Aircraft spotting
Aircraft spotting, or planespotting, is a
History and evolution
Aviation enthusiasts have been watching airplanes and other aircraft since aviation began. However, as a hobby (distinct from active/wartime work), planespotting did not appear until the second half of the 20th century.[1]
During World War II and the subsequent Cold War some countries encouraged their citizens to become "planespotters" in an "observation corps" or similar public body for reasons of public security. Britain had the Royal Observer Corps which operated between 1925 and 1995. A journal called The Aeroplane Spotter was published in January 1940. The publication included a glossary that was refined in 2010 and published online.[2]
The development of technology and global resources enabled a revolution in plane-spotting.
Techniques
When spotting aircraft, observers generally notice the key attributes of an aircraft, such as a distinctive noise from its engine, the number of contrails it is producing, or its callsign. Observers can also assess the size of the aircraft and the number, type, and position of its engines. Another distinctive attribute is the position of wings relative to the fuselage and the degree to which they are swept rearwards. The wings may be above the fuselage, below it, or fixed at midpoint. The number of wings indicates whether it is a monoplane, biplane or triplane. The position of the tailplane relative to the fin(s) and the shape of the fin are other attributes. The configuration of the landing gear can be distinctive, as well as the size and shape of the cockpit and passenger windows along with the layout of emergency exits and doors.[3]
Other features include the speed, cockpit placement, colour scheme or special equipment that changes the silhouette of the aircraft. Taken together these traits will enable the identification of an aircraft. If the observer is familiar with the airfield being used by the aircraft and its normal traffic patterns, he or she is more likely to leap quickly to a decision about the aircraft's identity – they may have seen the same type of aircraft from the same angle many times. This is particularly prevalent if the aircraft spotter is spotting commercial aircraft, operated by airlines that have a limited fleet.
Spotters use equipment such as
Spotting styles
Some spotters will note and compile the markings, a national insignia or airline livery or logo, a squadron badge or code letters in the case of a military aircraft. Published manuals allow more information to be deduced, such as the delivery date or the manufacturer's construction number. Camouflage markings differ, depending on the surroundings in which that aircraft is expected to operate.
In general, most spotters attempt to see as many aircraft of a given type, a particular airline, or a particular subset of aircraft such as business jets, commercial airliners, military and/or general aviation aircraft. Some spotters attempt to see every airframe and are known as "frame spotters." Others are keen to see every registration worn by each aircraft.
Ancillary activities might include listening-in to
The hobbyist might travel long distances to visit different airports, to see an unusual aircraft, or to view the remains of aircraft withdrawn from use.
Aircraft registrations can be found in books, with online resources, or in monthly magazines from enthusiast groups. Most spotters maintained books of different aircraft fleets and would underline or check each aircraft seen. Each year, a revised version of the books would be published and the spotter would need to re-underline every aircraft seen. With the development of commercial aircraft databases spotters were finally able to record their sightings in an electronic database and produce reports that emulated the underlined books.[6]
Legal ramifications
The legal repercussions of the hobby were dramatically shown in November 2001 when fourteen aircraft spotters (twelve British, two Dutch) were arrested by
As airport watch groups
In the wake of the targeting of airports by terrorists, enthusiasts' organisations and police in the UK have cooperated in creating a code of conduct for planespotters, in a similar vein to guidelines devised for
The organisation of such groups has now been echoed in parts of North America. For example, the
In 2009, a similar airport watch group was organized between airport security and local aircraft spotters at
Extraordinary rendition
Following the events of
See also
- Bus spotting
- Car spotting
- Train spotting
- Satellite watching
References
- ^ Amateur plane-spotting during WWII increased, e.g. in Colchester VT in 1944, "Among the several Chief Observers during both airwatches, Mrs. Ida Stetson carried the greatest number of hours. Early in 1944, Mrs. Nellie Heath, Mrs. Martha St. Amour, Mrs. Bessie Stanley and Mrs. Frances Sweeney received merit awards for more than 300 hours of planespotting." In Ruth Wright Paulsen, History of the Town of Colchester (Burlington VT: Queen City Printers, 1963), 168. The numbers of groups and spotters increased through the 1950s and '60s, often being compared to amateur bird-watchers, but with strong associations with wartime, especially World War II. See e.g. Ann Angel Eberhardt, "Plane Spotting in the 1950s", Small Town Memories (blog on Shenango Valley PA): https://bissella9.wordpress.com/plane-spotting-in-the-1950s/; also discussed regarding Kansas in the 1950s/60s in Richard J. Loosbrock, The History of the Kansas Department of American Legion (Topeka: Kansas Department of the American Legion, 1968), 152.
- ^ "Glossary". aeroplanemonthly.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 February 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
- ^ Belz, John (11 October 2014). "Tricycles versus Taildraggers". disciplesofflight.com.
- ^ "Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map".
- ^ "Plane Spotters at Dublin Airport" AustrianAviationNet YouTube 1 May 2011
- ^ "Top Photos of Last 24H". planespotters.net. Archived from the original on 11 April 2004.
- ^ "Plane-spotters 'ignored warnings'." BBC News, 25 April 2002. Quote: "Note-taking in conjunction with other activities may be detrimental (to Greek security)."
- ^ "Greek court convicts plane-spotters." BBC News, 26 April 2002. Quote: "The verdict bears no relation whatsoever to the evidence given."
- ^ "How did plane-spotters end up as spies?" BBC News, 26 April 2002. Quote: "I would warn that spotting in Greece is still not particularly liked by the authorities and without our contacts at the Greek Ministry of Defence, which helped on a number of occasions, the trip might have been a little longer than anticipated!"
- ^ "Plane-spotters join terror fight". BBC News. 4 May 2004. Archived from the original on 15 May 2004.
Police and BAA are recruiting aviation enthusiasts to help fight terrorism at London's Heathrow Airport
- ^ "What We Do". ORD Airport Watch. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
- ^ Carcasole, Mark (2 January 2015). "Airport Watch More Than Just a Hobby Group". Global News. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015.
- ^ Lowrie, Morgan (3 September 2016). "Montreal planespotters have fun as well as boosting airport security". CBC News. The Canadian Press.
- ISBN 9781409423805.
- ^ Torture Taxi, Trevor Paglen and A.C.Thompson, Icon Books, UK 2007
External links
- Planespotting at Curlie
- SpottersWiki: The Ultimate Airport Spotting Guide
- Airport Spotting Websites & Resources
- Spotter Guide
- JetPhotos (part of the Flightradar24)
- Planespotters.net
- Spotters.Aero (Ukrainian Spotter's Site)