why are we despised?

[LONGBOW1]

what is it about aircraft spotting that creates such negative reactions from many people? im sick of being branded a geek ,nerd anorak,loser etc if i mention to people my interests include( but are not limited to aircraft spotting), this sort of reaction even extends to people engaged in aviation i was recently staying at a hotel close to aldergrove when i got chatting to a couple of pilots and an engineer employed by a well known charter /scheduled carrier in the bar, when i mentioned i was a keen spotter i was treated with barely concealed contempt, why? i would have thought people who actually work in aviation would understand the fascination it holds for many "outsiders"

[skiddyiom]

I can sympathise there. After "spotting" for some 40+ years, I still get the "nerd, geek, anorak" comments from most people. I work in the industry and they are the worst people for this. The view seems to be that if you take any interest whatsoever in aviation then you are some sort of idiot.

These same people can quote you chapter and verse many and various facts and figures about aviation, regestrations etc but they are NOT interested! Bull****.

My advice is to ignore the people who try to run down your hobby and just get on with it. Stuff the macho idiots who think anything that doesnt involve getting pissed and shagging is nerdy.

Remember, sticks and stones etc!!!

skiddy

[Harrier46]

Same experience as previous posters, I work in the industry and to be frank it is rather insular, a cosy little club which is difficult to get into. And not even the sharpest tools in the box either. I never cease to be amazed at the number of pilot CVs I receive when I am not even an aircraft operator!!

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

LONGBOW1 - You're NOT a geek and there is nothing to be ashamed of for pursuing your hobby. Those who criticise or think badly of us are the real prats, not us.

Don't hide your interest, talk openly about it and you will find a lot of people warm to you and want to talk about it. I know plenty of professional aviation people - some in very senior posts - who collect numbers and thoroughly enjoy their hobby. I stopped writing numbers after a visit to the USA - 10,000 aircraft in a few weeks - but I still enjoy visiting airports and watching aircraft. More power to the "spotters" I say...

[rej]

I fully agree with Heathrow Director.

Many spotters, or avaition enthusiasts as I prefer to hear them referred to as, have subsequently enter the industry and , due to their genuine interest, put a lot more effort into their duties than others who just want a wage-packet.

No harm is done, which is more than can be said of other so-called pastimes and hobbies.

[albatross]

Longbow:
You just keep on doing what you enjoy.
Shame on anyone in the industry who treats you with disrespect.
I always try to be polite and informative to people who have questions.
For the most part they are really quite interesting and fun to talk too.
Strangely enough, I have found, most have no interest at all at becoming pilots or engineers or working in the industry at all.
I even met a guy who was a bus spotter and could ream off all kinds of specs on every bus used in GB.
Carry on Spotting. ( Soon to be a major Motion Picture starring Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson and an appropriately endowed Bimbo )
Cheers
Albatross

[treadigraph]

Carry on Spotting. ( Soon to be a major Motion Picture starring Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson and an appropriately endowed Bimbo )

Shouldn't that be Charles Hawtry, Kenneth Williams, Sid James, Barabara Windsor and Hatti Jacques...? :ok:

I was once branded as "sad" in a pub by a young colleague because I was carrying a copy of Pilot - he was carrying a copy of FHM...

If you enjoy it, do it.

[Rainboe]

Longbow- a lot of people in the industry are there because they love aeroplanes. Pilots especially. I think you will find they were once spotters to a degree themselves- I certainly was whenever I had the chance. Not reggie spotting myself, but just hearing the whine and smelling the jet fuel smells and exhausts at airports. I went on to fly professionally for 34 years (and maybe more to come). Having been one myself, I was always friendly to them, and have chatted with them many times over the years. When my flying days are over, I will be back occasionally on the 'other' side of the fence to see things like A380 and other new ones. I always had a wave for the people at the fence of that pub at MAN.

Don't be disheartened, don't be embarrassed. We share a common interest and love. Unfortunately there are a lot of people in the industry who find the public a nuisance. There are zealous security people who find the public a nuisance. They are 'splinters on the bannister of life'. Enjoy your hobby with no apologies to anyone! It's a bloody sight more fun than stamp collecting, beer mat collecting, watching trashy videos, football, cricket, going to the gym, horse racing, decorating................

[Ronaldsway Radar]

Skiddy -

we get it the worst as we're on the good ol' Isle of Man!
Oh the flak i have had in the past !!! :D

But we still carry on spotting, for many of us, the starter of a long career in aviation......!

