A day at one of the worlds most challenging airports, 4K planespotting at St Barts

This video includes 35 minutes of incredible action at St Jean airport on the island of St Barthélemy during a recent trip abroad
Filmed freehand using a 4K Sony AX53 video camera
The airport is situated between a hill and beach at either end making it a tricky place to land. Especially coming over the hill almost aircraft tend to perform a nose dive manoeuvre to be able to touchdown within the limited amount of runway available
St Barts is a secluded island and the tiny airport is the only gateway apart from Boats/Ferries meaning all flights are mostly from neighbouring Carribean islands which have larger airports.
This is why you see plenty of Winair Twin Otters back and forth from St Maarten aswell as the St Barth Commuter Grand Caravans
Air Antilles and Tradewind operate services from further afield, those being San Juan and Pointe-a-Pitre
Feel free to like and subscribe. Feedback is greatly appreciated
Many more Aviation videos on the way. This was a big trip!
Link to my channel: / @calsaviation
St Bart’s 2023 video!
• A day at one of the wo...

[@iamra_n3189]

Holy crap, those Twin Otter pilots don’t mess about with rolling out!

[@deplorabledave1048]

I landed here in 1982 to buy an old 36' sailboat. I got off the Winair Otter and walked to this wooden shack (now an area to store private planes) and found NO ONE on duty. NO customs. NO immigration. Every plane occupant had jumped in personal cars in the parking lot and sped off. There I was. NO TAXIS...LOL Passport in hand...very very puzzled. I dragged my luggage up to the top of the hill and hitch hiked into Gustavia. I stayed there for four years on a Gaff Rigged Yawl I purchased there. Best years of my entire life!!!!

[@philipford6183]

That takes guts - and skill. Kudos to all those pilots.

[@yavorkaloyanov4483]

The Twin Otter is such a cool plane, I love it

[@wickedcabinboy]

Flew in that between St Thomas and St Croix or San Juan several times in the early 1980s. Fun flight.

[@TheHDAviation]

That is one awesome compilation, and St. Bart's is my dream spotting airport. Maybe one day! Great footage.

[@lewiskemp5893]

Man those twin otters are awesome

[@sgtcrab2569]

Twin Otter for the win....as always!

[@paulroggemann1017]

Loved flying the Twin otters

[@studentsmusic]

The first one is unbelievable. I also flew in with Winair once. Killing the energy after that steep approach angle without endless flaring is worldclass. Respect, I would have serious probs to do that without extensive special training

[@krozareq]

It's fun to do the RWY 10 approach in simulators. Give it a shot.

[@deplorabledave1048]

You had to undergo certification to land at St Barts airport. Been there man many times. I heard that the SABA island airport was the worst. Hells Gate or something like that. . It is widely acknowledged as the smallest commercial airport in the world, with a runway length of 400 meters.

[@studentsmusic]

@@deplorabledave1048 I also landed at saba.. crazy STOL approach near the cliffs and very short „carrier“ like runway. High mountain and good diving there. Starting similar over the edge..

[@mysteryY2K]

that's the magic of the Twin Otter! the thing pretty much lands nose down!

[@lucaas]

A lot of awesome catches, great job! Would you be okay with me featuring some of them in an episode of Weekly Dose of Aviation? Of course you will be credited both in the video and in the description.

[@Calsaviation]

Of course

[@yammmit]

World’s* Absolutely no one ever gets that right in video titles.

[@kumquatmonkeyfun1940]

@@yammmitbooooo no one cares

[@channelchilli]

This is absolutely insane! Thanx for uploading!

[@joeherrera8826]

Respect to these very skillful pilots.

[@perry1055]

Beautiful islands and a very exciting airport...

[@samwisegamgee289]

I have spent six weeks in st. barts had friends in the hospitality living there its an awsome place very small two by three miles or close the airport is one hell of a ride in you will notice in the video where the plane just frops down from the woman standing close and it really is very close great job for any pilot that does it well and thanks for the memories

[@YANKYVICTOR]

Wonderful job! Crazy view at 15:44...

