Plane spotting on YouTube: well-known channels and what you can learn from them

You stand at the fence, a Boeing 777 comes in through gusty crosswind, the wings rocking – and tens of thousands of people watch live as it touches down. Moments like these made plane spotting channels on YouTube big. But aviation YouTube is much more than landings in a storm: pilots explain their everyday work, analysts reconstruct accidents, frequent flyers test airlines. In this article you will get to know the best-known channel types and some of their defining representatives – and above all what you can take from them for your own videos.

The short answer

The best-known aviation channels on YouTube can be divided into four types: live spotting from the airport (such as Big Jet TV or Airline Videos Live), explainer videos by pilots (such as Captain Joe), analyses of accidents and incidents (such as Mentour Pilot) and flight and airline reviews (such as Sam Chui or Josh Cahill). For you as a spotter, they are inspiration and textbook in one: they show that success depends less on the most expensive camera than on context, sound, reliability and a clear niche.

A note up front: subscriber counts, broadcast schedules and formats change constantly. All information in this article describes the situation as of October 2026 according to publicly available sources – look at the channels directly for current details.

Type 1: live spotting from the runway edge

This is the channel type closest to classic plane spotting. A camera stands at a fixed point with a view of the approach or runway, someone provides commentary, and the community discusses in the chat.

Big Jet TV: the storm channel from Heathrow

Big Jet TV is a British channel founded by Jerry Dyer in 2016. It broadcasts mainly from London Heathrow Airport, according to the English-language Wikipedia from several fixed filming locations around the airport, and comments from the roof of a converted van. The channel became known through storm livestreams: during Storm Eunice in February 2022, the wobbly landings in strong crosswinds drew attention worldwide, and major media such as the BBC reported on them. During Storm Éowyn in January 2025, more than 200,000 people watched the Heathrow landings live, according to the same source.

What you learn from it:

• The commentary carries the format. A livestream without a voice is a webcam. With a person who puts type, airline, origin and special features into context and reacts with audible enthusiasm, it becomes entertainment.
• Plan for events, do not just wait. Storm days announce themselves in the weather forecast. If you know which runway direction applies at which wind, you stand at the right end of the runway in time. How that works is explained in our guide to filming crosswind landings and storms, and the flying side is described in Crosswind landings explained.
• One airport, many perspectives. Big Jet TV stays loyal to its home airport but changes locations. At Heathrow, spotters know, for example, Myrtle Avenue on the approach to the southern runway or Hatton Cross right at the airport boundary.

Airline Videos Live: round-the-clock operation at LAX

A second example of the live type is Airline Videos Live from Los Angeles. According to its own website, the channel broadcasts regularly from Los Angeles Airport, and also from Phoenix and San Diego. The principle is similar: fixed camera positions, lots of long-haul traffic, commentary and chat.

LAX is predestined for this because it is easy to see from the neighborhood. Spotters know Imperial Hill with its view over the south runway complex or the classic at In-N-Out Burger directly under the approach.

Lesson: Reliability beats spectacle. If you broadcast at fixed times from fixed places, you become a habit for your audience. If you want to stream yourself, you will find equipment and legal matters in the article Livestreaming plane spotting. An overview of existing offerings is given in Airport livestreams.

Type 2: pilots explain flying

The second big type is channels by active or former pilots. They rarely show spectacular pictures but thrive on credibility and the art of explaining.

Captain Joe: answering passengers’ questions

Behind Captain Joe is Joseph Diebolder, a German-British pilot who started his English-language channel in 2014. According to the German-language Wikipedia, he flew A320-family aircraft for Air Berlin from 2010 to 2017 and, after its insolvency in 2017, moved to the Luxembourg cargo airline Cargolux on the Boeing 747-400F and 747-8F. His videos answer typical passenger questions: why does an airplane fly, what happens in turbulence, how does a go-around work.

What you learn from it: One question per video. Captain Joe’s formats are mostly tailored to exactly one question that is already in the title. For spotting videos, that means: instead of “Spotting at airport XY, part 14,” “Why this 747 had to go around in Frankfurt” works much better – provided you also deliver the answer. Background knowledge on this is in Go-around explained.

Mentour Pilot: understanding accidents instead of sensation

Mentour Pilot belongs to the Swedish pilot Petter Hörnfeldt, who has flown the Boeing 737 for many years and, according to his own website, works as a training captain. He has run the channel since 2015. At first the focus was on questions about the pilot profession; now it is best known for detailed analyses of accidents and incidents that he reconstructs with simulator scenes and graphics. Since 2021, with Mentour Now, he has run a second channel for current aviation topics.

