The BBC News website today published an article about plane spotting. It has been put together in the wake of the problems in India with Steven Ayers and Stephen Hampton. The article goes on to interview a number of spotters who spend time at Toulouse, Heathrow and other airports. It even interviews a bmibaby pilot who combines his hobby with flying around.

You can read the article at this link http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8530716.stm

Be sure to leave your comments here, or on the BBC site.

It’s that time again – some spotters have been arrested for acting ‘suspiciously’ and a newspaper has printed the story (click to read it).

Two spotters in India had booked into the Radisson New Delhi, requesting a room overlooking the airport. When the pair didn’t emerge from their room for 24 hours, hotel staff got suspicious and called the police, who promptly arrested them.

The spotters were found with binoculars, laptop containing Google maps of the airport, cameras, and an electronic ‘gadget’ which can track individual movements of aircraft.

Now, to all of the fellow spotters out there, we know these tools as part and parcel of the hobby. You take binoculars to note registrations, cameras to photograph aircraft, maps to find the best spotting locations, and an SBS (read, electronic ‘gadget’ for tracking aircraft movements) to monitor which aircraft are coming and going – particularly at night when you can’t see the registrations.

And as for not emerging for 24 hours – well, when you find a good, comfortable room with a great view of the aircraft, then why would you leave before you had to?

So, is this going to start a whole new wave of suspicion and unneccessary arrests of innocent people enjoying their hobby – just because of the jittery nature of air travel these days? Will this make you think again about booking your favourite plane-spotting hotel for a future trip?

If you’re heading to Cleveland, Ohio, there are two main airports that are worth checking out. The first, naturally, is Cleveland Hopkins International – the main airport, and a major hub for Continental Airlines. It also has services by other major US airlines, plus FedEx and UPS. Air Canada also provide links across the border.

Spotting is best from the 100th Bomb Group Restaurant. Situated just to the north of runways 24L/R, it has a large car park. It is located off Brookpark Rd. Excellent views can be had of aircraft arriving on these runways, or use runway 10/28. Remember to buy something at the restaurant if you intend spending any time here.

The other Cleveland airport is Burke Lakefront Airport. This handles biz and general aviation movements. It is situated on Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland. You can spot from Voinovich Bicentennial Park close to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.

A great website for all things to do with aviation in Cleveland is OPShots. They have movements lists, photography tips, and information on places to spot and what the local security is like at the moment.