Apps, tools & platform comparisons

ACARS explained: receiving and decoding airline data link

ACARS is the text messaging service between cockpit and airline. Here you learn how the system came about, how a message is structured, which paths it travels and what you need to know about receiving and decoding.

Airliners.net: history, upload criteria and screening explained

Airliners.net is one of the oldest aircraft photo databases. Here you learn how the platform came about, which principles the screeners follow and how to prepare your first upload so that it gets accepted.

ATIS explained: understanding and following automatic airport information

The ATIS is the endless loop an airport uses to broadcast runway, wind, weather and air pressure. Structure, information letters, jargon and how, as a spotter, you work out where to stand from it.

Photo editing on your smartphone: Lightroom Mobile, Snapseed and more for aircraft photos

Six editing apps, one goal: turning the shot from the fence into a clean spotter photo. Which app suits what, where the costs lurk and which combination works in everyday use.

CPDLC explained: how controllers and cockpits communicate by data link

CPDLC replaces parts of voice radio with text messages between controller and cockpit. Here you learn how logon, clearances and replies work, which systems exist and what it means for you as a spotter and radio listener.

DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung: roles, control centers and organization

From the tower and approach control to the control center in Karlsruhe: how DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung is organized, who handles which airspace and what you notice of it on the radio and on the flight tracker.

Build your own spotter website: options, structure and legal notice requirements

From a portfolio of 50 pictures to an archive of thousands of registrations: which technical routes exist for your own spotter website, how to structure it sensibly and what the legal notice and privacy rules require in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Eurocontrol explained: Network Manager, Maastricht and slots

Eurocontrol hardly controls any aircraft itself but steers the flow of traffic across all of Europe. How the Network Manager, slots and the Maastricht control center work together and what it means for your spotting day.

Labeling photos correctly: registration, type, location and date for platforms

Four details decide whether a photo passes on a platform and stays findable in the archive: registration, type, location and date. How to determine each one cleanly, verify it and write it into the metadata.