great photo shooting locations surrounding England's Manchester Airport. Krzysztof Tomczak, a spotter based in Poznań, Poland, captured this image of a Dragonair Cargo Boeing 747-412.

Los Angeles International Airport —
Plane spotter Kevin Koske snapped this image of an Air Tahiti Nui Airbus A340-313E, taxiing at LAX.

Burgers n' fly-bys —
Photographer Jonathan Racasa served up this tasty image from the In-N-Out Burger just northeast of LAX near West 92nd Street and South Sepulveda Boulevard.

O'Hare International Airport —
At Chicago's busy O'Hare, Koske caught this amazing image of a Lufthansa Cargo McDonnell Douglas MD-11 as it arrived at sunset from Frankfurt, Germany, on Runway 28.