RR

[haughtney1]

Ive been a spotter for as long as I can remember.......:D

[Richard Taylor]

I like nothing better than rummaging in the long grass at ABZ with me zoom lens...

:ok:

[paddyboy]

In my experience you will find the majority of pilots are 'closet' spotters...

Most think that because it's their profession they cannot be referred to as anoraks.

Wrong...

I have witnessed some very mature & experienced female/male aviators almost wet themselves with excitement when something unusual or exotic appears in the cockpit window.:8

As for me?

My only interest is keeping an eye out for any conflicting traffic...;)

[Bart O'Lynn]

Well spotting at (then) ringway cost me my o levels but i still made it to 13000 hrs and the left seat of a jet. No thanks to the uk system and boys club mentioned earlier. **** em . I still go and watch aircraft and wonder at how fortunate i am to do what i do.

[PT6ER]

Not a spotter my self but have a huge interest in the field that pays my mortgage...aerospace.

It is sad (in my experience) to see how workers in this industry are getting less and less interested in the business. In the engine companies that I have worked for, the new college grads have no idea or desire about the product, only their piece of FEM or CFD software. It is like they are missing a large part of the "ground work" needed for a fulfilling career i.e. an interest!!

Keep on spotting and keep on being interested. The feeling is even better when the hardware you see taking off or landing came from your own imagination and experience...more power to you!!

PS Does Ian Allen still do those books listing tail numbers?? I was a spotty (kid) spotter for a few years :ok:

[MerchantVenturer]

It is refreshing to hear so many people in the industry, some obviously of quite mature years, speak so enthusiastically about aviation and so warmly towards 'spotters' in this thread.

I am fairly mature myself, having been born towards the end of WWII, and have always had a general interest in aviation, though never been in the business. It is only in comparatively recent years, since my early retirement, that I have been able to indulge this interest more fully.

I am not a spotter in the sense that I collect a/c numbers. I just enjoy seeing aircraft fly, especially taking off and landing, and I am more interested in the capability of a type than with its number. I also enjoy the atmosphere of airports, large or small.

Although I don't collect numbers I do tend to remember aircraft that are named. Back in the 1980s, for example, Britannia called many of their B 737-200s after famous Britons, or at least famous people who had a connection with Britain and usually, though not always, with aviation - Jean Batten I believe was a New Zealander.

I also remember flying on Britannia's Sir Arthur Whitten Brown, The Hon CS Rolls, Ernest Shackleton, Florence Nightingale (and on a KLM MD 11 of the same name), Sir John Alcock, Sir Frederick Handley Page, Viscount Trenchard, Amy Johnson, Lord Brabazon of Tara, George Stephenson and Sir Thomas Sopwith. However, the most unusual name on a Britannia 732 that I travelled on was something like The O'Neil Hereditary Ruler of Ulster.

[G-LOST]

I think 'despised' is too strong a word. I for one, am not a spotter, although I enjoy watching aircraft - otherwise i wouldn't have started flying them. But I must say that I am a little 'perplexed' by the whole spotting hobby, registrations and all. I think it is a peculiarly British thing.

To give an example, recently I was early for work and couldn't be bothered going straight to the crew-room, so I drove up to the local spotter zone. Like everyone else, I hopped out of the car to watch an oncoming jet fly directly overhead in gusty and demanding conditions. There were a couple of spotters nearby. I was surprised to see them jump back in their cars and start scribbling down the registration (I assume) as soon as the a/c went overhead. I for one, was interested in the crosswind landing, but these guys didn't even look up at the critical moment. So I must assume that, in their case at least, collecting the registration was more interesting than the aircraft, the mechanics of flight or the skill or otherwise of the pilot. Strange.

Having said that, I recently flew with a new First Officer and was amazed by his lack of knowledge of aircraft types. Within the space of 10 minutes he asked me what type a jetstream 41 in front of us was (not necessarily a sin) and then asked me whether a 737-300 was a 757! I am increasingly worried that Daddys are putting their sons and daughters through the likes of Oxford simply to get them into a career. What happened to the kids who loved to watch aircraft, became addicted to the smell of kero, scrimped and saved their way into a cockpit and finally landed a flying job. The real enthusiasts. Don't seem to see many of them around the place these days, at least not airside of the fence!

LOST

[LowNSlow]

Also don't forget that without the Spotters support the admission fee to the PFA Rally / Flying For Fun would be even more expensive. Carry on spotting people!

[southender]

I see nothing wrong in aircraft spotting as a hobby.

My own interest in aviation started as a progression from bus spotting and then train spotting. In the 1950's spotting of all varieties was common amongst youths particularly as there were a limited number of other interest available, television being for the privileged few and computer games still unheard of.

