What do the number writers do with the information they collect?
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What do the number writers do with the information they collect?
I'm sorry if this sounds like a silly question, but as a pilot I can't wrap my head around this one and would love to know the answer.
I am aware there are different types of spotter.
The photographers, the listeners, the casual observers, but it is the notepad holding reg collectors that intrigue me.
I was at the North Weald classic fly in on the weekend just gone, with my aircraft, a Sportcruiser/Pipersport.
Stood by it, few had any questions to ask me. Most asked if I would mind standing out of the way whilst they photographed it, but many leaned around, wrote down the registration and serial number, and without a word shuffled on.
I tried broaching the subject with a couple of these chaps, but apart from discovering that they all seem to possess an encyclopaedic knowledge of aircraft and their individual histories, I didn't get a straight answer.
What do they do with all this data?
Of course, I used to think live and let live, they could be out murdering people in their free time, but this seems to be a peaceful hobby that doesn't hurt anyone. That was until one chap asked my colleague in his best nasal voice (and I'm not baiting, it was very nasal)
"Errrrr, this aircraft was at Connington on" ... flicked through his note pad ... "Wednesday wasn't it?"
Well, yes it was. I flew there. No flight plan and just a polite ppr. It seems a little akin to the aircraft having a stalker.
Do these guys upload the information onto the internet?
Are all my aircraft movements collected in some mutual, shared by all database?
Some of the hangers on the airfield were deliberately left open so these guys could peek in, and on the doors the registrations were listed for them, to save them having to enter the hangers which were off limits.
I asked one chap if he'd ever flown in a Sportcruiser. This was a leading question, as I probably would have taken him for a quick flight just to get the answers to the questions above, but was mystified by his answer.
"Oh no, I have never been for a flight in a small aircraft. I don't think I would like that at all."
The internet is plastered with pictures of me taxiing, flying and even standing by the aircraft.
Really I just want to know where all that data goes, and why do they collect it? Is there an end once they have every registration or is it the movements that they are interested in? If there is a central bank of data, could someone post a link? I'd be very interested to see how the information is displayed.
thnx and apologies if this seems woefully naive, placed in this forum.
I am aware there are different types of spotter.
The photographers, the listeners, the casual observers, but it is the notepad holding reg collectors that intrigue me.
I was at the North Weald classic fly in on the weekend just gone, with my aircraft, a Sportcruiser/Pipersport.
Stood by it, few had any questions to ask me. Most asked if I would mind standing out of the way whilst they photographed it, but many leaned around, wrote down the registration and serial number, and without a word shuffled on.
I tried broaching the subject with a couple of these chaps, but apart from discovering that they all seem to possess an encyclopaedic knowledge of aircraft and their individual histories, I didn't get a straight answer.
What do they do with all this data?
Of course, I used to think live and let live, they could be out murdering people in their free time, but this seems to be a peaceful hobby that doesn't hurt anyone. That was until one chap asked my colleague in his best nasal voice (and I'm not baiting, it was very nasal)
"Errrrr, this aircraft was at Connington on" ... flicked through his note pad ... "Wednesday wasn't it?"
Well, yes it was. I flew there. No flight plan and just a polite ppr. It seems a little akin to the aircraft having a stalker.
Do these guys upload the information onto the internet?
Are all my aircraft movements collected in some mutual, shared by all database?
Some of the hangers on the airfield were deliberately left open so these guys could peek in, and on the doors the registrations were listed for them, to save them having to enter the hangers which were off limits.
I asked one chap if he'd ever flown in a Sportcruiser. This was a leading question, as I probably would have taken him for a quick flight just to get the answers to the questions above, but was mystified by his answer.
"Oh no, I have never been for a flight in a small aircraft. I don't think I would like that at all."
The internet is plastered with pictures of me taxiing, flying and even standing by the aircraft.
Really I just want to know where all that data goes, and why do they collect it? Is there an end once they have every registration or is it the movements that they are interested in? If there is a central bank of data, could someone post a link? I'd be very interested to see how the information is displayed.
thnx and apologies if this seems woefully naive, placed in this forum.
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I collect the numbers for my own fun. I do occasionally photograph aircraft at fly-ins and I sometimes put the pics on the net. My "log" is for my own use and the listings go nowhere except in an Excel spreadsheet on my PC. I get something of a kick out of seeing an aircraft again after a 50-year break. The Dak that crashed in Germany recently I had seen over my parents house in 1957 when I was 13.
No ulterior motive, just fun.... like those collecting steam engine numbers. My wife and I also collect "Eddy" numbers during long-distance car journeys.
No ulterior motive, just fun.... like those collecting steam engine numbers. My wife and I also collect "Eddy" numbers during long-distance car journeys.
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Ah Spread Eagle...Pandoras Box!!
I have been a spotter now for 34 years this year and also work as a loadmaster, I think I added that just to let you know I am sane?
