Thread: Planespotting - Little Guys, Big Fries & Optimus Prime

Planespotting- Little guys, Big fries & Optimus Prime

Picture this, I'm riding in a SUV filled with pre-teen boys engaged in a belching extravaganza. My friend (who somehow got me to volunteer for this) is serenely oblivious to all the burping and giggling, is thanking me for bringing a scanner and hot coffee.
I looked at him and asked "does this go on for long?" he looked at me with one of those looks - you know the kind that says you are in for a long day- and fell out laughing. So with laughter, bemusement and kids belching the alphabet in the backseat, we were off.

The Hill- Imperial Hill, a pair of active runways at a distance of maybe 250 yards. A true "planespotter's paradise".
On the hill were maybe 10 people, the majority of which were 'hardcore spotters' sporting some serious camera equipment; one even had a stepstool, so he could avoid those pesky telephone wires and trees in his shots.

As you know, most kids today are seasoned flyers at an early age, but few know the difference between a 737 and a 747, we were about to put an end to that.
Of course standing on Imperial Hill was not this group's introduction to aviation, oh no, this group had already had a Raytheon engineer explain the principles of flight, (using tissue paper, straws and a cup of water according to the kids) and had visted the California Science Center and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library (where Air Force One was the BIG attraction). One of the kids was even involved in a live downlink conversation with an astronaut on the international space station. Actually it wasn't so much of a conversation as he listened as other students asked questions - probably because the teacher felt belching on demand was a skill not to be broadcast round the world.

Spotting 101
Equipment- The kids carried their spotter guide and a compostion notebook. They had some 'community' binoculars and my scanner to pass around. The kids had a great time watching the planes and checking their guides. The really got into it and they loved listening to the pilots and the tower. "Roger That!"

As for the spotting, with the except of misidentifying a couple of Southwest planes as an Airbus (they eventually figured out all Southwest planes were 737's) they were pretty good.
Their favorite plane, the 747 -BA, Cathay Pacific, Eva Air Cargo- what can I say, they're little boys, they like the way the 747 "hangs in the sky" and they like BIG and LOUD!

Our next stop was the In-N-Out Burger-Sepulveda and 92nd. Now I have to say as a secondary base of operations this wasn't a bad choice, burgers and fries right under final approach.
After the burgers we went across the street to a little grassy area for more spotting and a lively discussion about Optimus Prime. For those of you not in the know, Optimus Prime (Transformer) is leader of the Autobot robots. He can shift into a semi truck and an airplane ( I think). He fights Decepticons-bad robots.
I'm telling you there's a whole 'nother world out there my friend.

All in all not a bad day, the kids learned more about avaition and I learned about Optimus Prime, not a bad day.
Roger that!

***This is a repost of a Forum blog entry