Logging sightings: logbook & statistics

Collecting airlines: how to keep your airline list and close the gaps

If you collect airlines, you need clear counting rules, a clean list and a plan for the gaps. How to tell operators from brands, log wet leases correctly and find missing carriers on purpose.

Log your own flights: a flight diary with types, registrations and miles

Every flight as a passenger is also a sighting from the inside. Here is how to keep a flight diary with flight number, type, registration and distance – and how to find missing details even days later.

Metadata for aircraft photos: using EXIF, IPTC and keywords the right way

EXIF supplies the technical data, IPTC describes what is in the picture, XMP is the container for both. How to write registration, airline, aircraft type and location into your photos cleanly and find every shot again with a fixed keyword scheme.

Fleet databases compared: Planespotters.net, Airfleets, RZjets and ch-aviation

Four databases, four philosophies: where to find registrations, MSNs, fleet lists and production lists fastest – and when a professional source like ch-aviation pays off.

Logging a complete fleet: using airline fleet lists as a checklist

The first registrations of a fleet come by themselves, the last ones only with a plan. How to build and maintain a fleet list as a checklist and close the stubborn gaps.

Collecting airports: keep a list of airports and spots you’ve visited

What counts as visited, why ICAO codes are the best backbone for your airport list, and how to turn every spot visit into a note that pays off the next time.

Archiving aircraft photos: folder structure and file names by registration, type and date

After a few spotting seasons, the problem is rarely storage space but finding things again. With a folder structure by date and file names made of date, registration and type, you find any picture in seconds.

Geotagging aircraft photos: always know where a picture was taken

Coordinates in a photo turn every shot into a traceable sighting with a spot. Four ways to geotag, time sync with GPX tracks and what to clean up before sharing.

Collect all aircraft types: build and tick off a type list

How to build your own type list, decide what counts as a separate type, and why ICAO type designators are the best backbone for your collection.

Backing up spotting photos: the 3-2-1 rule, NAS, cloud and what it costs

A memory card gets lost, a hard drive dies, a laptop is stolen – and with it ten years of registrations. How to build a backup strategy with the 3-2-1 rule, NAS and cloud that fits spotter data volumes and budget.

Identifying an unreadable registration: combining timestamps, flight history and databases

Blurred, too far away or lost in heat haze: how to reconstruct an aircraft’s registration from EXIF time, flight tracker history and fleet databases – and when it’s better to leave it open.

Collecting and documenting special liveries: lists, variants and status

A livery collection lives on order: one entry per design and registration, clear rules for variants and a status that shows whether the paint scheme still flies. Here is how to build your list.

Notebook, spreadsheet or app: which spotter logbook suits you?

Notebook, spreadsheet or app – each medium has different strengths at the fence and at the desk. This comparison shows what you gain and lose in speed, analysis, photos and data security.

How rare is my sighting? Judging the rarity of types, airlines and registrations

Rare is not always rare: A type can be scarce worldwide and still be everyday at your airport. With four levels, a simple scale and the right data sources, you can classify every sighting cleanly.

Documenting sightings: from notebook to digital logbook

From the ballpoint pen at the fence to a searchable collection: which details an aircraft sighting needs, which pitfalls registration changes and time zones create, and how to transfer old notebooks cleanly.

Visualizing sightings and spots on a map: My Maps, GPX and apps

From logbook rows to a map: how to place, sort and share your spots and sightings cleanly with Google My Maps, GPX files, OpenStreetMap tools or a spotting app.

Matching sightings with ADS-B: closing gaps in your logbook cleanly

Registration unreadable, note incomplete, time only approximate? With a timestamp, spot position and ADS-B history you close gaps in your logbook – if you know where the data misleads.

Logging sightings fast at the spot: shorthand, voice notes and photos as notes

When three landings come in within two minutes, every second counts. Here is how to log sightings at the fence with shorthand, voice notes and proof photos – and turn them into a clean logbook in the evening.

Writing a spotting report: structure, log list and photos for your trip report

From scrap of paper to a trip report worth reading: how to structure a spotting report, set up a clean log list with registrations and choose photos that tell the story of the day.

Your own spotting year in review: highlights, stats and a look back

Turn a year of sightings into a review: clean up your data, six meaningful stats, highlight categories, visualization and goals for the new spotting year.

Spotting logbook in Excel or Google Sheets: columns, formulas, analyses

One row per sighting, fixed spellings, a few formulas: this is how you build your spotting logbook in Excel or Google Sheets so that first sightings, type lists and your year in review almost build themselves.

Analyzing your spotting statistics: what your sightings reveal about types, airlines and airports

How many types, airlines and registrations have you really seen? Counting rules, six key figures and typical analysis mistakes for your own spotting statistics.