A group of us used to cycle all over the home counties from South Essex and regularly visited Stapleford, Southend, Stansted, Heathrow and I remember one epic journey that took in Stansted, Hatfield, Panshanger, Radlett and Luton all in one day by bike. The Roof Gardens at Heathrow were packed every weekend and there was always a rush to be amongst the first in to get the best viewing positions.

I still have my 1956 Ian Allen Civil Aircraft Registrations book, well thumbed and underlined and still buy each edition as it is published.

My interest in collection registrations ended when I discovered another hobby - girls! Even in the early Sixties it was not cool to be known as a spotter.

These days, however, I collect photographs and books and harbour a secret ambition to write a detailed history of Southend Airport, although I doubt that will actually happen.

Back to spotters, generally they accumulate a tremendous knowledge of their subject, which tends to be aired only amongst like types and if there was a way to channel this for the public perhaps the ridicule might cease. After all anyone with a thorough knowledge of, say Shakespeare, would'nt be considered an "anorak", but would probably appear on Mastermind as a genius.

The sad thing is that all the knowledge I have accumulated will be lost when I pass on as my children have their own lives and will consign all my "junk", as they call it, to the bin.

Still, there is hope as my two year old grandson can already recognise a contrail at 30,000 feet!

Cheers in nostalgia

Southender

[Kestrel_909]

Perhaps jealousyWe can enjoy it more than they do and turn off when we want and don't have to get up at 4am in the winter :E

I've never really been into the registration malarky, much more just admiring 180,000kg of aircraft rolling down a runway to 170mph and deciding to get airborne and the sound of 60,000lbst being produced.

HD is certainly one of the friendlier (ex)professionals:ok: I'm glad to say I have met some mature and not so mature professionals who aren't the type who degrade spotters at every opportunity.

[1DC]

Don't worry about it mate. Every kind of spotter usually experiences the same thing. Ignorance is usually the reason, people who haven't got the ability to develop an interest in anything are generally leading dull lives and resent other peoples interests.
Whilst I don't spot on a regular basis, a day out at Manchester with my grandson is a delight to us both. When I was a frequent business flyer I would always book an airport hotel with a view of the runway, if i had to stay at the airport. I would arrive early for my flight so i could watch aircraft, long connection times when changing planes was never a bother to me..
Their is so much to see and do at an airport...

[Rainboe]

So there we have it- I think Longbow is looking at the situation rather too negatively or sensitively! Perhaps mild criticism is being taken too hard- remember stamp collectors, butterfly collectors, beer mat collectors, football card collectors....they all come in for a bit of ribbing too!

I have one idea to postulate for comment. This is quite interesting. I watched a documentary recently about autism which suggested ALL males were, by what we define as autistic, autistic to a mild degree. We are familiar, thanks to Rainman, with the qualities of autism, and I'm inclined to agree it is something all us fellahs may actually suffer from. Look at the above hobbies.....virtually all male passtimes completely, and the mere fact of logging reggies/train numbers/Norbert Dentressangles/Eddie Stobart lorry names for no other reason than to keep a list probably shows a mild form of what we are talking about!

So am I spouting rubbish?

PS Women don't get away Scot-free. They've got hormones instead! Which is worse?

[Flock1]

Hi G-LOST!

Remember me - your ex-PPL student from LBA?

I take it you're a captain nowadays! Well done! Is it still on the E135/45? Have you even set foot inside a C152 since moving to the 'big stuff?'

Is SH a captain yet?

Regards

Flock1

PS. To the starter of this thread, sorry about sending this off on a tangent. I'm sure it'll return back on track soon enough.

[flash8]

As a young Kid I spent many a happy weekend at the top of the multi storey car park at Gatwick with my airband radio (still remember the model... SHARP FX213AU :) ).. people often came up to me to ask what was the next plane coming down the ILS was (I assume they were waiting for family/friends!)

I never felt I were sad... however I have to admit I didn't really pursue the hobby much after Eighteen (University got in the way).

I fly now professionally, however those were great days, and a "spotting" holiday wouldn't be amiss if I had the time!

I for one, like many people I work with were or are spotters. Actually spotters brings kind of negative connotations - I prefer enthusiast.

I mean people watch F1... are they sad?

[Onan the Clumsy]

So we're really talking about two things here

(1) Writing down and collecting registration numbers, which I have to admit is a little ...ahem... esoteric

(2) Watching aeroplanes, small and large, learning and collecting information about different types, usage, deployment, development, interesting technical details etc etc.


