| We like to start this Newsletter
off with a notable moment in aviation history - the farewell of the
Martin Mars. Dietmar Schreiber was able to capture Hawaii Mars
air to air on one of her last flights on 10 August. Thank you, Dietmar,
for sharing your gorgeous photos with the AirHistory.net community.
There's a feature on the JRM Mars under the Articles tab on our website. |
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| Joe Baugher and Geoff Goodall websites saved |
C-FLYL was the second Mars named Hawaii Mars, ex US Navy Bureau Number 76823. An indispensable source
of such information has been Joe Baugher's website on US military
aircraft serial numbers. Unfortunately Joe passed away in November 2023.
Fortunately for us aviation enthusiasts, Marco Dirkx has stepped in to
conserve the wealth of information on Joe's website and not only that,
Marco has also taken upon himself the daunting task of keeping it up to
date. The old website still worked at the time of writing but the new
site is at cruze.com/baugher.
We
also lost renowned aviation historian Geoff Goodall, two months after
Joe. His very accurate data on aircraft used in Australia, plus his
Warbirds Directory, and Beech 18 and Grumman amphibians production
lists, will be kept up at goodall.com.au by the Civil Aviation Historical Society, but unfortunately will no longer be updated. |
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| Not always the same planes, please! |
As we have pointed out before,
AirHistory.net is a database, rather than a random photo gallery. Of
course as an aviation photographer you can show off your work on our
site - we rely on that and we love beautiful photography. But we are no
place for lots of similar photos of the same aircraft. A limit of ten
photos per unchanged airframe has been set. When this is reached, you
see an advisory message when uploading another shot. Unfortunately this
message has been ignored so far by many contributors.
There
can be various reasons for adding another photo, but the red message
asks you to motivate this in the Comment To Crew field at the bottom of
the upload page. If you don't do that, you will not be able to proceed
with the upload in the future. Good reasons for acceptance of such a
photo can be:- A new or revised livery worn by the airframe, or revised operator titles
- New, very noticeable promotional titles - not just a small sticker
- A new aircraft name or nose art
- A
substantially different date. If the date taken is very different to
examples on the database, the photo can be historically relevant, even
with an unchanged livery. A gap of a couple of years is
sufficient.
- A change in the aircraft's status: operational,
stored, parts missing, derelict, dumped. Such changes document an
aircraft's career and are historically very relevant!
- A new view
- we distinguish between different sides, and flying
versus parked. Different phases of flight (landing / take-off /
flying) and different angles only matter if the new photo shows
something important that cannot be seen in existing views.
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Even at the
major spotter airports, there is always something of interest.
Anadolujet was reformed as AJet in 2024 and of course the rebranding
came with a new livery. This aircraft, TC-LUR, is also quite new,
delivered in 2023, and at the moment of writing we only had one photo of
it in the old colour scheme. There may be more interesting, entirely
uploadable stuff sitting neglected on your harddisk than you think!
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| Message from the screeners |
| We still do not limit your total
number of uploads, but we only have a small team of screeners and we ask
you to please limit your uploads to about 25 a day. By the way, we are
always interested to hear from you if you're an experienced aviation
photographer and feel like helping us with the screening job. If you're
interested, please contact us at headscreeners@airhistory.net |
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| Photo theft allegations |
| We have recently had a few
complaints that images hosted on our website were 'stolen' from other
people. In at least one case, the accusation was false and the
photographer who the allegation was made against was able to prove this
by producing the original file. These days, there are several firms of
laywers which may try to lake legal action against you if they think
there has been a breach of copyright. We at AirHistory.net cannot take
any part in any such action. We can only recommend that you always keep
the original files of any images that you upload, which is of course
what most photographers always do anyway. |
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| What the editors do |
| As an AirHistory.net user you
probably have a good idea of what the photo screeners do. But what do
the editors do? Apart from handling all sorts of correction requests
regarding the information provided with the photos, one of the main
tasks is the standardization of the aircraft types. We try to have
standardized aircraft manufacturer names, model numbers and version
names. When this is correctly done, the big benefit is that all the
available photos of a particular type or version are grouped under one
link. For newbies at the site, here is an explanation of the three
type-related entries that you see with every aircraft photo in the
database, for example, this picture of a DC-9-14, built in 1966 under
the old Douglas name. When you click on this photo you see the
three type-related entries for this aircraft in the database. |
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Aircraft Original Type: This
is the first basic variant in which an aircraft was produced - in our
terms, the first Generic Type. In the case of the DC-9, it is the
Douglas DC-9.
