Quick stupid question to all plane spotters

My friend got into flight sim and then so did I. After that I got into plane-spotting and now I am a grade A anorak 🙂

beautiful

I did go to watch the concord and I used to go every month to plane tree hill (lba) but then I used to think that aircrafts were a big heavy piece of stupid boring metal but I still like watching them.

Now I think of planes as beutiful birds.

E.g b737-blue tit

When i was about 4 or 5 going on holiday’s to the med on various Airtours MD83’s etc, although i didn’t know aircraft types until i was about 8 i have always been fasinated by aircraft.

Planned to be like me!?

I became a Aviation Enthusiast by atually flying on a plane in december 2005 and I went on 5 planes! I went on a 777 twice, a320 twice and a b747. Unfortunately at that time I didnt know plane spotting exited! After my holiday I started getting intrested in lba a bit more. I typed in leeds bradford and eventually Key publishing aviation forum came up. I made a account called “I lov lba” but then I decided that my username was rather stupid compared to you lots. So I prepared my final message on I lov lba. I said my cousin was starting up a new airline which flew from lba to isb but that was a fake . I just wanted to see what your reactions were and what would your advice be. Then I made a new account called lba rlz. I planned to be someone like lba rules. I go down to lba every 2 weeks and take videos and they dont upload to my computers.
So i have oonly been a Aviation Enthusiast for 8 months!

I’m not a “plane-spotter.”

I am an Aviation Enthusiast.

Before the family owned a car (50’s), we always went on holiday via the train, therefore train number spotting. Age 11, summer school next to an airfield, RNAS Solent, 22 Sqn. Air Sea Rescue Whirlwinds, I was hooked, I was going to be a pilot and started collecting ‘regies’. Amazing event at this time was going on a spotters bus trip when we stopped at the fence at Kidlington and the bus emptied quicker than an emergency evacuation to ‘pole off’ all the ‘regies’!

It started for me when I was around 7. My Grandfather was a cheif engineer for ANZ so we was always keen to talk to me about everything aviation related. Plus the fact that I had to make a trip from EDI to AKL on numerous lovely big jets just to see my grandparents helped also.

Thanks for your reply HZ – interesting stuff!

Hmmm LBA (or wasn’t it YDN then?) has a lot to answer for. I started spotting there 40years ago and haven’t stopped since. I had a pal at school who was a spotter and I had built Airfix kits as a child and had been fascinated by pics of Stratocruisers and such wonders as B36s in my uncle’s National Geographic mags. We built our own airlines of 1/144 scale kits and we went to LBA to see planes in real life. We caught the train (and a bus that went on forever) to Manchester to see the BEA Vanguards and the big stuff that didn’t go to Yeadon. At our local we had to make do with BKS 748s and Dan Air Ambassadors.
Courtesy of his Gran we even managed a couple of trips to LAP (sorry – Heathrow) so that kept me buzzing for weeks! I was lucky to have family within a bus ride of Prestwick and I spent a few summers hols up there. KLM/SAS/Air Canada DC8s and the odd C97s and C124 Globemasters kept me interested.
My hobby has survived marriage and change of career, it dipped a bit in my young free and single years and again in the mid 70’s when I gave up engineering to work for the Govt. but I never stopped. I have always been a photographer too and I ‘do’ anything that flies.
I’ve been lucky to have a good wife and good employment, which has enabled me to travel most of the world in search of that elusive ‘number’ I’m looking forward to early retirement next year and my colleagues have already given up asking “What are you going to do?”.
BTW – My pal Chris gave up spotting to play the guitar and now has a successful music publishing business – but his son flies fast jets for the RAF so thats OK then!!