I worked in the industry for a while and I saw mostly people who didn't really give a crap about aircraft (I was in IT) there were a few that were very engaged in the subject and a broad mifddle ground of people who knew alot, but because it was their job. THey would know all the spark plug types if they worked in an auto parts store.

Having said that, I think the world would be, at the very least a more logical place if industries everywhere were filled with enthusiasts. Then again I really have little love for computers.

I do like the autism + lists vs hormones comment though :E

[Krystal n chips]

Some interesting views here. Depends how you define a "spotter" I suppose. The predilection for collecting s/no or regs is one that I find hard to understand in mature adults---in my younger days, yep, as it was fostering my interest in aviation. I suppose I had better add here that I still invariably glance up at an aircraft when I see one however--- have done for years and will continue to do so I am pleased to say.

The term "aviation enthusiast" is much more valid however given that a significant number of these people have a detailed knowledge about many sectors of aviation and are usually an invaluable source--and not just in a historical context.

Interesting point from G-LOST as well re his F/O---I don't think he's as unique as you might think. I often encounter (ed) many pilots and engineers for whom aviation was simply "a job"--and that was it. Now as I have always been interested in anything aviation related and not just the airlines, I found this a little difficult to understand at times--given that it's not the sort of industry that you simply just drop into by chance as it were--although possibly to-day that's probably no longer true.

Not to mention the fact that serious enthusiasts are also pretty good as a "volunteer security" around airports / fields given they would be the first to notice something out of the ordinary would they not.

The only criticism I would level against some of them is when they grab their "20 secs of fame" whenever an incident occurs and some equally vacuous journo wants a sound bite from an eye-witness. Unlike the more measured response to serious questions from those involved in the industry posed by serious journos that is.

[msexyjet]

Dont let them get you down, I have 2 children and on a regular bais would tell them we are going to london to Heathrow to watch the planes when they were younger it was ok, but later they got wise mum was a plane spotter and thought I was mad, anyway the way to cure this was to become cabin crew at 39 and that did it for and now im doing my ppl with lots of encouragement from out Flight Deck and the company, and I spend as much time in the cockpit as poss, and love it it has not cured me just made me believe in myself that I can do it, and yes on the way to work still plane spot and can tell you all the registrations etc etc. I LOVE PLANE SPOTTING. So enjoy and take no notice of the narrow minded people who fly the skys, and believe me security only wished they could.

[akerosid]

I think the one point I would raise is that people who "despise" spotters may have nothing to be passionately interested in, themselves. That's the sad part; if people criticise you for being an anorak, airplane geek etc, ponder (or even ask) what they are passionate about. Life is too long a journey to go through it without being passionate about something.

The Chinese curse, "may you live in interesting times" is one thing, but a much worse curse would be to go through life without having any real joy, anything to make your heart beat a little faster, to throw yourself into. That's what aviation is to me; it's more than just photography; it's an incredibly wide area that can actually take in many other areas.

So, when I'm standing in a field beneath the 09L approach tomorrow, people may see a geek, but it'll be someone who is just exercising one particular part of his hobby. And someone who'd be an awful lot happier if the 27s were in use. Well, you can't have everything!

[Caslance]

Anyone who wishes to call 6ft and 20 stone of Caslance a geek is quite welcome to try.

But you'd better have an encyclopeadic knowledge of British aircraft of the 1950s............................ ;)

[JAF0]

What happened to the kids who loved to watch aircraft, became addicted to the smell of kero, scrimped and saved their way into a cockpit and finally landed a flying job.

were still here, well i know i am, im doing my ppl(h) and hopefully my cpl(h), if I wasnt raised at an airport fence (well not completley but you know what I mean) then I probably wouldnt be insane enough to spend €80,000+ on a career.

sadly though, I do know one or two guys who want to fly heavies purely for money.

[seacue]

Once in ever so seldom I go to a picnic spot off the end of the runway at K---. What impresses me is the number of 20-something females who show up with their small children to watch the planes.

They probably aren't just waiting for the phone call to pick up daddy at the airport since the access road is one-way away from the airport. It would take negotiating a a maze of raods to get back.

Spotters, nerds, geeks, anoraks? Not really, but they must have some aviation interest.

[Jerricho]

I would be lying through my teeth to say I haven't stood next to "one of the despised" ( ;) ) on top of the Queens Building at Heathrow listening to their scanner. And the knowledge base/aircraft recognition of some of the guys and gals I have spoken to is amazing as is the level of enthusiasm shown. I have certainly learnt a thing or two from them, or had an aircraft call in that is a little out of the ordinary and thought "Hey, I remember old mate telling me something about that!"