[@HenryDobrasch]

This airport is definitely on my bucket list. It would be cool if the Dash 7 still operated here.

[@PLANEMANIA747]

Absolutely beautiful 😍 ❤

[@flymachine]

Sometimes through the camera the runways appear really short through illusion but seeing that max short field take offs of the Twotter illustrates nicely just how short st Bart’s really is. Also loved seeing the gorgeous PC12 showing the STOL types how it’s done

[@wadadli4sun]

Not to forget there's a pronounced down slope down the whole runway. In particularly west of the fire station access road. Great for takeoff, not so much so for (easterly) landing 😂

[@jessescott1811]

​@@wadadli4sungood

[@HvdH-Plane]

Great work and very good compilation of this unique airport. I was there a few years ago and it's really a great spot for plane-spotters to get amazing shots and everything is so very close.

[@lc582]

That first landing!

[@deukas1586]

kinda cool kudos to your photography and to the pilots and everyone over there, luv

[@josephzimmerman5717]

Awesome short field take off procedure from Air Antilles DHC6

[@janicelawrence5270]

I remember flying into St Barts. Unbelievable. After first time I knew what to expect after that

[@rexnicious]

That first guy is showing off😂

[@barriedavidson]

Thank you for sharing!

[@mylosairplanefan]

Incredible video, must visit place for avgeeks! Well done!

[@Philc231]

Amazing pilot skills

[@everythinggaming7938]

i bet the pilots love it when the wind blows the opposite way haha

[@Too519]

thank you. skills are amazing

[@av8rjacq486]

Love it.

[@DOMINICAAVIATION]

Amazing!!!

[@scottp7316]

That was close!

[@redeyeracing2]

Favorite place to fly in

[@brosephStalinof]

holy hell some of these pilots are insane

[@B1970T]

Awesome!

[@jeffreymorris1752]

I like watching the twin engine planes on takeoff. At 80% throttle the props synch up perfectly. A very useful technology.

[@AJpro88]

those pc-12s look awesome in that silver paint

[@KYLOWW]

Just subscribed to your channel and i'm looking forward to more footage of your airplane spotting videos. 😊🙏

[@nytom4info]

we played the pelican club! the French love jazz!

[@user-il5pv5vt3k]

Сууупппееерр💯💯💯💯💯 прелесть💯💯💯💯💯 шикарно❤❤❤❤❤❤спасибо❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@chuckwilliams999]

Been there, done that. As a passenger. Looking thru the wind shield on approach is crazy.

[@everythinggaming7938]

the first pilot that stopped it in time to exit the runway was a boss

[@valdesifernandes4559]

parabéns a todos pilotos de aviões, aí tem coragem

[@sleaosilva6431]

Muy buena aterrizajen .

[@sandyhumby88]

I need to go here so badly 😎😎😎

[@singletrackscott1053]

Probably drove by you as you were filming as I was on island from 2/24 to 3/4. Third time on the island and we've landed three different ways. First time was from the north and over St. Jean beach. Second time was from the east and over/down the mountain. Most recently, we came from the south, over the mountain mid-island banking left and landing over St. Jean beach. Haven't seen too many landings that way. It was quite interesting.

[@OscarKr13]

3:31 Oh wow that was close! That must have been an amazing experience!

[@ectobluntus]

They made the turn off at mid field! Didn't need to showboat haha they still had tons of runway

[@DodgyD101]

3rd one in, finally someone hit the center line

[@drcandor]

Well done - got to love that closing shot, and the plane wasn't too bad either. . . :>/

[@YP3CA]

That first pilot can compete in the World's Shortest Landings...

[@LMays-cu2hp]

Very nice.

[@LMays-cu2hp]

Thank you for sharing.

[@DjWellDressedMan]

I landed at Bequia, considered one of the toughest landings in the Caribbean.

