Aircraft Spotting
Created | Updated Mar 14, 2002
Aspects of the hobby
================
This is a fairly harmless hobby that evolved on Earth during the Twentieth Century, it comprises the making of visual contact with flying machines that might range from hovercraft, airships, balloons, autogyros, helicopters, gliders, drones, microlights and aircraft to manned spacecraft. The 'spotting' element involves the initial identification of the aircraft (taken to be the collective noun for the above machines) and its progressive classification. Depending on the range at which the aircraft is seen (and perhaps heard) spotters are likely to know its manufacturer, its generic type, its precise type, its operator, its owner, its registration, its construction number, its squadron, its base, its delivery date, previous registration and soforth. Those who ridicule spotters, and there are many, allege that they probably know the colour of the pilot's eyes; this is highly improbable.
One fairly distinctive aspect of the hobby is that it can be practised almost anywhere. Thus from a small cafe in Rickmansworth, you could watch a light helicopter heading for Denham, a large jumbo jet climbing away from Heathrow or a quiet and luxurious VIP aircraft bringing the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom back to Northolt. In the future a good place to watch "star trolleys" would be the extensive car park at The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. It seems highly probable that Marvin gained succour and stimuli from this pastime when obliged to spend a long time there by his time-travelling companions.
Media interest
===========
The range of colourful magazines available at newsagents on the subject of aviation indicates the extent to which aviation is seen as a topic of mainstream interest. Only a minority of their readers are likely to be dedicated spotters. Some non-profit magazines are available by mail only to meet the more specialised requirements of spotters (eg production lists, changes of registration marks when aircraft are exported, etcetera). The BBC occasionally televises highlights of air displays held in Great Britain and a few television documentaries show life "behind the scenes" at British airports (predominantly Heathrow, Liverpool and Luton). The flexibility of the helicopter was demonstrated well in a British prize TV show called 'Treasure Hunt'. Ballooning and space exploration receive remarkably little coverage by TV stations.
Generalist or specialist?
==================
Some spotters will relish the variety of sightings that this hobby opens-up and the chance that it provides to spend time outdoors. Some however will focus quite precisely on planes of a particular type or from a particular era. Some, for instance, disregard privately owned planes, others disregard all civilian aircraft, and others disregard all military planes. Some work in the aviation business or hope to do so.
Official spotting activity
=================
In the middle of the Twentieth Century the ability to recognise different aircraft was recognised as an important skill, particularly at times of war. In the UK for example a Royal Observer Corps was formed and latterly (1955-1988?) its members would have played an important role identifying impact sites and forecasting radiation threats in the event of a nuclear attack occurring against the United Kingdom. A total of 872 bunkers each configured for three observers to inhabit provided their observation network. More recently, progress towards international peace has included formalised provisions for countries to inspect each other's military aircraft and associated facilities at short notice as a security-building measure. These may include inspections of the cutting-up of once offensive aircraft and weapons. These duties are performed by paid specialists, not aircraft spotters.
Motives and rewards
================
The excitement of spotting is analogous to the Infinite Improbability Drive. The less probable the sighting of a particular aircraft in a particular location, the more excitement will be generated amongst aircraft spotters and the further they will travel (on average) in order to see or photograph it. Obviously many events including low cloud, nightfall, secure fences, buildings and the constraints arising from paid employment or the need to sleep, may conspire against someone seeing (or identifying with the necessary precision) the aircraft they wish to spot. This adds a degree of uncertainty and excitement to the hobby.
Because different spotters inevitably see the same aircraft in different places, or at different times in the same place, they need to communicate effectively with each other to maximise their collective enjoyment. Those who listen in on air traffic control conversations or intercept datalinks used by civilian airliners have further sources of useful information that can be shared to mutual benefit. For these reasons successful participants in the hobby need to be good communicators and may be skilled in the use of reference sources and databases. The social aspects of the hobby generally add to its appeal, although meetings between spotters are often limited to airfields or convenient viewpoints on their perimeters.