You guys and gals keep doing what you do, and ignore anyone who wants to tell you otherwise. :ok: Chances are if I'm around, I'll be looking up as well.

[Tom the Tenor]

Ever been to Carmen, Manitoba and if so what is it like?

Funny that the TV shows about airports never seemed to do a bit about spotters? Too busy chasing the airside ambulances?

[G-LOST]

Flock1

Gidday mate. Email me, same old address.

LOST

[woodpecker]

I still have my Ian Allans's 1961 edition of "Civil Aircraft Markings" with all the "copped" registrations underlined.

It did me no harm and eventually led to 35 years flying the things out of Heathrow. Anyone interested in a few old log books? Tridents, 757's. 767's and 777's.

[paulc]

slightly off track but on South Today last night was a piece on roundabout spotters who were visiting Basingstoke to research info for a possible book.

[brookbj]

Interesting thread - I don't think I've ever been "despised" for being a spotter. I've been the source of amusement many times, the object of interest frequently, and questioned by the police once (EWR, watching the CO E145s while waiting for a flight to BHX).

I've been all over the world - Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Hong Kong, Singapore, Melbourne, Toronto, Vancouver and more US cities than I care to remember and I've always done the tourist things as well as chasing the numbers. I know my list of overseas visits pales into insignificance compared to some, but I enjoy myself and I've been to many more places than some of my non-spotting friends.

But it's not just the numbers - I'm just as happy sitting at the end of a runway photographing the inbounds, even if I only "make" one or two all day. Likewise, watching sheer brute force make something weighing tons effectively weightless is still something I marvel at. Just how do C-5s fly? It never looks like they're trying hard enough.

Off to Fairford this weekend for a good deafening - hope to see many of you there!

Regards

Jim

[The Cameraman]

Interesting thread going on here.

I started spotting at Blackpool when around 8yr old. Continued until I discovered the female form, where my efforts took a different direction!

Returned to the hobby as a photographer and have travelled widely as a result.

I always enjoy visiting the US as, wherever I go, I notice people watching my actions but always wary of approaching. As soon as I make conversation with them I discover they're fascinated by the hobby. I believe the term 'Tail number collector' is used in the States.

I reckon the only other nation to follow spotting, to the levels in the UK, are the cloggies!

Anyway I get paid to shoot my favourite subjects;

1) fast jets at air shows.
2) flying boats and float planes.
3) motorsport events.
4) model portfolio's.

Yes the latter is my particular favourite but what do you expect?

Fast jets, slow props, fast bikes and faster women!

Regards

Reggie (AKA The Cameraman)

[sir.pratt]

working at an airport, and flying 172's, atm i'm getting plenty of casual spotting in, but the most memorable was sitting on the car aprk roof top at kai tuk, watching the big jets, i even got a classic sky shot of a KLM 742 crossing the road at about 400ft above the mcd's

[Space_odyssey]

Most professional pilots do have a genuine interest in aviation at the start, otherwise they wouldn`t go through all the crap needed to gain their ATPL !

I will say however that the interest CAN wear off when you`re working in that environment everyday, so much as to say it gets fairly tedious at times. I think this is probably a major reason why "spotters" get that reaction from ppl working within the aviation industry especially. We simply just forget what we were like at the start and don`t understand how ppl can get so enthusiastic about it !

[WaterMeths]

I fully agree that this thread is interesting, I have lots of time for aircraft spotters, and can't really understand the "ribbing" they get from professionals in the industy. I live close to manchester airport and have done for pretty much the whole of my life. My interest in aviation almost definately started as a result from the tender age of six or seven.

I have endured many times sitting around in the freezing cold, writing down numbers with my pals. It hasn't done me any long term harm! In fact a career change at 30, with ATPL and now flying the B.737 I can really think back, reflecting on how lucky I was to be bitten by the bug.

Keep it up you lot, it is nice to have keen enthusiasts looking on as I taxi past.

[bluebird121]

Don't bother about these people who look down on you..they are not any better than you just remember that and keep on spotting..there is no harm in it whatsoever..i too enjoy watching aircraft..and helicopters around where i stay but i don't bother what they think..i enjoy it .and whenever i fly anywhere on holidays i always wear my PPRuNe badge..:ok:

[Rushton]

Spotter for 37 years. Ignore the flak form others. One man's meat is another's poison etc.