[@wadadli4sun]

Beautiful airport, completed by EU/ Dutch assistance in the early nineties. Wouldn't say it is a difficult airport though. With an unobstructed approach generally into the Tradewinds and a length long enough to accommodate Dash8 and smaller jets. I'd put Virgin Gorda, St Barths, Saba, Nevis (before lengthened), Codrington (being lengthen x4!), Montserrat (old and new), Les Saintes, Canefield and Union Island (before it was improved) as more difficult.

[@ladeshfeyton8405]

Nice touchdown by the helicopter. 😂

[@kevkev5935]

At just over 2100 feet long, I would much prefer the approach coming in off of the ocean. Although I assume that the headwinds coming in off the water must be strong seeing how quickly the flights get airborne on takeoff.

[@skbenergy]

what a spectacular video !!!! i live so close to this island and i have never been there, my time will come soon :) !!!

[@weebolddavy]

That first landing was impressive. I'm just wondering if there are any cars there with tyre marks on the roof!!

[@karlossargeant3872]

I Love this St.Barts Planespotting is Awesome also I heard that Cessna will be added there New Cessna Skycourier 408 Twin Engine Planes it will be the New Replacement for there Older Cessna Carvan 208B's in the upcoming future I hope St.Barts Commuter Airline will take Interests in buying them soon Awesome Video man 100%

[@sandyhumby88]

I need to go here so bad 😎😎😎

[@Sanata_X]

Wow nice international airport.. Pessengers will freak out🤣🤣🤣

[@joshbentz9846]

I realize these are all very skilled pilots, but the pc12 pilots nail the center line w/out fail, really impressive

[@sjherpin6335]

My first time was 25 years ago- my wife hates and dreads it but I love it

[@natemoore6760]

3:45 really aiming for that blue box on fs2020!

[@CaptVirtual]

I'm certain Winair are getting beers for every time they make the turn-off 😂

[@DAR4K]

Thank you very much! Great shots!

[@wickedcabinboy]

New sub here. Very nice video.

[@consolounnombre5708]

La Publicidad en KZbin es un auténtico COÑAZO

[@vitorpereira-cb1fz]

Bom dia , é a primeira vez que assisto esse vídeo, gostei! Pelo que se vê é só aviões pequeno que pousa, e decola? Aqui onde eu moro tem uns fazendeiros que tem desse também, os pilotos passa bem baixinho . Super legal.

[@frantix22]

spent xmas 2016 there... so freaking expensive!

[@MBheli621]

No reason for that helicopter to come in hot like The airplanes do haha. He could literally land anywhere on the airfield.

[@AwakenedSerenity]

Wow great capture and very high quality video! Am I allowed to use it in one of my videos (with credit/a link in the description)?

[@Calsaviation]

Of course. Thanks

[@badgerbait8351]

I'll take the boat, thanks.

[@Anonymous99997]

Try to fly a Cessna 172 into this airport in Microsoft Flight Simulator and you will gain a serious appreciation of how difficult this airport is.

[@sgtstedanko7186]

And that's only on a sim. Imagine how hard it is IRL. It's hard to not carry too much speed while basically diving at the strip. Quite a few planes have ended up in the drink on the other end

[@WhiteHawk77]

@@sgtstedanko7186 it’s actually harder to judge things in a sim for a number of reasons than it is in real life. But you don’t have the fear factor like real life though.

[@Deadmau5l]

try concorde :D

[@Deadmau5l]

forsure one of my favourite places to land on msfs even on a sim it gets your butt cheeks clenched xD

[@LNYT-Aviation]

@@Deadmau5l rip

[@oyveydetoymeny]

There’s a roundabout on the hill to final approach and it’s the only one I’ve had to yield for traffic...from above! After reading « gppdyear » on the tyre passing in front and barely above my windscreen, The airport supermarket has 1500€ bottles of whine in case you want to bring something « suitable » for dinner with wealthy friends. St Barts is wonderful, went there on my honeymoon and a couple other times in simpler accommodations. Recently with Covid prices have gone up yet again...

