Spotting Goodies!
So you’re thinking about being a plane spotter, what do you really need to start in the hobby? Actually very little and to be honest no investment in technology, although because almost every one has at least some suitable technology already – I’ll deal a bit with that later in the post.
The absolute basics to start as a plane spotter, well as I’ve already said elsewhere on the site – it’s a pencil and a note book. The information and the format that you record it in, does to some extent decide what type of notebook, the pencil bit though is pretty standard ( I should add that having a spare is handy sometimes ), they can be acquired from some shops.
There are any number of reasons why people become plane spotters, for some it was because they lived closer to an airport than say a train station or a bus depot. For most though there was a genuine interest in aviation and of course whether they had seen that plane before, in truth the only way to know that for sure is to record the identification of the aircraft.
Simply recording the date, location, aircraft type, operator and the registration, was probably where we all started. For some, this is as far as the hobby progresses. For others, there is a need to record so much more. This can lead on to Airshow trips, trips abroad, photography and in many cases because of the interest a career in the aviation industry.
It is all down to you and what facets of the hobby you find interesting, the more interesting – the more you are likely to invest in some form of technology.
Probably the first addition that most people go for after a second notebook for a master log is an optical device of some sort. Buit it could be any of, binoculars, telescope, computer, radio or camera again down to personal interest.
What to buy, that is a personal preference but suffice to say that most people have a smart phone and most of these have pretty decent cameras nowadays. If you have even an entry level smart phone, you will be able to photograph, record video and audio, write notes and install an App like flight radar which will fulfill most of your needs.
There is no need to invest huge sums of money in the hobby, you can start with the basics and add to your equipment remember a notebook and a pencil is all it takes to start. Plane spotting has probably been around since shortly after the Wright Brothers made the first flight, the basics have not changed. The spotter can be someone who just goes to an airshow once a year, or someone who spends all their available spare time watching aircraft – or anywhere in between.
At the extreme ends, there are people who take little more than a passing interest and there are people who invest many thousands of pounds and will make significant efforts to be at an airport or airbase when something unusual is about to appear. This is not much different from the football supporter spectrum, where someone will just glance at the results to someone who goes to every game home and away.
So over and above your pencil and notebook what goodies do you need, the answer to that is actually none. What goodies are good to have, well the aforementioned smart phone is a great place to start. The next goody that I would buy if I was starting again would be a pair of binoculars, I’d probably stay in the range of 7X50 or 10X50 due to the cost. Or a telescope, these are very dependent on the depth of your pocket.
You’ll notice that I don’t leap into the camera arena, for information – you can take excellent photographs on your smart phone either on its own or through binoculars or a telescope. But to be fair, a camera would probably be the next goody to purchase. But whatever goody you are going to buy, within the bounds of affordability – buy what you want. Buying something not to the standard that you want is a false economy, you will probably be unhappy with it and end up replacing it – so you might as well have bought what you wanted first time round (Personal Experience).
A computer or tablet, will give access to a wealth of data – both current and historical. Where you can communicate with like minded people through forums and user groops, a simple search for your local airport may be enough. This will give access to social media where there are large numbers of active groups, sometimes several at the same airport.
An Air Band radio will, depending how close you are to the airport give access to ground to air communications. At any rate even if you live some distance from the airport you should be able to hear the communications from air to ground even if you cant hear the other side.