What can be better than sitting on a summer's afternoon at a rather lovely Dorset airfield with a pint, the Sunday paper and jotting down the passing planes. Mind you in the past have been almost unable to write when standing at perimeter fence in the late 60s at Heathrow in January - huge block letters with pen gripped in fist.

[surely not]

I was a train spotter in the days of steam engines, well the end of steam :O , then moved on to aircraft spotting until about 18.
However I have kept a strong interest in aircraft photography and have been fortunate to have worked in aviation for the last 29 years.

Looking back through the many photos and seeing the pictures of Gatwick with a North side GA Terminal full of single engine piston a/c, a Miles Gemini, a based Miles Messenger and grass and woodland where the 140 stands are now, the horseshoe ramp from the A23 up to the terminal, is looking at History as well as aviation.

Looking at the variety of aircraft types around as late as the early 1980's is fascinating as well, not to mention the number of airlines that have come and gone. At the smaller end of the scale the differences are only just coming through with the new 'kitplanes' breaking the monopoly of Piper and Cessna that existed for 30 years or so.

I am amazed most days to see a significant crowd of interested people lining the fence at Kotoka International (Accra) watching aircraft movements. A couple of AN124's have been around recently and I cannot help but stand and watch when they take off.................. an awesome sight.

The fact that I have an interest in aircraft has kept me in the industry. I would hate to be in a job which I wasn't interested in.

[PPRuNe Pop]

You just keep on doing what you enjoy. Always remember. Everyone of us on here was once a spotter. Some, for some stupid reason don't actually like to admit it but they were and still are. Even the most solid of FD crew will still turn their heads when the hear the sound of a passing aircraft.

Remember this also. We will support you at all times on this forum - so just enjoy eh? ;) :D

[bluebird121]

I have some photos which i took whilst travelling from Glasgow to Barcelona from the window of the Boeing737 including some shots on take off and landing ..i really enjoyed taking them..hopefully you will see them if you visit this site.. http://photobucket.com/albums/y3/bluebird121/#: :cool

[Frosty Hoar]

I just dont get the numbers thing- aircraft enthusiasts are different as modern aircraft are a great spectacle, but numbers ??

Sorry but it borders on obsessive behaviour, you collect numbers and then what do you have, a collection of numbers yee haa :8

[Rainboe]

Different strokes for different folks! I look on stamp collecting as an anti-social obsessive (and selfish) passtime. I mean stamps- buy 'em, stick em on a letter and kiss 'em goodbye! What is the fascination? But if people enjoy it, that's their business, and it keeps them off the streets troublemaking, so buy a big album and fill yer boots. But if they cause no problem, great- it really worries me not a bit and I have never sounded off about it before. I don't understand it. I do understand keeping train and aeroplane numbers. They don't cause trouble- let them enjoy!

I had a daughter that used to collect Strawberry Shortcake dolls. Other kids collect Cabbage Patch kids, My Little Pony crap paraphernalia and more. It's their business! As long as they don't mug old ladies to indulge their hobby, let them jump in with both feet without others making rude comments to spoil it for them! After all, we are internet obsessives taking it out on Pprune- how would we feel if they criticised us? So why don't we just let everybody indulge their hobby without trying to put them on some guilt/apology trip?

[smudgethecat]

yes, i really struggle to understand what drives people to spend so much time and effort in collecting numbers what is it all about? i can understand people collecting stamps, matchboxes, dolls etc, i can understand people taking photos and being interested in the technical aspects, but numbers?? really does sound like something you would normally grow out of at about ten years of age(no offence meant)

[Omaha]

I definitely think it's more an of a mans hobby than a womans. Figured that out after joining an aviation club in Ireland. There were very few women involved & I began to understand why when I'd recieve their newsletter usually delivered six months late. Page after page was full of aircraft registrations & contributers would get awful excited over aircraft livery & aircraft movements as if it were the last thing on earth.

It just wasn't my scene at all & to try to get them to divert from this to become actively involved in other areas of aviation such as airshows, musemns, behind the scenes @ airports, pleasure flights (they perceived light aircraft as a joke; one member didn't perceive flying to Hong Kong on a regular basis & spending the whole week encounced around the airport spotting as not? :confused: ) was like trying to wake the dead.

Everyone to their own, it's usually a harmless enough activity (try telling the Greeks that) but personally it did nothing for me & I did perceive it as obsessive & nerdy. They appeared to live, breathe & eat their hobby. Wouldn't be the first type of men I'd be attracted to either. Sorry. :O

Perhaps part of the problem is that pilots tend to be can do, action types while spotters tend to be more passive types (& that is a major understatement) hence the clash & lack of understanding & respect between them, well eh barr the pilots that are spotters too, not to mention the general public (blimey this is getting confusing).