[@Pesmog]

The wheel tracks in the grassy downslope towards the runway............From a Caravan or a Twotter that approached just a little too steeply 👨‍✈😁

[@Seeker_903]

I tried landing here in msfs2020 but there is a huge tree right where you need to get low by the street on the approach.

[@beast-aviation-us]

Fantastic video! Can I feature it? Credited on screen and with a link back!

[@heatherfults5369]

I knew this runway looked familiar. Kelsey from 74 gear has reacted to a landing here before.

[@lszlpesti]

I wonder if the L-410 could land there. It's about the size and capacity of the Twin Otter. :)

[@panagea2007]

LOL at the cameraman who stood close to the landing planes and seemed shocked that they were close.

[@duane356]

Are 'worry' beads supplied for the passengers- or just the pilots?

[@Youravgflightsimmer]

Lol. I was there literally today

[@lexxynubbers]

I think I'll just take the boat.

[@Combustion5s]

Hi there Cal!. Once again amazing clips, May I feature 2 or 3 of them in my up coming videos. Like I did previously I will credit you in the video and description.

[@Calsaviation]

Of course

[@RuzgarinPesinde]

Fantastic video! Would it be okay for you if I feature some catches in a future KZbin video of mine? I would of course credit you in the video and description. Thank you and have a great day!

[@telecabo]

Awesome! Can I use one or two clips of your video in a compilation I'm working on? I'll credit you in the video. Keep up with the good work.

[@Calsaviation]

Of course

[@telecabo]

Thank you:)@@Calsaviation

[@purplebuckwheat]

Can someone explain why the approach is from the side of the hill and not the water?

[@TomasAWalker53]

You can't legally fly in there without a certification and check ride.

[@Matt-mo8sl]

I'd LOVE to visit that airport one day before I croak, maybe even fly into it myself. I think I could do alright.

[@wildcard9724]

18:18 was my favorite.

[@headshaker4609]

How about the runway on Saba? That was exciting….

[@Calsaviation]

I was tempted to try that aswell

[@RydalS]

Do any of the plane's use reverse prop pitch before touchdown to help slow down or do they only bleed the speed off with flaps?

[@tomrinehart3022]

Wouldn’t want to reverse props in the air, in the US, it’s illegal, but if you did and ran into problems, would take too long to cycle the prop back…also might affect flight characteristics.

[@QBziZ]

The Islander pilot are the ones that have the hardest job. No reverse thrust on their propellers.

[@ThePaulv12]

I can't believe that Twotter made the second exit LOL

[@georgesmith8113]

👍👍👊

[@kendallevans4079]

How hard could/would it be to level out that hill in front on landing? An American contractor could do it in a couple weeks!

[@speedomars3869]

Landing twin-turbines is a no brainer. Taking off is just a short field maneuver. Stand on the brakes, full power, release, rotate. Much easier in a twin than a single engine which has a ton of P-factor to deal with...

[@TheKnoxcountry]

I feel like Jeffery Lebowski laying on his back….. on the rug…… listening to the Twin Otter sounds…. instead of the bowling pins.

[@CatarineausArmory]

So who is making the tire tracks in the grass on the hill? Somebody landing short...?

[@ludovicortiz927]

do you have a video of the same approach but in cockpit ? I would like to view how much work on the controls is done by the pilot on those. Thanks to whoever would share a link

[@Calsaviation]

twitter.com/avgeekcal/status/1498652325736505348?s=21&t=5ES-kThf5r_f5zA6_CxTWQ this my aircraft landing into St Barts

[@OarsmanPower]

@@Calsaviation Awesome video. Keep up the great work!

[@ludovicortiz927]

@@Calsaviation amazing thanks a. Lot. Fr someone who is scared when flying... I wouldn't enjoy that approach i think ahahah

[@alexandrereis1393]

Guess when approaching from the opposite side, go-around is not an option!