I'm just wondering how people go about their 'hobby', which for must of us includes planes.....I ask because I've recently become more interested in the 'spotting' thing.

I used to get bored of watching planes after 10 minutes, so I definitely wasn't really in the 'spotter' category. Maybe that was because I didn't have a seat and G & T on the rocks for company   , I don't know.

Recently I stopped by to watch some planes for quite a while at MAN, and actually thoroughly enjoyed myself. The weather was great, and we were all outdoors, just metres away from aircraft taxying off the runway - it was a great experience really.

However, I noticed some people were more focused on writing things down on paper (I guess registrations) or taking photos; but in both instances, these people didn't seem to be looking at the plane at all - they would take notes, or a photo, and then just move along to whatever was coming in to land next.

Similarly, when a plane would take-off, some people wouldn't really watch the plane glide into the sky and climb out - HOW CAN YOU NOT!!? Surely that's the best part of the whole spotting thing - watching these things climb away?

Ok, I'm not a rego spotter, and I guess I don't like taking photos because it distracts me from watching the plane with my own eyes.

BTW, I am in no way criticising these other variants of spotter, I think it's great to meet people with mutual interests, I would just like to know 'how it works' with these other types who prefer to do the rego/photography thing (btw, I think it's also great, for the purposes of the photo database   ).

What type of stuff do you do and why? Is staring at planes just a waste of time??!

I'm not into jotting or keeping track of regs either... although I will pay special attention to a plane with special livery and may even intentionally look for it (ie. B-HOY).

However, I do LOVE looking at planes. I admire their power, ability to glide and maneuver in the sky and truly appreciate their looks. Obviously, throughout the course of time, I have come to have my favorites, regardless of livery, and not-so-favs. Watching a plane from its taxi stage to its take-off roll to the actual take-off to climb out is in itself a hobby. As with watching them land, especially being able to get a good look at the wheels touch the ground and watch the spoilers deploy. Airplane spotting in general has many categories. Some are die-hard photo chasers, some are reg freaks, some are binocular fanatics. I mostly put myself under the "keep an eye on my favorite plane until it dissapears from sight" category.

I don't do any logging like that either, I just like to watch (kinky, eh?). Sometimes I go over to the airport here in Kalamazoo and do homework or read in the picnic area. Also, when I am at work and have down time and am in the area I go over there as well. I don't bring binoculars or anything. Pretty much the extent I go to is once in a while I will look up the schedule of what is coming in when and bring that along.

I've tried logging, but I just don't remember to do it every time.

I'd rather just watch, too...

I also pay a lot of attention to LCC websites and, of course, this one, looking for the latest news.

I work for a LCC and am studying to fly aircraft. I just absolutely love them and how the soar gracefully through the air. When i'm not at work and have nothing to do sometimes i'll pick up my girfriend and we'll go to the observation area and watch them...especially at night when you can only see the formation lights and landing nights....pure beauty.

Hey, I'm a new member to Airliners.net and before I start off, I'd just like to say that this is a great website!
The only way I show my appreciation for commercial aviation is by reading various commercial airline magazines and by collecting model airplanes. Ever since I was really young (I'm 17 now), I have loved commercial aviation and have collected many model planes throughout the years. Furthermore, I get overly-excited before stepping onto an airplane and once in a while I catch a shot of some cool planes (I hope to add these in the near future  )...in all, commercial airplanes (especially the 747-400 and the A330) are beauties.

I once in a while to will have a conversation with a pilot thats eating in the food court or waiting by the gate. Most of the time, they are pretty eagar to talk to enthusiats. One time, a pilot said to me "I wish passengers were more like you...they wouldn't be thinking all the turbluence was my fault".

I Spot them, Photograph them, Log Registrations (It becomes useful later, trust me). And I fly on them leisurely.

I enjoy so much just watching them, sometimes taking pictures, but not logging on their registrations (other than the ones I fly on).
Love to read aviation books and magazines, and admire pictures as much as possible.
I try to collect models (Schabak and PPC or Long Prosper) of all the kind of aicrafts I've flown.
Of course, love to fly for leisure, try new planes, new routes, new airports, new airlines... and after I get back home, work on the files and statistics about my flights.

I originally was just a plane "watcher", and in my youth, that was enough to hold my interest. As I grew older, I began to want to take in more data, otherwise one day became the same as the next. So I began to notice the times of certain aircraft that I would see. This worked for non-frequent types, such as when the original National Airlines had a daily DC-10 flight into SEA. However, this still did not help to make the dozens of United 727's or Hughes Airwest DC-9's that interesting. So I tried taking pictures and keeping statistics, and that kept me going for awhile. It was finally sometime in the late 1980's that I realized what I really wanted was some record of the individual aircraft I was seeing, and that is when I began to collect registrations. Some days I still keep statistics, and I take advantage of the data available online (particularly on the BTS website, http://www.bts.gov/ntda/oai/index.shtml), and I hope to someday take quality photographs, but with over 5000 jetliners spotted at SEA alone, it is the registration collecting that is my focus.