Popular perceptions
===============
The hobby is male-dominated partly because the aviation industry and recruitment practices in the armed forces tended to favour men during the Twentieth Century. Participants are perceived as 'sad loners' in the mainstream media along with all other participants in outdoor spotting hobbies (eg. bird spotters, bus spotters, butterfly spotters and train spotters). Along with other hobbies that generate no material rewards for the participant, the pastime is portrayed as 'not serious' by the sort of people who think that digital watches are "a pretty neat idea". The fact that spotting is essentially a dispersed activity (except at organised airshows or international airports) means that the advertising industry does not see spotters as a niche market that can economically be targeted. This is another reason why all those destined to travel on the 'B' Ark look down on spotting as a 'complete waste of time'. So that the time of advertisers is not wasted (as if!), it should be explained that once an aircraft spotter has bought an anorak, a notebook, a telescope, radio and a pair of binoculars, it is difficult to sell him anything other than ballpoint pens. The term 'anorak' has long been in use as a derisory term for outdoor spotters of anything. It has latterly been applied to computer enthusiasts who are of course more appropriately dismissed as 'geeks' or 'nerds' by all those whose idea of a worthwhile hobby is to stereotype sub-groups of organic carbon-based bipeds according to ill-informed pre-conceptions handed down from previous generations.
Jargon and banter
==============
As with most hobbies, a range of shorthand terms has evolved to reflect the intricacies of the activity. There are obviously nicknames for different types of aircraft and some of these have origins in the armed forces or the aviation industry. Some of the abbreviations are drawn straight from the language used for the serious purposes of air traffic control. This includes the phonetic alphabet - Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etcetera, which reduces ambiguity in spoken messages.
The more common slang or shorthand expressions include:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* bins as a shorthand term for binoculars;
* clearing a drome means the logging of all aircraft at a particular airfield or airport, 'drome' being a contraction of the somewhat dated word 'aerodrome';
* copping an aircraft (number) means seeing it for the first time;
* fleeting means having seen all of a particular aircraft type thought to be operated by a named airline;
* fudging an aircraft (number) means counting it as a sighting even though the aircraft had not been seen with any reasonable degree of certainty (ie a form of cheating);
* graphing an aircraft is shorthand for taking its photograph;
* logging an aircraft simply means the recording of its presence at a stated place - and often at a certain time. It will often be necessary to log an aircraft when only some details surrounding it are known to the observer, that log entry will then act as a reminder when communicating with other spotters or reading magazines related to the hobby. The spotter's log is effectively a diary of interesting sightings;
* poling-off an aircraft simply means reading its registration or serial through the use of a telescope (or 'pole');
* in the United Kingdom the term 'pond-hopper' normally means an aircraft crossing the Atlantic Ocean;
* 'wrecks and relics' is a term made popular by encyclopaedias showing where withdrawn aircraft might be seen. These are aircraft generally classed as unlikely to fly again. Some airframes may be used to train engineering students or service personnel who might need to repair a military plane suffering battle damage. Some are simply dumped, effectively scrapped, or stored as a source of spare parts. Some are museum exhibits or will become museum exhibits at some future date. At what stage a withdrawn, crashed or severed aircraft becomes 'un-spottable' is a moot point.
Relations with airfield operators
========================
Some airfields acknowledge spotting as a legitimate activity and realise that a proportion of the general public is fascinated by moving aircraft and the many supporting activities on the ground that air travellers take for granted. Their operators may create visitor centres, parking areas or picnic sites in safe places around or within an airport. Some airfields accommodate aircraft museums or recognise their historic interest or associations with important aircraft. Some feature on tourist trails for these reasons. Airfields have an interest in maintaining good relations with nearby communities whose members may have legitimate anxieties about noise, safety, air quality, surface water contamination, and congestion in relation to aircraft operations. By recognising the local interest in their activities and through the arranging of open days or sharing of certain on-site facilities (eg.theatres, sports halls, restaurants), airfield operators in both the civil and military sectors have dispelled some anxieties and misunderstandings. At the other extreme, some airfields have suffered from vandalism and trespass to a serious extent and for obvious reasons must turn away spotters and more casual visitors. The need for airfields receiving international flights to maintain secure areas for border control and customs purposes must also be recognised by spotters and anyone else in the vicinity of heliports or airfield property. Military airfields also need to maintain a secure boundary and the authorities of many countries prohibit photography in or around such establishments. Listening-in to air traffic communications or relaying information heard from that source is also deemed illegal in some countries.
[Footnote
Amongst aircraft (or plane) spotters 'Belgium' is not an impolite or offensive word. It is a small country in western Europe, home, until recently, of the fascinating airline Sabena.]
