About this site.
This is a personal site, the content is basically what I want to put here. I’ve been a plane spotter a long time and the site is primarily about just that. I’m not overly precious about the contents – although most of the photographs have been gifted by other people, if you want to use them ask and I’ll pass on the request – if they are not mine.
The site covers some basic spotting guidelines, it’s not meant to be an authrative or definative source for all things related to spotting. Most regeional airports will have a spotting group, these will be the best source of information for your local area.
Whats here, well there are a number of my rambling blog posts containing my thoughts on stuff related mainly to aviation, along with a number of downloadable files which I’ll update from time to time. The files are mainly from official sources and are created in a more user friendly format.
Downloads
Galleries
Blog Posts
Reviews
The Downloads.
There are a number of downloads available on the site, all created by me and available for download – free to use applies. They consist of a number of registers in spotter friendly format, a couple of check lists and a couple of guides. As time goes on I expect to be able to keep the registers up to date, with all new entries as they are derived from the official sites – having been stripped of things like the owners address and taken down to just the basic aircraft data.
Why be a Spotter?
You might as well ask why be a football fan, it is a hobby and as such it’s just as valid as model making, photography, bird watching or any of a thousand other hobbies. It is about your interests, so in answer to the question – why on earth not?
Below is some general points and spotting advice, it can be a great hobby – it costs almost nothing to get started except time and an interest. It has been my main hobby for most of my life, having started as a 10 year old – give it a try, who knows you may get hooked.
Everday Something New
The thing about plane spotting is that there is always something new, if you live near an airport you will see a variety of aircraft – or will when there is some return to normality. If the skies are clear, you have a good chance of seeing something new, in fact seeing new aircraft is a mainstay of the hobby.
Take Food and Drink
As aircraft movements can be subject to the foibles of the weather, with the inherent delays it can cause, you should take some food and drink. I’ve sat at some base in the middle of nowhere waiting on a delayed aircraft, really wishing that I’d brought something to eat or drink. It can make all the difference to the experience, cold and wet is bad enough and with the addition of hungry it’s less fun.
Easy Directions
Visiting a new location, you can generally ask for directions to where to spot. A good place to start is social media, there are numerous groups on Google Groups or Facebook who will give help to fellow spotters. Tools like Google Street View and Google Maps also help, but in the end a lot of it comes down to common sense.
Spotting Books
There are many books on aviation and true to form there are quite a number of books aimed at plane spotters, from the ubiquitous Civil Aircraft Markings all the way through Military, Airliners, Airline Fleets and a number of other specialist publications. All these books provide a way of logging, generally by underlining or marking an entry on a page.
Check what you need
What do you need to start the hobby, well at its most basic a Pencil, a Notebook and a pair of Binoculars. You can keep your logs online, there are a number of sites that offer the facility. Or you can keep a local copy of a master log and continue to use Pen and Paper, this does have some advantages over online.
Meeting People
People tend to think of spotting as a solitary hobby, that is not the case. In general plane spotters are a fairly gregarios group, don’t be surprised if other spotters engage you in conversation. As a rule, if you are standing on the perimeter of an airfield taking photographs and writing down numbers, there is a good chance that you are going to meet others doing the same thing.
Check Lists
These can be worth carying, it can assist you in identifying a new sighting and can also save wading through every registration that you logged that day to check. Although many of the lists that used to be published are no longer available, there are still some available from specialist publishers like Air Britain.
Photographic Equipment
As far as taking photographs goes, what I would say is – you can spend what you want. I have a number of cameras and the best one is the one I have in my hand at the time, when the shot is there you have to use what you have. There are reviews of cameras on the site, they are my own personal reviews of my equipment and I will cover photographic equipment in some detail in the blog.