Still being a member did get me a few jumpseat rides off my own bat (I preferred to planespot from up there ;) ) & entrance to an absolutely brilliant airshow so something worthwhile did come out of it. :ok:

P.S. I think there's a big difference from turning your face skyward when hearing an aircraft, something I'll admit to do & being a planespotter. The two just aren't the same. :confused:

But if that's what you perceive a spotter to be well hell then I must be a spotter. :rolleyes:

[ACL1011]

Bah, there are always going to be people who think your hobby is 'weird' or 'useless' or 'a waste of time'. Lord knows people wonder at most of my hobbies, including my enthusiasm for aviation.

I'm not a 'spotter', if we use the definition of tracking registrations etc., I just love watching airliners. It started when I was 4 or 5 years old, when my dad would take my brothers (7 and 9 years older than me) to the airport (Toronto) and I would tag along. I quickly developed the talent of being able to look up in the sky and announce, "47" or "DC-9", which wasn't a pastime shared with my girlfriends.

Today, I get to the airport early for flights so I can wander and admire. Twice a year I head to the airport for the sole purpose of watching the planes from the T1 parking lot. Gah! :ugh: They closed that parking lot. Anyone know where a good onsite spotting area at Pearson is now?

[VC10 Rib22]

G-LOST,

don't tar us all with the same brush, some of us at Oxford absolutely love aircraft and aviation in general. Having said that, there are quite a few people here who do see flying purely as a career. When swapping aircraft stories with the instructors you can hear them chuckling away and see them rolling their eyes mockingly. I often wonder why they are even here - as someone mentioned earlier, it's hardly a career you just fall into, is it ?
As for that F.O., in years gone by it would have been hand off throttle, hand on the back of said F.O.'s head.


All spotters,

Keep doing what you love. I fully understand your passion and, if I'm honoured enough to get in a cockpit, will acknowledge you with a wave.

VC10 Rib22 (currently studying Radio Navigation, or at least trying to, the situation being somewhat hindered by aural detection of Conways whining, causing me to open the blind and look at a beloved VC10 as it passes once more on approach to Brize Norton)

VC10 Rib22

[Jetstream Rider]

At the PFA rally a few years ago, My Dad and I flew in, in a lovely Super Cub in military markings. A chap wandered up and asked to look inside - we were more than welcoming, expecting to let him jump in and show him around. All he did was look at the registration plate and wander off. We thought it strange.

Having said that, I take an interest in aviation, I love watching aircraft and am happy to encourage and help people.

As for spotting - no problem.

The annoying thing is, when a spotter comes up and tries to unload his encyclopaedic knowledge on you, as if he is the only one who knows. I have spoken to many and instead of an interesting discussion, you get a monologue of what he knows.

I go to a fair few airshows with the BA mobile sim, and I am always happy to chat and encourage (that is my only reason for doing it). However, I would love to strangle the odd monologue man!!

Apart from that, there is a very British disease of frowning on success or knowledge - and that is where the "despisement" comes from.

A few months ago I went to the model engineer exhibition at Ali Pali. I was the youngest there (almost!). For those who don't know model engineering is about steam engines and rockets, not about plastic kits. I Thought it a real shame that when the generation there is gone, the skills will have gone too. Its a real pity.

PS when I wave, please wave back!

[Sven Sixtoo]

When I was 3 1/2 my father (WW2 Halifax nav RAF) used to take me to the Joint station to look at the A4 Pacifics. After a bit the only way to get the screaming brat out of the station was to get on a train. The shortest stop was to Dyce. After a couple of occasions I found that there were these interesting things called aeroplanes on the other side of the fence (this was in the days when the pax terminal was on the east side next to the Gander- Dower building).

One thing led to another and now I'm looking forward to my RAF pension.

In between I have looked at aircraft of all sorts anytime and everywhere (there are some really dangerous bits on Britain's motorways - Filton, M25 J12, M40 by Wycombe, M42 by Birmingham, M1 by Wittering, Kegworth (always sad, like M74 by Lockerbie) and a whole chunk of the A1 through Yorkshire).

Spotters - anyone in aviation who doesn't has missed something along the way. Its more than a job.

Spotters - not everyone has the luck to get what I have had from flying. If you take pleasure from looking and logging - good luck.

