Columnist Susan Snyder: An activity that’s just plane fun

Friday, July 27, 2001 | 4:57 a.m.

Susan Snyder's column also appears Tuesdays and Fridays in the Las Vegas Sun. Reach her at snyder@lasvegassun.com or 259-4082.

Gleaming, gold Mandalay Bay, Luxor's jet-black pyramid, a dwarfed Chrysler Building and Paris' Eiffel Tower provide a cartoon backdrop for the thousands who fly in and out of McCarran International Airport each day.

But 2-year-old Devin Smith seemed oblivious to the Disneyesque scene behind the runways.

"Airplane! Airplane!" he shouted, the tiny fingers of one hand curled around the chain-link fence that separates the Sunset Road viewing area from airport property.

An orange and tan aircraft lifted upward, and Devin turned his attention back to his ice cream bar melting rapidly in the warm summer sun. Some ice cream went into his mouth. Most trickled down his arm and onto his shirt.

"Wait'll your mother sees you," Sherry Smith said to her grandson.

Smith, of Henderson, slurped an equally sloppy treat but wore less of it.

"We were down at the park feeding the ducks, and we could see them flying over. We decided to come to watch."

It also was a good place to get Devin and his ice cream onto pavement, which withstands melted ice cream far better than Grandma's car upholstery.

The Smiths were the only ones outside the car. But the Sunset viewing area's parking lot was at least half full -- even in the middle of a weekday.

For years, aviation buffs have pulled over and parked to watch airplanes take off and land on McCarran's primary runways. Tune to 88.5 FM and you can hear the pilots and air traffic controllers talking.

Some people seemd to be listening and watching. But the area also seemed popular for other kinds of activity. (Oh, stop it. We're not talking about that kind of activity. This is broad daylight.)

One man was intent on making cell phone calls, ignoring the jets that roared across the landscape beyond his bumper. A guy in a landscaping truck did some paperwork. A third man simply read a book.

The Smiths plopped down on the sidewalk to enjoy the unseasonably mild, spring-like weather Las Vegas has had for most of July.

"We lived near Cleveland-Hopkins (Airport) so we used to go down there all the time and watch them," Smith said, recalling her own childhood.

Incoming. Devin popped up and brought Grandma back to the here and now.

"Look! The airplane! It's red!" he said.

"It's got a bird on it, see?" Smith replied. "It's coming in this time.

"See the ribbon?" she added, pointing to another aircraft sporting a rainbow stripe as it rolled down the taxiway. Devin nodded and didn't take his eyes from the plane.

"(Kids) can play with the colors," she said. "And he likes the planes."

It's not the most exciting afternoon activity in a 24-hour town that has half a dozen roller coasters and dozens of video arcades. But how much pomp and glitter does a little boy need?

A summer day, drippy ice cream and a grandma who doesn't care if it runs down the front of your shirt is a pretty good deal.

"Oooh! Look! The airplane!" Devin exclaimed, clutching the fence with two tight little fists this time.