Solutie pentru a rezolva problema cu spotting si securitatea!

Hi,

I’m going to write this in English because it’s much easier for me to express what I want to say in regards to some of the new measures that were implemented worldwide, when it comes to airport security. This topic has been discussed before, but bare with me, you won’t be disappointed.

The good old days when anyone could just ask nicely and (if they were lucky) got a personal tour of the flight deck, are long gone. I remember my first cockpit visit while flying as a passenger from Toronto to Frankfurt on an Air Canada 767-300ER. That moment alone cemented my goal of becoming an airline pilot, so I cherish it dearly.

Well I don’t want to get too deep into what I mentioned above, because that’s a whole different issue. What I want to talk about are the problems spotters face on a daily basis, not only in Canada and USA, but also around the world.

It seems to me that Romania has a ridiculous policy when it comes to allowing photography and spotting near their airports. To some extent, I agree with the authorities. Being part of NATO and participating in Iraq and Afghanistan does put people at risk and for whatever reason, individuals who want to harm us, like to pick aviation as their target. Sad, but true…

I’m sure that at some point in our “spotter” life we came across Airport Security, Police and other law enforcement agencies. If I had a penny for every time I was asked to “pack my stuff and go away”, I’d probably be able to buy a brand new SLR camera. So what is it that we can do to improve our situation? Educate the authorities? Not likely.

In Calgary I’ve been part of a group that seemed to have an answer to this. It’s called “YYC Airport Watch” which was modeled after the “YYZ Airport Watch” Okay YYC stands for Calgary International and YYZ for Toronto Pearson International.

So what are they? They are a group of aviation enthusiast, (aka spotters) that are working together with the local airport management, airport security and the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) to improve airport security based on a volunteer program. This is a fantastic idea, because it’s a win-win situation for both parties.

Naturally, spotters know a lot of information about their local airport; everything from runway layout, buildings, operators at the airport, aircraft types & even schedules for these. Well what happened in Toronto, Ottawa and Calgary is that we were able to convince the authorities to support and even sponsor the “Airport Watch Program”. This is where we act as the eyes and ears of the security.

Of course, every member had to go through a police background check and were issued ID badges along with Jackets and Caps (I think the money for that was raised by the group + some sponsoring from the RCMP, but I’m not 100% sure). So while we enjoyed spotting, we helped the airport authority as well. If we are to see something “out of the ordinary, all we had to do is call airport security, the non-emergency police number, etc. Our job was “Observe, Record & Report”. When the security truck would pass by the fence, they’d see our “Airport Watch” jackets and leave us alone. Sometimes, they’d even come to thank us for the help we give them.

Since I spent a lot of time at the airport (both as a spotter and as a pilot) I learned that airport like it was my backyard. One night after I returned from a flight, I was driving back home and I noticed one of the airport gates open. Something must’ve happened and it didn’t lock. I quickly picked up my cell phone and called the airport security to let them know about the open gate. It turned out that they knew about and someone was just on their way there.

A more interesting story happened somewhere in Northern Ontario. From what I hear, a group of local spotters that was taken pictures and recording every aircraft registration that was landing there noticed an unusual aircraft & suspicious activity around it. Well, with their help, the local police managed to track down and bust a major drug smuggling operation.

I think that you should present this to your authorities, try to get some local businesses involved and you can work together to achieve something similar to what goes on in Calgary, Toronto and Ottawa.

Here’s the link to the YYZ Airport Watch:

http://www.airportwatchcanada.com/

Here’s al ink to the YYC Airport Watch:

http://www.contrailsphotography.com/yycaw/index.html


Please feel free to ask any questions or make suggestions.

Regards,

Vio

Ma intreb... daca s`ar infiinta o asociatie, Asociatia Spotterilor Romani sau Asociatia Spotterilor din Romania nu ar face lucrurile poate un pic mai usoare? Adica sa se treaca intr`un cadru legal: loc special amenajat, ecusoane, etc...

magnum 44 merge?

de fapt tot ce trebuie e sa studiem atent legea care nu ne-ar da voie sa facem asta, si daca nu avem voie stam chill, dar daca avem si suntem pe zone "interzise" ca asa vor unii si altii iar legea ne acopera, sa ii lasam sa ne prinda sa le putem scoate limba dupa

Au aparut in presa doua articole recente de Alina Sabou in care se incearca "popularizarea" spottingului si in Romania. Eu spun ca-s binevenite. Si sunt scrise destul de bine. De fapt e un singur articol, ca cel din Gandul e un fel de reclama pentru cel din Banateanul.

Bravo Vio pentru popularizare! :-)

Articolul din ziarul Banateanul: Spottingul - un hobby interzis (23 iunie 2008)

Articolul din Gandul: Un hobby interzis: spottingul aviatic (24 iunie 2008)

Sa speram ca va fii mediatizat mai mult in trustul Media Pro ( ambele apartin de ei) acest articol

Citat :

Postat de Foto Graff la 24.06.2008 10:12
hobby! sa fotografiezi avioane! mwhahahaha! ce tampenie, poate la copii de clasa a doua-treia odata cu versurile "avion cu motor, ia-ma si pe mine-n zbor, sa ma fac aviator".

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