Well I never really considered myself a spotter ? Those were geeks with notepads and binoculars, getting excited about having seen the entire fleet of BA tridents in less than a month… (lol) 😀

My interest in commercial aviation came about primarily by my simple fascination with flight and the romance attached to flying and travel. Then one day around 1980, a Loganair pilot came to my primary school to give a talk about his job and I was hooked on planes from that day in. 🙂

Growing up near Glasgow Airport helped too, on weekends off school the options were to either hang about the local shopping centre or hang about the local airport and watch the jets, turbo props and other goodies flying in and out all day. 😎

To be honest I still like to just stand and watch… simple really. 😉 :rolleyes:

Taking pictures, essentially for magazine colaborations

Not such a stupid question at all…..I think I would be backed-up by anyone when I say we probably all have a different reason why we started. In some cases its even questionable as to whether we even started at all, as all will become clear.
I was introduced to aviation and spotting back in 1981 when LBA was my local and the only jet movement was a Britannia Boeing 737 (usually G-BAZI or G-AVRN) and the rest of the time we had to put up with Air Anglia/Air Uk Fokker F-27 Freindships and a a BMI Viscount (G-AZNC & G-BAPF the only two I can remember) – in between all this was a visit from a Dan-Air (thats an old airline for all you young ones) Bae-748 that did the run from Bristol & Cardiff.
I remember a mate at school (aka Neil Ross) said what you doing after school – Im going to the airport, for the sake of it I tagged along. I wasnt even aware that aircraft had registrations let alone it was a hobby to collect them.
I remember buying my first “CAM” (Civil Aircraft Markings) – £1.95 from the airport bookshop and starting to underline in red everything I saw
In 1989 all this stopped as things got out of hand when I went to work airside at Manchester Airport. People will say, are you mad! – no, I found it really frustrating that when not on shift all the things I missed. And when on shift all the things I missed because I was too busy despatching aircraft.
So two years ago after moving back to Yorkshire from the South West I decided that I would expand my aviation photography by underlining once more. I decided that I would only underline what I photographed as an alternative to my original and normal concept of spotting. I constantly argue with my wife as she states I’m a spotter and I say I’m a photographer…..well you decide!

If anyone is interested I have a small Blog (which hasnt been updated for a few weeks) which contains some articles regarding “My Way” of doing things including a wicked system for tracking photographs on your PC relating to aircraft reg/airline etc…
if you follow this link http://www.spottersblog.com/?w=mwphotography

Anyway, just thought I would let you all know my thoughts and inspirations on this marvellous pastime…and on that note…as far as I am concerned – there is no right way, and no wrong way – just your own way.

Mark

i got bored sick of high school went and erolled at collage on an airline and airports operations course a week later im sitting at the AVP at MAN been blown away by the boeing 747.

Ok if your a young lad as i belive you are, do what i did, join your local Air Cadet Sqn which will interest you in aviation. If you want to know more just ask me!

I don’t have time for boredom either.

Add spoiling my grand-daughter rotten to Paul’s list and you’ll understand why! 😉

What’s with you people who come on the Forum and complain of being bored?
I am 63 today and have never been bored in my whole life! There are a thousand things for me to do, and my problem is that there are only 24 hours in a day.
Just one example, I have spent the small amount of spare time I have compiling a database of the first flights of every aircraft I can find. I know it will never be complete, and I’ve been working on it for the last 5 years, but it gives me a good excuse to rummage through aviation books and magazines.
Start a project!!! Any project!
Rant over, I’ll get back to watching a film I haven’t seen for 50 years, “Strategic Air Command”.
By the way, I got into plane spotting by living as a small child at RAF Waddington, by the way, when the Brabazon was still flying – anyone remember the Brabazon?

Well said Sir. Happy 63rd birthday by the way!

I don’t really do boredom either. I’m usually too busy taking photographs, editing photographs or giving my beloved bass guitar some attention!

Paul

What’s with you people who come on the Forum and complain of being bored?
I am 63 today and have never been bored in my whole life! There are a thousand things for me to do, and my problem is that there are only 24 hours in a day.
Just one example, I have spent the small amount of spare time I have compiling a database of the first flights of every aircraft I can find. I know it will never be complete, and I’ve been working on it for the last 5 years, but it gives me a good excuse to rummage through aviation books and magazines.
Start a project!!! Any project!
Rant over, I’ll get back to watching a film I haven’t seen for 50 years, “Strategic Air Command”.
By the way, I got into plane spotting by living as a small child at RAF Waddington, when the Brabazon was still flying – anyone remember the Brabazon?

I don’t spot. I photograph. 😀

Paul