I put all the registrations I note down in a commercially available database that costs me around £100 a year with all the weekly updates it generates. This Db has around 1 million registrations in it, with all the historical data included.
Why do I do it?? That's the big question! and I have yet to find a satisfactory answer
All I can say is that I get an enormous amount of pleasure from it and it's harmless as you say. Why I get an enormous amount of pleasure from it, only a psychiatrist may be able to answer that!
I once read that it is an ancient need instilled in us humans, the hunter/gatherer in us
I have been a spotter now for 34 years this year and also work as a loadmaster, I think I added that just to let you know I am sane?
I put all the registrations I note down in a commercially available database that costs me around £100 a year with all the weekly updates it generates. This Db has around 1 million registrations in it, with all the historical data included.
Why do I do it?? That's the big question! and I have yet to find a satisfactory answer
All I can say is that I get an enormous amount of pleasure from it and it's harmless as you say. Why I get an enormous amount of pleasure from it, only a psychiatrist may be able to answer that!I once read that it is an ancient need instilled in us humans, the hunter/gatherer in us
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Thanks HD, that's all I wanted.
It still seems like a full day's work without pay to me, but I suppose the guy seeing the same plane in the same week in two places was one of those 'Yep I got that one' moments so he mentioned it.
I asked loads of pilots on the day and we were all equally baffled. As long as you guys aren't keeping tabs on us for the CAA, MI5 or our employers then jot on.
Ah, just seen the database answer ... mmm feel a little less happy about it now. I assume it is wiped after 7 years - data protection and all that ???
It still seems like a full day's work without pay to me, but I suppose the guy seeing the same plane in the same week in two places was one of those 'Yep I got that one' moments so he mentioned it.
I asked loads of pilots on the day and we were all equally baffled. As long as you guys aren't keeping tabs on us for the CAA, MI5 or our employers then jot on.
Ah, just seen the database answer ... mmm feel a little less happy about it now. I assume it is wiped after 7 years - data protection and all that ???
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I was once in what was then the Soviet Union, doing a tour of museums etc. We had quite a sophisticated gentleman with us who noted down absolutely everything that he saw, every number that was in a Mig.21's undercarriage bay etc., etc., I made a copy of my videotape for him, which he came to collect. He had his pile of books etc., with him. My wife asked him what he did with all this information. His reply, 'Absolutely nothing!!, But it's there!!'.
We all have our hang-ups. Me, it has always been sunshine, motor racing, aeroplanes and pretty women. With others, it's registrations etc., Harmless.
We all have our hang-ups. Me, it has always been sunshine, motor racing, aeroplanes and pretty women. With others, it's registrations etc., Harmless.
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Even among hard core aviation enthusiasts at East Midlands the spell check doesn't work all the time. The sign at the upper right hand corner can be seen at the gate. 
I'm not into collecting registration numbers of aircraft. During my childhood in the 60s and early 70s we didn't have any airport or railway in my neighbourhood (on an island on the southwest coast of Norway). During the summer months we did have a number of funny cars with the steering wheel on the wrong side and black license plates with silver letters and digits visiting though, and they ended up in my notebook. In the spring of 1975 an airport opened only 8 miles from my home, but with only the familiar DC-9-21s, DC-9-41s, Friendships, Fellowships, Dornier 228s, Twin Otters and now and then an Aero Commander weren't that interesting for a 14-15 year old.
Nowadays I'm collecting UK airports - mind you I have to either fly in to and out of them on scheduled flights to make them count. I'm at 31 UK airports now, and number 32 and 33 are scheduled for September (Kent International/Manston and Newcastle/ Woolsington). JEM60 said something about our hang-ups
I'm not into collecting registration numbers of aircraft. During my childhood in the 60s and early 70s we didn't have any airport or railway in my neighbourhood (on an island on the southwest coast of Norway). During the summer months we did have a number of funny cars with the steering wheel on the wrong side and black license plates with silver letters and digits visiting though, and they ended up in my notebook. In the spring of 1975 an airport opened only 8 miles from my home, but with only the familiar DC-9-21s, DC-9-41s, Friendships, Fellowships, Dornier 228s, Twin Otters and now and then an Aero Commander weren't that interesting for a 14-15 year old.
Nowadays I'm collecting UK airports - mind you I have to either fly in to and out of them on scheduled flights to make them count. I'm at 31 UK airports now, and number 32 and 33 are scheduled for September (Kent International/Manston and Newcastle/ Woolsington). JEM60 said something about our hang-ups
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Do these guys upload the information onto the internet?
Are all my aircraft movements collected in some mutual, shared by all database?
Are all my aircraft movements collected in some mutual, shared by all database?
I will make a note of unusual (to me) registrations - tail numbers we call them here - just to do some googling into individual airframe histories, age, type (if I don't know - I mean who can actually tell Citation models apart ?) but I don't "keep" them afterwards.
I think it's something to do with the hunter-gatherer reptile brain. That's not an insult, nor was it intended to be.
