Aircraft Spotting - Spotting Styles

Spotting Styles

Some spotters will note and compile the markings, a national insignia or airline livery or logo perhaps, a squadron badge or code letters in the case of a military aircraft. Published manuals allow more information to be deduced, such as the delivery date or the manufacturer's construction number. Camouflage markings differ, depending on the surroundings in which that aircraft is expected to operate.

In general, most spotters attempt to see as many aircraft of a given type (i.e.: Boeing 747), a particular airline (American Airlines for example) or a particular subset of aircraft such as business jets (a.k.a. Biz Jets), Commercial Airliners, Military and/or general aviation. Some spotters attempt to see every airframe and are known as "frame spotters". Others are keen to see every registration worn by each aircraft.

Ancillary activities might include listening-in to air traffic transmissions (using radio scanners, where that is legal), liaising with other "spotters" to clear up uncertainties as to what aircraft have been seen at specific times or in particular places. Several internet mailing list groups have been formed to help communicate aircraft seen at airports, queries and anomalies. These groups can cater to certain regions (North American Spotters), certain aircraft types (The Biz List) or may appeal to a wider audience such as the Civil Spotters group. Many of these groups originated from the original Oxford.vax group which pioneered this type of communication. The result is that information on aircraft movements can be delivered worldwide in a real-time fashion to spotters.

The hobbyist might travel long distances to visit a different airport from their usual one, to see an unusual aircraft or to view the remains of aircraft withdrawn from use. Some aircraft may be placed in the care of museums (see Aviation archaeology) - or perhaps be cannibalized in order to repair a similar aircraft already preserved.

Aircraft registrations can be found in books, with online resources or in monthly magazines from enthusiast groups. Most spotters maintained books of different aircraft fleets and would underline or check each aircraft seen. Each year, a revised version of the books would be published and the spotter would be forced to re-underline every aircraft seen. With the development of several aircraft databases (Airline Data Unlimited, Aviation Databases, Quantum Aerodata etc.), the spotter was finally able to record their sightings in an electronic database and produce reports that emulated the underlined books.