================
This is a fairly harmless hobby that evolved on Earth during the Twentieth Century, it comprises the making of visual contact with flying machines that might range from hovercraft, airships, balloons, autogyros, helicopters, gliders, drones, microlights and aircraft to manned spacecraft. The 'spotting' element involves the initial identification of the aircraft (taken to be the collective noun for the above machines) and its progressive classification. Depending on the range at which the aircraft is seen (and perhaps heard) spotters are likely to know its manufacturer, its generic type, its precise type, its operator, its owner, its registration, its construction number, its squadron, its base, its delivery date, previous registration and soforth. Those who ridicule spotters, and there are many, allege that they probably know the colour of the pilot's eyes; this is highly improbable.
One fairly distinctive aspect of the hobby is that it can be practised almost anywhere. Thus from a small cafe in Rickmansworth, you could watch a light helicopter heading for Denham, a large jumbo jet climbing away from Heathrow or a quiet and luxurious VIP aircraft bringing the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom back to Northolt. In the future a good place to watch "star trolleys" would be the extensive car park at The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. It seems highly probable that Marvin gained succour and stimuli from this pastime when obliged to spend a long time there by his time-travelling companions.
Media interest
===========
The range of colourful magazines available at newsagents on the subject of aviation indicates the extent to which aviation is seen as a topic of mainstream interest. Only a minority of their readers are likely to be dedicated spotters. Some non-profit magazines are available by mail only to meet the more specialised requirements of spotters (eg production lists, changes of registration marks when aircraft are exported, etcetera). The BBC occasionally televises highlights of air displays held in Great Britain and a few television documentaries show life "behind the scenes" at British airports (predominantly Heathrow, Liverpool and Luton). The flexibility of the helicopter was demonstrated well in a British prize TV show called 'Treasure Hunt'. Ballooning and space exploration receive remarkably little coverage by TV stations.
Generalist or specialist?
==================
Some spotters will relish the variety of sightings that this hobby opens-up and the chance that it provides to spend time outdoors. Some however will focus quite precisely on planes of a particular type or from a particular era. Some, for instance, disregard privately owned planes, others disregard all civilian aircraft, and others disregard all military planes. Some work in the aviation business or hope to do so.
Official spotting activity
=================
In the middle of the Twentieth Century the ability to recognise different aircraft was recognised as an important skill, particularly at times of war. In the UK for example a Royal Observer Corps was formed and latterly (1955-1988?) its members would have played an important role identifying impact sites and forecasting radiation threats in the event of a nuclear attack occurring against the United Kingdom. A total of 872 bunkers each configured for three observers to inhabit provided their observation network. More recently, progress towards international peace has included formalised provisions for countries to inspect each other's military aircraft and associated facilities at short notice as a security-building measure. These may include inspections of the cutting-up of once offensive aircraft and weapons. These duties are performed by paid specialists, not aircraft spotters.
Motives and rewards
================
The excitement of spotting is analogous to the Infinite Improbability Drive. The less probable the sighting of a particular aircraft in a particular location, the more excitement will be generated amongst aircraft spotters and the further they will travel (on average) in order to see or photograph it. Obviously many events including low cloud, nightfall, secure fences, buildings and the constraints arising from paid employment or the need to sleep, may conspire against someone seeing (or identifying with the necessary precision) the aircraft they wish to spot. This adds a degree of uncertainty and excitement to the hobby.
Because different spotters inevitably see the same aircraft in different places, or at different times in the same place, they need to communicate effectively with each other to maximise their collective enjoyment. Those who listen in on air traffic control conversations or intercept datalinks used by civilian airliners have further sources of useful information that can be shared to mutual benefit. For these reasons successful participants in the hobby need to be good communicators and may be skilled in the use of reference sources and databases. The social aspects of the hobby generally add to its appeal, although meetings between spotters are often limited to airfields or convenient viewpoints on their perimeters.
