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The sky
Plane parts, explained: what each part of an aircraft does
The main plane parts, as NASA Glenn's guide sets them out, are the wings, which make most of the lift, the fuselage that holds everything together, the tail that keeps the aircraft flying straight, and the engi…
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Your aircraft
Plane spotting apps and equipment: what helps first
Plane spotting apps and equipment come down to three jobs: an app helps identify a flight, binoculars help you observe it, and a camera helps you keep a picture. Choose the task first: buying more equipment doe…
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Your aircraft
Plane spotting at Gatwick: what the airport provides
Gatwick says it has no dedicated plane viewing area. Passengers can have airfield views from some departure-side spaces, but that does not create a public spotting gallery for a visitor without a flight.
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Your aircraft
Plane spotting at Heathrow: where you can watch
Heathrow names one place for people who are not flying: a free covered viewing stand at the Heathrow Academy on Newall Road, looking over the northern runway. Some visitors report it closed, so read the section…
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Your aircraft
Plane spotting at Stansted: Plane Watch and Aerozone
Stansted has an enthusiast watch scheme and an education centre. Neither should be mistaken for unrestricted public access to airport land or a walk-in viewing gallery.
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Your aircraft
Plane spotting in the UK: where to watch planes near you
The easiest places to watch planes in the UK are the viewing areas airport operators have built. This guide covers three: Manchester's Runway Visitor Park, Birmingham's viewing area in Car Park 5, and the runwa…
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Your aircraft
Plane spotting photography: getting a print-worthy shot
For plane spotting photos worth printing, use a long lens, a shutter of 1/1000s or faster for jets (around 1/250s or slower for propellers), continuous autofocus and burst mode, and keep the sun behind you. The…
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The sky
Private pilot licence cost in the UK: build a real budget
A UK private pilot licence costs thousands of pounds, and published prices vary by school: Fife Flight Centre estimates £17,000–£19,000 for its 50–55-hour scenario, excluding the examiner’s fee; West London Aer…
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Help
Questions and help
Ordering, sizes, gift orders, vouchers, delivery and returns, and how to contact us.
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Your aircraft
RAF Brize Norton plane spotting: where people watch from
RAF Brize Norton plane spotting happens from public roads, footpaths and village streets around the airfield, because the station says there are no official viewing areas near it. What you watch from there is t…
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Your aircraft
RAF Coningsby plane spotting: the viewing area and the BBMF
RAF Coningsby plane spotting starts at the public viewing area on Dogdyke Road, Coningsby, LN4 4SY, which the station itself names and which has a free car park. A short way round the airfield, the Battle of Br…
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Your aircraft
RAF Fairford plane spotting: access and Park & View
You can watch at RAF Fairford from the Royal International Air Tattoo’s Park & View, a ticketed event with east and west viewing enclosures; we have not established a public viewing area for an ordinary day. A …
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Your aircraft
RAF Lakenheath plane spotting: where to watch the F-15E and F-35A
RAF Lakenheath plane spotting centres on the aircraft viewing area beside the A1065 in Suffolk, where enthusiasts gather to log the 48th Fighter Wing’s F-15Es and F-35As. It fills up early, and it is better for…
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Your aircraft
RAF Marham plane spotting: where to see the F-35B
RAF Marham plane spotting happens from public lanes and laybys on the Norfolk farmland around the airfield, because the station says it has no official viewing area. The prize is the F-35B Lightning, the only t…
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Your aircraft
RAF Waddington plane spotting: the public viewing area
RAF Waddington plane spotting is done from the public viewing area and car park just off the airfield, which the station describes as open to the general public for safe aircraft viewing. The Red Arrows are bas…
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Returns and cancellations
Airport-code prints within 14 days; prints made from your photo; downloads; damaged or wrong orders.
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The gift
Spitfire gifts from your own photo of a Spitfire
Spitfire gifts here start from a real Spitfire: a photo you took at an airshow or a museum, or one you have permission to reproduce. The aircraft print redraws it in one of five styles and shows you a free wate…
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Aviation guides
Stansted airport code: STN and EGSS
London Stansted uses STN for passenger-facing airport identification and EGSS as its ICAO identifier. Both identify the same airport; neither is the code for every London airport.
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The sky
The Concorde aeroplane: history, why it stopped flying and where to see one
The Concorde aeroplane was built by Britain and France under a treaty signed on 29 November 1962. It first flew on 2 March 1969, carried fare-paying passengers from 21 January 1976, and stopped when British Air…
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The gift
The gift
Who it is for, and what lands. One page per recipient, each making only the argument that is its own.
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The sky
The largest aeroplane in the world: wingspan, weight and passengers
By wingspan, the largest aeroplane in the world is the Stratolaunch Roc, at 117.35 metres, according to Guinness World Records. No single aircraft wins on every measure: the Antonov An-225 held the take-off wei…
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The sky
The Lockheed Constellation: history, variants and where to see one
The Lockheed Constellation was a pressurised airliner that Lockheed began designing in the late 1930s to meet TWA's call for non-stop coast-to-coast flights. It first flew on 9 January 1943, as a military trans…
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The sky
The sky: aeroplane facts with their sources
Sourced answers about flight, aircraft, airport terminology and aviation history, free to read.
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The sky
The Spitfire aircraft: a short history
The Supermarine Spitfire aircraft is a family of fighters, not one unchanged machine. Its story begins with a prototype in 1936 and continues through different versions, roles and surviving museum aircraft.
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Your aircraft
Turn a photo into a painting: aircraft photos as wall art
To turn a photo of an aircraft into a painting, upload your sharpest shot, pick the watercolour or oil style, and it is redrawn with a painted look; you see a free watermarked preview before you pay. You can al…
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The sky
What are the main types of aircraft?
The main types of aircraft are aeroplanes, rotorcraft and gliders. The US federal regulations (14 CFR 1.1) tell them apart by one thing: where the lift comes from.
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The sky
What is a knot in aviation?
A knot is one nautical mile per hour, and the international nautical mile is exactly 1,852 metres. Both figures are fixed by agreement, not by measurement.
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The sky
What is a runway?
A runway is a defined area used for aircraft take-off and landing. It can be paved or unpaved. On numbered runways, the number gives a direction, not a name.
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The sky
What is a squawk code? Squawk 7700 and the rest
Squawk 7700 means the aircraft is in a state of emergency, and nothing more: the UK rule behind it, SERA.13005 in the CAA's regulatory library, names no cause. A squawk code is the four-digit code a pilot sets …