What you learn from it:

• Respect for the subject. Mentour Pilot treats disasters factually, puts causes in context and avoids sensational images. That is also important for spotters who film an incident. Which legal limits apply is described in the article Photos of aircraft accidents and emergency landings.
• Length is not a problem if the tension is right. Long analyses work because they have a clear dramaturgy: starting situation, sequence of events, cause, lesson. A spotting session can be told that way too – getting there, weather, highlight, conclusion.
• Several channels for several formats. If you separate quick news and deep analyses, you do not confuse your audience.

Type 3: flight and airline reviews

The third type leaves the fence and boards. These channels fly along, film the cabin, service and lounges and rate airlines.

Sam Chui: the frequent flyer with spotter roots

Sam Chui is an Australian aviation and travel vlogger who, according to Wikipedia, began publishing aircraft photos online as early as 1999 and became known for aerial shots of LAX from a helicopter. Today he mainly produces videos about flights, airlines and aviation events. One focus is the Boeing 747: according to Wikipedia, he has flown it in all commercial variants and was on board El Al’s last 747 flight in 2019.

What you learn from it: Passion for one type goes a long way. A channel that is seriously enthusiastic about a particular aircraft finds like-minded people. Whether 747 variants, the last four-engine jets or regional jets – a type niche is a rewarding field for spotters.

Josh Cahill: criticism as a trademark

Josh Cahill is an aviation vlogger who has been publishing flight and airline reviews on YouTube since 2015. He is known for his direct, at times sharp criticism of airlines, which, according to Wikipedia, led to public disputes with airlines several times.

What you learn from it: A stance creates trust – and responsibility. Honest assessments make a channel unmistakable. At the same time, you must be able to back up everything you claim. For spotters, the same applies to image rights: logos, music and third-party material have rules, see Airline logos and trademark law and Music and rights in spotting videos.

Type 4: radio, data and special niches

Besides the big names, there are countless smaller channels with a very specific focus: recordings of ATC radio with animated radar displays, compilations of landings at spectacular runways such as Maho Beach on Sint Maarten or the runway end at Skiathos, historic footage of the legendary approach to Hong Kong Kai Tak, or channels that show only cargo aircraft or military traffic.

Radio channels in particular are popular but legally tricky for spotters in Germany. Listening in on and above all publishing ATC radio is not simply allowed here. Before you put a radio recording under your video, read the article Publishing ATC radio in videos.

The channel types compared

Channel type	Well-known examples	Strength	Transferable to your channel
Live spotting	Big Jet TV, Airline Videos Live	Real time, community chat, events like storms	fixed locations, commentary, watching the weather
Pilot knowledge	Captain Joe	Credibility, clear questions	one topic per video, context about the aircraft
Analyses	Mentour Pilot	Depth, dramaturgy, objectivity	telling a story instead of stringing clips together
Reviews	Sam Chui, Josh Cahill	Personality, stance	your own opinion, your own type niche
Special niches	radio, cargo, history channels	loyal specialist audience	start small, but stay consistent

Seven lessons for your own spotting videos

Practical rules can be derived from all the channel types, and they work even on a small budget.

How to get started with filming technically is described in our guides Shooting plane spotting videos and Video gear for beginners. For editing, Video editing for spotters helps, and for vertical formats, the article YouTube Shorts, TikTok and Reels.

What you should not copy

For all the inspiration, there are things you should not take from big channels – or cannot:

• Access you do not have. Cockpit visits and airport apron tours are mostly arranged and approved. Filming on board and in the terminal follows its own rules, see Photographing and filming on board and Photography in the terminal.
• Sensational thumbnails. Red arrows and “NEAR CRASH!” on a normal crosswind landing bring clicks in the short term but damage your reputation – also in the spotter scene.
• Risks for the shot. No video justifies getting past barriers, climbing fences or flying drones near airports. The rules for behavior at the fence are summarized in Etiquette among spotters.
• Other people’s material. Using excerpts from other videos or livestreams without permission is not a shortcut but a copyright problem.

From viewer to your own channel

Many well-known aviation YouTubers started small: with one camera, one favorite spot and a lot of enthusiasm. If you want to start a channel yourself, everything begins with an honest inventory – what can you deliver regularly, what makes you unmistakable? The step-by-step path is described in the guide Starting a plane spotting YouTube channel. A broader overview of aviation topics on the platform is provided by Aviation on YouTube.

Conclusion

Aviation YouTube is a mirror of the hobby: live spotters like Big Jet TV thrive on the moment and the commentary, pilots like Captain Joe and Mentour Pilot on expertise and good explanation, reviewers like Sam Chui and Josh Cahill on personality and stance. None of these channels became big by chance. Behind all of them are a clear idea, a lot of consistency and respect for the audience. That is exactly what you can adopt – with your own airport, your own eye and your own style.