Popular perceptions
===============
The hobby is male-dominated partly because the aviation industry and recruitment practices in the armed forces tended to favour men during the Twentieth Century. Participants are perceived as 'sad loners' in the mainstream media along with all other participants in outdoor spotting hobbies (eg. bird spotters, bus spotters, butterfly spotters and train spotters). Along with other hobbies that generate no material rewards for the participant, the pastime is portrayed as 'not serious' by the sort of people who think that digital watches are "a pretty neat idea". The fact that spotting is essentially a dispersed activity (except at organised airshows or international airports) means that the advertising industry does not see spotters as a niche market that can economically be targeted. This is another reason why all those destined to travel on the 'B' Ark look down on spotting as a 'complete waste of time'. So that the time of advertisers is not wasted (as if!), it should be explained that once an aircraft spotter has bought an anorak, a notebook, a telescope, radio and a pair of binoculars, it is difficult to sell him anything other than ballpoint pens. The term 'anorak' has long been in use as a derisory term for outdoor spotters of anything. It has latterly been applied to computer enthusiasts who are of course more appropriately dismissed as 'geeks' or 'nerds' by all those whose idea of a worthwhile hobby is to stereotype sub-groups of organic carbon-based bipeds according to ill-informed pre-conceptions handed down from previous generations.
Jargon and banter
==============
As with most hobbies, a range of shorthand terms has evolved to reflect the intricacies of the activity. There are obviously nicknames for different types of aircraft and some of these have origins in the armed forces or the aviation industry. Some of the abbreviations are drawn straight from the language used for the serious purposes of air traffic control. This includes the phonetic alphabet - Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etcetera, which reduces ambiguity in spoken messages.
The more common slang or shorthand expressions include:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* bins as a shorthand term for binoculars;
* clearing a drome means the logging of all aircraft at a particular airfield or airport, 'drome' being a contraction of the somewhat dated word 'aerodrome';
* copping an aircraft (number) means seeing it for the first time;
* fleeting means having seen all of a particular aircraft type thought to be operated by a named airline;
* fudging an aircraft (number) means counting it as a sighting even though the aircraft had not been seen with any reasonable degree of certainty (ie a form of cheating);
* graphing an aircraft is shorthand for taking its photograph;
* logging an aircraft simply means the recording of its presence at a stated place - and often at a certain time. It will often be necessary to log an aircraft when only some details surrounding it are known to the observer, that log entry will then act as a reminder when communicating with other spotters or reading magazines related to the hobby. The spotter's log is effectively a diary of interesting sightings;
* poling-off an aircraft simply means reading its registration or serial through the use of a telescope (or 'pole');
* in the United Kingdom the term 'pond-hopper' normally means an aircraft crossing the Atlantic Ocean;
* 'wrecks and relics' is a term made popular by encyclopaedias showing where withdrawn aircraft might be seen. These are aircraft generally classed as unlikely to fly again. Some airframes may be used to train engineering students or service personnel who might need to repair a military plane suffering battle damage. Some are simply dumped, effectively scrapped, or stored as a source of spare parts. Some are museum exhibits or will become museum exhibits at some future date. At what stage a withdrawn, crashed or severed aircraft becomes 'un-spottable' is a moot point.
Relations with airfield operators
========================
Some airfields acknowledge spotting as a legitimate activity and realise that a proportion of the general public is fascinated by moving aircraft and the many supporting activities on the ground that air travellers take for granted. Their operators may create visitor centres, parking areas or picnic sites in safe places around or within an airport. Some airfields accommodate aircraft museums or recognise their historic interest or associations with important aircraft. Some feature on tourist trails for these reasons. Airfields have an interest in maintaining good relations with nearby communities whose members may have legitimate anxieties about noise, safety, air quality, surface water contamination, and congestion in relation to aircraft operations. By recognising the local interest in their activities and through the arranging of open days or sharing of certain on-site facilities (eg.theatres, sports halls, restaurants), airfield operators in both the civil and military sectors have dispelled some anxieties and misunderstandings. At the other extreme, some airfields have suffered from vandalism and trespass to a serious extent and for obvious reasons must turn away spotters and more casual visitors. The need for airfields receiving international flights to maintain secure areas for border control and customs purposes must also be recognised by spotters and anyone else in the vicinity of heliports or airfield property. Military airfields also need to maintain a secure boundary and the authorities of many countries prohibit photography in or around such establishments. Listening-in to air traffic communications or relaying information heard from that source is also deemed illegal in some countries.
[Footnote
Amongst aircraft (or plane) spotters 'Belgium' is not an impolite or offensive word. It is a small country in western Europe, home, until recently, of the fascinating airline Sabena.]
