How to start plane spotting: a beginner's guide

1. Start in your backyard

You don’t need an airport. Airliners cruise over almost everywhere, and helicopters, small planes and the odd military jet fly lower. Next time you hear something, look up and ask: what is that, and where is it going? An app like Bogey answers in seconds, which is a great way to learn what’s normal in your sky and what isn’t.

2. Learn to tell them apart

Start with the big clues, and the details follow:

• How many engines? Two is most airliners; four is rarer and usually bigger. Which planes have four engines.
• The nose and the tail. Boeing vs Airbus: how to tell them apart.
• Rotors. One rotor or two? Which helicopters have two rotors.
• The paint. Gray and no windows usually means military. How to identify military aircraft.

3. Go where they land

Airports are where you see aircraft up close. Many have spots made for watching, like Gravelly Point Park under the approach to Washington National, Clutter’s Park (Imperial Hill) by LAX, the Runway Visitor Park at Manchester and the Panorama Terrace at Amsterdam Schiphol. Search “[your airport] plane spotting” and you’ll usually find the local favorite. Check upcoming airshows too: the best day of the year for rare aircraft.

4. Gear (optional)

• Binoculars. Around 8x or 10x magnification with 42 mm lenses is a common pick, enough to read a registration on a landing aircraft.
• A camera. A phone works. Spotters who get serious often use a zoom lens in the 100 to 400 mm range.
• A notebook or an app for your log. In Bogey, every catch goes in your hangar automatically.
• An airband radio. Air traffic control voice is mostly on 118 to 137 MHz. The rules depend on where you live: in the US it’s generally legal to listen, but not to repeat or use what you hear for gain. In the UK, listening without authorisation is technically an offence under the Wireless Telegraphy Act. Check your country’s rules first.

5. Keep a log

Write down what you see: the type, the airline, the registration, the date and where you were. Over time it becomes a collection, and you’ll start to notice when something unusual turns up. That’s exactly how Bogey works: every aircraft you catch lands in your collection, and rarer ones are worth more.

The rules every spotter follows

• Never stand behind a jet. Jet blast can throw a grown adult off their feet. At Maho Beach in St Maarten, famous for low landings, signs on the fence warn of serious injury; people have been badly hurt there. Watch from the side, never behind.
• Stay in public areas. Keep off airport land and private property, and don’t climb fences.
• Obey “no photography” signs, especially at military bases and abroad.
• Don’t fly drones near airports. In the US, flying a drone in controlled airspace near an airport needs FAA authorization.
• Be friendly if asked. Airport police and security sometimes check on spotters. Explain what you’re doing; spotters are often welcome extra eyes.

New to the words you’ll hear? Pilot talk, explained. What plane spotting is, and where it came from.