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Mineta San Jose International

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Click here to access the official SJC Website
(Original Text from Golden Gate Airliners, updated for 2017)
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For those of you who are interested, SJC also gets a large amount of bizjet activity with planes flying the "big-shots" from Silicon Valley computer companies. Also, Intel Corp. operates regularly scheduled employee commuter/shuttle flights out of SJC with a fleet of ERJ-135s to Sacramento (Mather Field) and Hillsboro, OR. 
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The weather at SJC is almost always good. Normal operations have airliner traffic landing on Runway 30L and departing on Runway 30R. Boeing 757 and larger aircrafts depart on 30L. In the winter when rainy weather is moving through the area and the winds shift, they will switch to 12R for arrivals and 12L for departures.
ATC FREQUENCIES @ SJC:
Listen to Live ATC

120.7 - San Jose Tower
124.0 San Jose Tower
118.0 - San Jose Clearance Delivery
121.7 - San Jose Ground
126.95 - San Jose D-ATIS
120.5 - Emergency/Guard
131.2 - Alaska Airlines Ops131.200
129.2 - American Airlines Ops129.200
129.8 - Atlantic Aviation (San Jose Jet Center)129.800
132.0 - Horizon Air Ops132.000
129.05 Signature Flight Support129.050
131.7 - Southwest Airlines Ops131.700
164.625 - Southwest Airlines Ops
135.2 - NORCAL Approach135.200
120.1 - NORCAL Approach "LICKE" SJC Final120.100
121.3 - NORCAL Approach "TOGA"121.300
121.3 - NORCAL Departure121.300
 Spotting/ Photography Locations

SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY LOT 
The best spot is on Airport Blvd. just east of Coleman Ave. The sun is best for photos from mid-day until sunset. EXCELLENT photos can be taken from this spot of arriving airliners.

2017 UPDATE: I'm afraid to say that SJC is installed a new fence at this location, raising the the base of the fence to road level and those pesky 12 foot high fences with tight meshes. Doesn't sound great, but you are still able to catch 30L arrivals nicely. 

Especially good photos can be taken from this spot in the late evening hours during the summer months. The lighting is perfect and you can get some excellent photos. There is a parking lot around the corner from this spot at the former San Jose State University Aviation Department facility located on the corner of Airport Blvd. and Coleman Ave.  There is also a nice shady spot under the trees here where you can sit and get some relief from the sun especially during the summer months.
The new fence, which is now above ground view so it's nearly impossible to catch departures here:
TERMINAL A GARAGE - The next spot is in the parking garage for the Terminal A. Go to the stairwell either on the north or south end of the garage and go up to level 4, 5, or 6 (roof). This spot is especially good during the summer, but arrive the end of the cerfew (6:30 AM is the first departure). Try July 4 and Memorial Day weekend. 
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Here are some examples of photos taken at this location:

Guadeloupe Park - Some say it is a nice area to watch arrivals.

Please note that there is no longer a Terminal C Observation deck. Terminal C was demolished in 2010.
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  • Home
  • About
  • Airport Histories
    • SFO History
    • SJC History
  • Locations
    • ATC
    • Flight Tracking
    • San Francisco
    • Oakland International
    • Mineta San Jose
    • Buchanan Field
    • Livermore
  • Photo Index
    • Passenger Aircraft >
      • Passenger Aircraft SFO
      • Passenger Aircraft SJC
      • Passenger Aircraft OAK
    • Cargo Aircraft >
      • Cargo Aircraft SFO
      • Cargo Aircraft OAK
      • Cargo Aircraft SJC
    • Bizjets >
      • Bizjets SFO
      • Bizjets OAK
      • Bizjets SJC
    • Smaller Airports >
      • Moffett Field
      • Buchanan Field Aircraft
      • Hayward Aircraft
      • Monterey Aircraft
      • Livermore Aircraft
      • San Carlos Aircraft
    • Tower Tour
    • Special Liveries
    • Other airports >
      • Long Beach
      • Chicago O'Hare
    • Photo Index Archive >
      • SFO Photo Index Archive
      • OAK Photo Index Archive
      • SJC Photo Index Archive
    • Accidents
    • Historic Photos
    • Preservation
  • Archived Pages
    • Traffic Updates >
      • Past Updates
    • Logbook >
      • Logbook 2018
  • Links
    • SFO Show
    • Dioramas