Sven

[Rhys S. Negative]

To those who ask 'why?':

you could ask the same question to those who go to a cricket match or baseball game and fill in their own scoresheet... or like to keep sporting statistics about their favourite teams and players...

or anyone who keeps a personal diary or journal. I've met people who like to keep records of when the apple blossom comes out ('earlier this year than last') or they hear the proverbial first cuckoo.

Me, I like to record the changing airlines and types at Heathrow (regretting that I was too young for the piston era); I can tell you which aeroplanes I saw at Shoreham 30 years ago (5-Aug-75), and feel some pleasure at remembering it (the 'star cop' was a B-25, to save you asking).

My interest in aviation having been sparked by my first passenger flight, aged 10, I was keen to visit my local airfield; by looking up the registrations in Civil Aircraft Markings, I learned to tell an Apache from an Aztec from a Seneca etc, and took some pride in doing so. That useful little Ian Allan publication had a blank column headed 'where and when seen' - so that's how it started.

I have to agree that I've met some borderline-OCD types while practising the hobby over the last 35 years (including 27 while working in the aircraft industry and 12 as a PPL); I've also met many knowledgable, friendly and fun chaps too. I also agree with Omaha that female participants are very rare - more's the pity - though I've met some very nice ones at Schiphol.

Actually, I've always found that you meet the nicest people around aeroplanes - so who can blame spotters, in their own way, for wanting to be part of the scene? And a spotter's logbook preserves those happy memories of days spent on airfields.

Rhys.

[delta-golf]

Ego is a big pilot thing, lets face it, flying takes a lot of confidence and is attractive to type-A personalities. What you experience is often the negative side of that, and hopefully restricted to a few idiots.

However, this hierarchical desire is not only directed at spotters. let me for example suggest that flying a light twin piston, in IMC, single pilot, can be a lot trickier than the big boys, with their stable platform, advanced avionics, autopilots and autothrottles as well as someone else in the cockpit to bounce off of, the cabin crew, engineers loaders, despatchers, schedulers, flight planners etc etc that exist in their team... let me suggest that.... light the blue touch paper...and stand back !!

[Bus429]

I have been interested in aviation - particularly vintage aviation - since childhood. I've worked in the industry for 28 years.
Spotting doesn't blow what little hair I have back; that said, it is a harmless hobby so carry on and sod the critics.
I know a few pilots and engineers who are spotters and they appear well balanced (well, almost ;) )

PS - While working at Duxford years ago, I did witness an enthusiast looking at the data plate attached to a Stearman in a hangar - using binoculars!

[DANTHEMAN77]

what really gets to me is, when you go to places like Heathrow,Gatwick or Stansted, non have viewing galleries now, but all along the perimeter fencing are signs aimed at Spotters to report anything suspicious!

On one hand they cant be bothered with us, but on the other, they would like us to help out with there security!

[JamesT73J]

I think there's a definite subcategory within the enthusiast's domain. I've always loved flying and aircraft in general, and having got into photography in the last three years, I've upped my exposure to the 'scene' rather alot.

One thing I have realised, is that the majority of spotters just aren't interested in aircraft, at all. It's all about the numbers, and I have to say I can't relate to it at all. Familiarity with registrations is a necessity if you're sharing your work at sites like airliners and jetphotos et al, but outside of that I know few photographers that really take an interest in that side of things.

For me it's all about sight, sound, and smell.


James

[Nearly Man]

I don't hate spotters, seem pretty harmless and looking at planes ain't bad is it? Better than fighting i n pubs ain't it?

Just wish one would take a picture of me landing 26L LGW and post it to me :}

[PilotsPal]

Vanity, vanity, all is vanity......

And you used to be such a simple creature, happy to merge into the background (all the better to watch the pretty ladies!).

[Nearly Man]

Tis true Pilots Pal ... I am a dandy now, damn my eyes :}

Right you lot, get snapping, this Sat and Sun afternoon, 757 with big blue tail :=

[haughtney1]

Also..any spotters with a vibration monitor....when nearly man lands.....watch the counter register..a small earthquake...:E

[B Sousa]

Just happened to surf this subject to see what it was about. Very Interesting that folks gave "spotters" those associative names.
I really never thought of it before as in the states its sort of quiet when it comes to spotting. I met the first ones who were from the UK down at Mojave California. I have been flying for over 35 years and these folks knew more about planes than I did. Type model etc. Very interesting.
Along those lines there are lots of folks in the states who hunt crashes. Now that interests me. We have a lot of planes that have never been found, in fact in California alone it appears many hundred.
I have some websites for Historical wrecks if someone wishes to PM for them or my email is good......