Planespotting documentary interview opportunities

[Blackcat1]

Plane spotter!!!!!!?? You cheeky sod, how dare you !! !!!

[raptor9]

Andy. Never had a still camera, took lots of videos. Most of my Airshow friends are now in the big airfield in the sky, soI have thrown my aircraft videos away. It is, however, all in my head. The flight decking Concorde in flight, 747 into Toronto on the flight deck etc., Golden years, golden memories.Ex PPL so more interested in the flying rather than photographs, but all great to look at Kind regards, John.

[iainpeden]

Photographers, note takers, people who actually decipher those strange radio conversations, annoying people who alway refer to airfields by some strange code, people who actually just watch aeroplanes for fun.... but no one has mentioned us poor souls who attempt to glue random bits of plastic together and agonise over that exact shade of light grey (or should that be gray?)

[andygolfer]

or even more of a minority, people who collect airline sickbags especially those with one that flew in XH558 in Martin Withers' flying suit pocket and was signed by him

[iainpeden]

Hope nobody collects used ones.

[andygolfer]

Hope nobody collects used ones.

i know one collector who definitely doesn't
a bit of topic shift but it does open up a few more ideas for Joe's documentary - modelling and sickbags, what else?

[page_verify]

Can we please get our words correct?
This is a plane.
.

Which is why they need magic to fly.


It really irritates some in the hobby when the seriousness of how things manage to repel gravity is trivialised.

[raptor9]

Yep, Iain. Did that too. Before I retired at 61 and downsized I had 487 military 1/72nd scale aircraft in my loft. Have done 1/144 scale airliners for last 10 years, and tomorrow I shall put my 100th model [Dan Air Bac111] in the loft. I know that you are an avid Phantom man, and there is nothing at all wrong with that, just a bit jealous of people who build to a much better standard that I !!.

[JLewis_Aviation]

I have started collecting models, though they are die cast Maybe when I find some spare time I might delve into some proper models.

Back to the main topic of this thread, those who have said they would help I’ll be sending questions to you tomorrow morning. This thread has definitely been interesting to say the least, I have learned a lot more about the history of the hobby and most importantly the difference between a spotter/enthusiast/photographer. I’ll link the full documentary when it’s finished (mid May time). Beware it will feature train enthusiasts

[Red-Eye-Knight]

I have started collecting models, though they are die cast Maybe when I find some spare time I might delve into some proper models.

Back to the main topic of this thread, those who have said they would help I’ll be sending questions to you tomorrow morning. This thread has definitely been interesting to say the least, I have learned a lot more about the history of the hobby and most importantly the difference between a spotter/enthusiast/photographer. I’ll link the full documentary when it’s finished (mid May time). Beware it will feature train enthusiasts

I collect die cast models too Joe got over 500 in my collection my girlfriend Says if I come back with anymore from RIAT this year then our wedding is off lol

Train enthusiasts you mean spotters

[Supra]

Edited....I collect die cast models too Joe got over 500 in my collection my girlfriend Says if I come back with anymore from RIAT this year then our wedding is off

Sounds like a fair deal? How many are you getting?

[mad dan eccles]

Nothing much wrong with railway enthusiasts either...

[iainpeden]

Nothing much wrong with railway enthusiasts either...

As long as they like steam and pre 1947; the wonderful days of the GWR.

[mad dan eccles]

That was a good year...but I was always an LNER man!

[andygolfer]

Nothing much wrong with railway enthusiasts either...

Richard Digance did an excellent song about trainspotting, can't find the original but here's a cover of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAaYXdWp3tQ

'Malcolm and Margaret, trainspotters of note' - brilliant.

[C24]

Morning Joe
You have made good progress in gathering info for your project.
It would seem that people object to labels. Aviation enthusiasts (RIAT w/site) to spotters (cringing FCers), take your pick.
I’ve been reminiscing over family history with my father’s youngest sister. She is recovering from surgery and chatting about the early days takes her mind off the present.
We lived on the edge of the Fens, so endless skies from any place in the garden.
Apparently the family would plonk me in my pram, later strap me in my pushchair and park me next to the chicken coop.
Aircraft from several local airfields flew around and kept me amused. The time between aircraft allowed me to watch the chickens.
To gain height the heavies would in circles so were in view for some time; the P51s from Kings Cliffe went straight over.
So that’s how I became a spotter of aeroplanes and birds.
Cycle trips to the remaining local airfields, Matt Braddock & George Bourne in the Rover, building balsa aeroplane kits and visits to open days reinforced the indoctrination of military aviation.
Access to airfields was easy, three strands of barbed wire and crawling on hands and knees allowed close up visits to aircraft. Derek Hag… pulled the emergency handle of an Anson allowing the door to drop to the ground. By Chr…! Didn’t we run?
I obviously wanted to become a RAF pilot but my father had lost aircrew friends and extracted a promise/forbade me to apply.
However, I during my apprenticeship an advert in Motor Sport featuring a Sea Vixen & Whirlwind caught my eye. RN, not RAF.
The rest is history. Call me what you like, spotter, nerd, enthusiast, aviation buff or just plain ‘Mate’, I’ll answer to most.
Also a train spotter, my early school was next (50 yds) to the East Coast mainline. We often placed halfpennies on the rail to see how flat they became.
An offshoot of train spotting was walking the line collecting coal for home.
Well Joe, thank you for raising the subject. It has been fun remembering life before FaceTweet.

Stay safe

[raptor9]

Jeez Andy!. You certainly bring out the nostalgia!!. Wife and |I booked Richard for a private party 51 years ago for £15, when he had a great folk group called Pisces. Great performer, saw him at the Apex theatre in Bury St. Edmunds last year, looking quite aged. Regards.

[andygolfer]

Jeez Andy!. You certainly bring out the nostalgia!!. Wife and |I booked Richard for a private party 51 years ago for £15, when he had a great folk group called Pisces. Great performer, saw him at the Apex theatre in Bury St. Edmunds last year, looking quite aged. Regards.

when you get old there's a lot of nostalgia to remember! I turned 70 three weeks ago so there's a lot there if only I can remember it

I've seen Richard 3 or 4 times and he always does a good show and is naturally funny when you chat to him after the show, he must be getting on now though.

As for Joe's project - trying to keep roughly on topic, I did PM him this morning with a couple of things that I thought might be worth including and I'm actually that one hasn't come up in the discussions about the different branches of the hobby already and that's airshows - who attends them and what lengths do you go to to get to your favourites. I'm sure that collectively we can offer some worthwhile views on that subject - almost a documentary on it's own.

The other subject that came out yesterday is other associated hobbies such as modelling or collecting memorabilia (such as my sickbag collection but not necessarily as odd as that), a lot of people collect patches and the metal tags from pieces of scrapped aircraft for instance, the latter are big business now so that might be worth touching on, depends how much time he has or is allowed for it I suppose.

[teeonefixer]

Interesting stories above. Big Skies in Lincolnshire is my background, too - Varsities trundling round Wainfleet ranges, Vulcans, Voodoos screaming over etc etc. I have answered Joe and hopefully will help. One thing that springs to mind is that it is all one hobby - enjoying aeroplanes - but with a broad spectrum of those just taking numbers through to the professionals working on them (in many different ways). It is so difficult to generalise, some "spotters" know so much!!

[Finty]

Nothing much wrong with railway enthusiasts either...

I’m reminded of the two Ronnies and John Cleese class sketch, for me cleese represents plane spotters, barker is trainspotters and we all look down on Corbett- bus spotters.

I’d argue that there’s way more oddballs in the train world, although maybe that’s because I spend more time on stations/trains and witnessing them compared to airbase fence lines.