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Planespotters - Meet the Geeks Who Stalk America's Airports

popularmechanics.com — At any given time, at almost any airport in the world, you can find a small group of strangers intently observing —and rapidly photographing—the comings and goings. In fact, if you’re reading this in an airplane, they may be looking at you.

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11 days ago
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MrBabyMan MrBabyMan
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  • -4 diggsBuryDigg
    MasterTroll  by MasterTroll on 05/01/2008
  • +4 diggsBuryDigg
    mattnyc99  by mattnyc99 on 05/01/2008
    now, THESE are nerds--good ones.
  • +5 diggsBuryDigg
    mm911  by mm911 on 05/01/2008
    This article really captures the essence of plane spotters, while doing a great job of introducing the hobby to the uninitiated.
  • +1 diggsBuryDigg
    DeskFlyer  by DeskFlyer on 05/01/2008
    I love planespotting, although, like the article says, it's become tougher to find good spots after 9/11. Here in Milwaukee there's a park that overlooks the main runway and pretty much sits directly under the approach path, so when the winds are southerly, they pass about 100 meters over your head. I go to O'hare sometimes, but gas prices have really prevented me from getting down there lately.

    It's very helpful to have a scanner so you can monitor the tower and ground frequencies in order to get a heads up on what's coming and going. Binoculars come in handy too, especially if you missed a tail # while snapping a photo. Also, if you're planning on uploading any photos, jetphotos.net has a much more lenient approval process than airliners.net. ;)
  • +1 diggsBuryDigg
    vroom101  by vroom101 on 05/02/2008
    Article on one page: http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/air_space/ ... (www.popularmechanics.com/science/air_space/4261265.html?do=print)

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