When planes hit the spot

Sarah C · #1 2nd October 2009, 06:00 PM

An article in the Courier Mail today featuring one of the board members:

Quote:

"Watching aircraft take off and land is the stuff of passion for some, writes Philip Hammond

SEEING a thundering great airliner close up always gets to Brisbane plane spotter Beau Chenery.

``It's mesmerising to watch these huge planes lift off the ground. Watching 400 tonnes get airborne and climbing to 45,000 feet at 400 knots, taking 500 people across the world, is just amazing,'' says Chenery (pictured right).

``It's an awesome feeling, particularly when they are coming straight for you and there's 400 tonnes rearing up over the top of you. It gets the heart beating a little bit faster and if it doesn't, there's something wrong with you.''

Chenery says it's good to watch jets take off from The Loop - the spotters' vantage point on the mesh fence in Acacia St, overlooking Brisbane Airport's runways.

Last week, spotters were in a frenzy as airliners normally seen only in Sydney were diverted to Brisbane because of the dust storm.

An even better spot, he says, is a skate park at Tugun, on the Gold Coast, very close to the end of the main runway of Coolangatta Airport.

That's where the noise drills right through you. Screaming engines on full throttle are so loud, they're felt as well as heard. The reverberations ignite the senses.

Chenery, a 21-year-old data communications engineer, says plane spotting is no different to any other hobby that arouses people's passions.

He could easily have been captivated by drag racing or cars.

When he was 11, a pilot friend introduced him to the best places around southeast Queensland to watch aircraft and now Chenery realises his hobby is for a lifetime. ``Once you get into it, it rips you in,'' he says.

For him, it's about photography: capturing the essence of these powerful machines in the right light and settings to do them justice.

Full-time work restricts his airport visits, but for a recent holiday, Chenery selected Queenstown, on New Zealand's South Island, to photograph jets landing and taking off in the spectacular mountain setting.

Nicknames for devoted plane spotters include aerosexuals, jetrosexuals and cloud bunnies.

The hidden army of enthusiasts takes on various specialties.

Some collect information only on military aircraft and flirt with national security laws in the process.

Others monitor scanners that closely follow civil aircraft movements or they amass and chronicle aircraft registration numbers.

Some get excited about flight simulation programs on their computers.

Chenery estimates southeast Queensland could have 100-300 committed plane spotters who help one another and keep in touch through their online forum at jetspotter.com

But visit a big air show and you'll see thousands of people keenly interested in getting up close to all kinds of aeroplanes.

Vintage and light aircraft do nothing for Chenery, who is captivated by the technology of modern passenger aviation and how it will develop into the future.

Queensland's plane-spotting community keeps tabs on everything that's happening in the air, particularly across Australia and New Zealand, he says.

When film star John Travolta was leaving Fiji in his private Boeing 707 last April, the spotters were tracking him.

Chenery got the tip and was at The Loop with his camera when the venerable old jet taxied to a private hangar and Travolta emerged for his unofficial Brisbane visit.

As well as all the usual scheduled flights, less-common aircraft regularly call in and the spotters know exactly when.

For example, when enormous United States Air Force transporters stopped briefly in Brisbane recently, on their way to Operation Talisman Sabre at Shoalwater Bay, the faithful were ready, waiting and watching.

When an Air Nippon 747 freighter lands with staging gear for the Black Eyed Peas concert tour, the spotters will be there.

On state-of-the-art equipment, they listen to pilots talking to air traffic controllers.

They know the codes and jargon and someone, somewhere is always tuned in.

That's why they don't miss much of what's going on up in the air space.

Where to look

* This weekend, Oakey's Museum of Australian Army Flying is hosting a fly-in to commemorate the fighter aircraft stationed at the Oakey base during World War II. Warbirds such as the Auster Mk III, a T28 Trojan, CAC Mustang, Iroquois and many more will fly in and will be on display both days. Current military aircraft will also be on display near the civil terminal. Open 10am-4pm tomorrow and Sunday. $5 or free for under 12s. Info: 4691 1622.

* See F111s, C17s and the occasional F18s landing and taking off at RAAF Amberley, west of Ipswich. Best views from the Cunningham highway in the Yamanto area, or from Old Toowoomba Road, Leichhardt.

* Queensland Air Museum, Caloundra. Info: 3263 1886 or www.qam.com.au

* Brisbane Airport: spotters assemble in Acacia St.

* Gold Coast Airport near Tugun has 340 commercial flights a week.

* At Caboolture Airport, Warplane and Flight Heritage Museum.

Info: 5428 1195 or members.westnet.com.au/warplanes"