Planespotting, A Peculiar, Yet Hugely Popular Hobby
Spotters are a separate breed. Many people would indeed wonder what makes it so attractive to write down airplane registrations. Well, its a hobby. Nothing more and nothing less. Or is it?
The term spotter applies not only to planespotters. There are also spotters who take pictures and write down numbers of trains, buses and ships, for example.
Die-hard spotters will go a long way for their hobby, sometimes literally. They could easily travel a great distance just to log a particular aircraft. A rare aircraft mostly, of which there are only a couple in the whole world (such as the Antonov An-225) or a plane from an exotic airline operating on the other side of the world that is on a delivery flight.
Pure spotters log registrations. They have complete logbooks with airline fleets, in which they mark off a plane when they see it for the first time. They might take photographs as well, but seeing the actual aircraft and writing down its number is their main goal.
I have always been interested in aviation, and I started to photograph airplanes when I was about ten years old. In my case, I go more for a nice picture than for the registration. However, I do take a note of the registration whenever I can read it on the picture. It is quite interesting to do, as you end up collecting various aircraft of an airline this way and might end up having photographs of all the planes in the fleet. And once that is achieved, you will want to catch any new plane that joins the fleet as well. Often airplanes change owners during their operational lives and you might get pictures of the same plane in the colours of various companies, with or without the same registration.
Another nice aspect is when an airline changes the livery, or the company colours, and you have pictures of the same airplane in two or more different colour schemes of the same airline. Some airlines paint their aircraft in special colours, to commemorate the companys anniversary for example. Logojets are airplanes that are either painted in another companys colours, such as a car rental companys, and also planes painted in a special scheme of the airline alliance the company belongs to. Airlines that belong to the Star Alliance for example have one or more aircraft in their fleet flying around in special colours, which consist of a dark blue tail with the star logo, Star Alliance written in large letters over the fuselage and the airlines name in smaller letters in the front of the fuselage. Another trend is painting the aircraft in retro schemes, which means that the planes are painted in a previous livery of the airline. This makes for an interesting combination of a modern plane bearing old colours.
I think spotting is a great hobby and as an aviation enthusiast love to visit airports to take pictures. It is also a hobby that brings many people together. Spotters organise meetings to visit spotting locations together and share valuable information. Via the website mentioned below you can download the FREE Spotters Guide to the Worlds Top Ten Airports.
Levent Bergkotte is a freelance writer specialising in aviation and travel, an aviation consultant and enthusiast. His site http://www.aircraftspotting.net contains tons of information for planespotters, including airport spotting locations, aircraft pictures, aviation news and a forum. Via http://www.bergmanaviationconsulting.com he offers consultancy services about aviation-related matters to the media.
How To Be In The MLM Business
Whether you start your own business, buy a franchise, trade stocks, invest in real estate, or do MLM, its a BUSINESS and not ...
Internet Network Marketing - What Is It Really About?
Did you know that Internet Network Marketing is not about what it seems to be?Do not think your product is your product and t...
Motivating Yourself
Yes,the first sentence you are reading applies only to you and no one else!Have you ever asked your self what is motivation a...
You May Be in Need of an Allergy Treatment
A lot of people are suffering from allergies and simply dont have an idea about it. They sniff and sneeze every ten minutes a...
Practice, Practice, Practice
It may sound silly but the key to self-confidence and building more self-esteem is through practice. Practice what it is you...
Treatment for ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder)
Treatment for your child will be determined by their physician or psychiatrist who will consider such things as: The age of t...
How You Can Become a Millionaire via Your Hobby
Greetings! I have been preaching my wealth creation principles for many years now from the "pulpit" of the Internet and consi...
Private Pilot - The Joy of Flying
There is nothing like the feeling of sliding into a Cessna 172 or Piper Cherokee 180 and heading off into the sky. The sense...
Secrets Of Successful Wealth Building
Wealth building is an art that requires a certain degree of skill. Many
people have the wealth but they dont know how to ma...
Home Based Businesses Are Becoming Very Popular As There Are No Overheads
Home based businesses are becoming very popular as there are no overheads in terms of renting premises and staff. There are ...
3 Quick Tips For Writing E-Books For Profit
You can begin a home-based business by selling information products on the internet. Information products are usually in the...
How Being Wealthy May Not Be All That It Is Cracked Up To Be
Lets face it. Weve all daydreamed about what it would be like if we were absolutely wealthy. I mean, worth millions and milli...
Beating Procrastination - Beating Failure and Mediocrity
Right now, we are going A-Z on how youll rid Procrastination out of your being. Why should you allow it? Oh! Youve not read o...
A Brief History of GPS in Aviation
GPS, or Global Positioning System, is a system that helps an individual determine where he is located as well as where other ...
How To Become A Successful Forex Trader
Have you heard about the benefits of forex trading as a tool to create personal wealth?Gone are the days when forex trading a...
How Can I Start My Life Completely Over?
Life sometimes surprises us with a lot of change. After a divorce, the death of someone near to us, the loss of a job, or fin...
Become The Change You Want To See
The other day I was reading an article on Mahatma Gandhi, the famous r Indian freedom fighter, who got India its independence...
The General Aviation Cessna 172 Skyhawk
It appears the most popular playing in general aviation in the history of mankind is the Cessna 172 Skyhawk. Over 35,000 have...
When Opportunity Knocks Open The Door
In this world we are each given many opportunities for achievement and enrichment of our lives. The problem is that many peop...
The Best Student Loans?
The best student loans around are really not that hard to find. In fact, with so much competition for the student loan market...