I guess the corresponding question is: why does spotting evoke such emotion (not you personally) in those who do not participate ?
SpreadEagle - why do you assume the database is wiped after 7 years? It is only the sighting of the aircraft that is logged not the pilot / owner name although this information is often available online. As HD says above - part of the fun is seeing a 'new' aircraft only to find that you had seen it previously with another operator in another country. Last year I visited a small town in Wisconsin which has an airfield so a brief visit was made to note a few tail numbers - on checking those seen i was surprised to find one that was based at my local airport during the mid 80's. A case of 'oh that's where it went'.
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"I wouldn't like my daughter to marry one".
My Father-in-law never said such a thing....... possibly because his daughter had been a spotter long before we met! We've been married 43 years and we both still love aeroplanes.
My Father-in-law never said such a thing....... possibly because his daughter had been a spotter long before we met! We've been married 43 years and we both still love aeroplanes.
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"I wouldn't like my daughter to marry one".
The interest is in the eye of the beholder whether its planes , trains, birds, stamps, coins, antiques, etc, etc. What the individual does about it is as varied as life itself. I started spotting in the early/mid-sixties. Nowadays I look for my pleasure, I'm selective about what I like and I note things that interest me. I'm sane (I think), solid and dependable (again, I think) and it has never been presented as an issue. Its far better, more comforting, and less anti-social than many things that people do!
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It's not just visually movements are logged, many logs are generated by SBS/AirNav radarboxes or ACARS decoders although that tends to be for the larger stuff (fitted with Mode-S transponders or ACARS). Good example of that here Heathrow & Gatwick Airport Movements
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Spreadeagle
I was good to say hello last friday.
Much of the data collected by enthusiasts helps organisations like Air-Britain produce the detailed aircraft histories we produce in our publications. Had you been able to join us on over the weekend we could have shown you the level of detail to which some of our researchers and publications go into.
It is by using some of the data gathered by todays enthusiasts that will helps piece together the historical records in the future.
Its not all about producing books for example I was recently contacted by an owner restoring his aircraft and from our members "records" we were able shelp find the correct markings of that his aircraft wore in the early 1950's when it was based in Africa.
The "spotter" fraternity covers a broad church and too much to go into here, perhaps Vic can fill you in further, or I would be happy to meet for a chat (and a flight?) if you want to know more.
Hopefully you can join us next year with your aircraft.
May I take this opportunity to thank all those pilots who did join us over the weeekend at North Weald especially as the conditions were somewhat trying at times
G-APDK
Air-Britain Fly-In Director
I was good to say hello last friday.
Much of the data collected by enthusiasts helps organisations like Air-Britain produce the detailed aircraft histories we produce in our publications. Had you been able to join us on over the weekend we could have shown you the level of detail to which some of our researchers and publications go into.
It is by using some of the data gathered by todays enthusiasts that will helps piece together the historical records in the future.
Its not all about producing books for example I was recently contacted by an owner restoring his aircraft and from our members "records" we were able shelp find the correct markings of that his aircraft wore in the early 1950's when it was based in Africa.
The "spotter" fraternity covers a broad church and too much to go into here, perhaps Vic can fill you in further, or I would be happy to meet for a chat (and a flight?) if you want to know more.
Hopefully you can join us next year with your aircraft.
May I take this opportunity to thank all those pilots who did join us over the weeekend at North Weald especially as the conditions were somewhat trying at times
G-APDK
Air-Britain Fly-In Director
Gnome de PPRuNe
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Ah, the old notebooks, still got most of 'em mouldering in the loft...
I had a pen and paper filing system and started graduating onto a PC database when I lost interest in yer actual spotting...
I just liked aeroplanes, still do, preferably fairly small and old - The Tiger Club hangar at Redhill was a treasure trove in the 1970s and one of my favourite places; and had anyone offered (thanks to Mike Hall who did!) I'd far rather have gone flying in anything than seen something incredibly rare (except maybe a Connie!).
Mind you I still have a mental note of most of the warbirds I've seen over the years, and it's amazing how many reggies I can still remember from well over 25 years ago...
Going for a ride in a Rapide this weekend... ahhhh!
I had a pen and paper filing system and started graduating onto a PC database when I lost interest in yer actual spotting...
I just liked aeroplanes, still do, preferably fairly small and old - The Tiger Club hangar at Redhill was a treasure trove in the 1970s and one of my favourite places; and had anyone offered (thanks to Mike Hall who did!) I'd far rather have gone flying in anything than seen something incredibly rare (except maybe a Connie!).
Mind you I still have a mental note of most of the warbirds I've seen over the years, and it's amazing how many reggies I can still remember from well over 25 years ago...
Going for a ride in a Rapide this weekend... ahhhh!
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Ah, I digress, but i remember it from 15-18 years back when I frequented it with my mate Norman Lees (now sadly departed). A nice place, nice people, with nice planes!
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If there was a planespotter equivalent of this - Train Spotting Simulator - they could all stay at home and do it.
g45
g45