Aircraft Generic Type: For the DC-9 series, we distinguish three Aircraft Generic Types: - Douglas DC-9: as above
- McDonnell Douglas DC-9/C-9: basically the same aircraft built under the McDonnell Douglas name, including the military C-9
- McDonnell
Douglas MD-80 (DC-9-80): the Super stretch, identified by us as a
distinct Generic Type and standardized under the new MD designation.
Aircraft Version: The relevant aircraft version within the relevant Aircraft Generic Type, in this case, a DC-9-14.
When
you click on the Aircraft Version, you only get to see photos of
DC-9-14 aircraft. When you click on the Generic Type, you get all DC-9s
built under the Douglas name. When you click on the Original Type, you
get the whole family, i.e. all photos of Douglas DC-9s, McDonnell
Douglas DC-9s and C-9s, and MD-80s too.
Other things that the editors keep an eye on include:- the correct listing of registrations and serials
- the correct format of construction numbers (manufacturer serial numbers)
- checking
if the given c/n is correct for the given registration, especially for
bizjets where the same registration is sometimes used for different
airframes, even of the same type
- adding data for license-built production
- checking the correct use of Operator Titles and Promotional Titles
- checking and adding Unit Markings - see the article at the tail of this newsletter
The
editors also frequently tackle aircraft types where errors have crept
in, going through all the photo entries. Recently they handled the
Panavia Tornado and two Beech types, the Baron 58 and the T-6 Texan II.
For the Tornado, a help text was added to the upload page, explaining
the correct construction number format. |
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| The Beech 58 Baron has been
produced under five manufacturer names - Beech, Raytheon, Hawker
Beechcraft, Beechcraft and now Textron. There are also conversions under
the name Colemill Foxstar, such as the 58P Pressurized Baron
below, converted to a Foxstar with winglets. Help texts have been
added to the upload page with all the c/n batches, so it is now easy to
see which generic type and version should be used. |
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| We currently have over 570
Beech 58 Baron photos in the database. However, over 3000 Baron 58s have
been built, so we actually think our score is not so great. Maybe you
can check your collection and increase their numbers! |
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| The Texan II military trainer has
Swiss origins, and therefore the Original Type is the Pilatus PC-9.
Beech used a PC-9 to develop prototypes that had the model name PD-373
Beech Mk II. But the manufacturer name had changed to Raytheon by the
time production started of the T-6 Texan II, and like the Baron, the T-6
went through a quick succession of manufacturer names. Here, too, help
texts have been added to make it easier for our photographers to select
the correct name for a given airframe. For example, the Mexican aircraft
below is a Beechcraft T-6C+ Texan II, as this one was built when the
manufacturer was known as Beechcraft. |
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| As you can imagine with nearly
three quarters of a million photos in the database, there's always an
editing job to be done. If you feel this work is important and something
you'd like to be part of, there certainly are positions still open in
our international team of editors. Please contact us at editors@airhistory.net. |
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| Mapping the photos |
| Another thing the editors do is trying to give every photo a map location. Clicking on the Map link
in the caption of a photo beams you to the photo location in
Google Maps. For an airfield, this will be the centre point of the
main runway or the middle of a big airport. For a single aircraft at an
off-airport location, we like to provide the exact spot! For the
map locations obviously we need the geographic coordinates. This is not
too difficult for airfields, heliports and museums, but if you
photographed an aircraft preserved as a monument or advertising
billboard at a new location, it is appreciated if you can help us with
the coordinates to save us a lot of time. |
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If an active aircraft landed at
some off-airport place, we obviously need good information from the
photographer to process the location correctly. Fortunately, Michel
van Herten supplied the coordinates of the parking lot in a small
village in the Netherlands where PH-ULP landed on ambulance duty.
As many viewers highly appreciate the Map feature, we are grateful to
receive the coordinates when you upload such off-airport photos. You can
put the coordinates in the 'Comment to Crew' field at the bottom of the
upload form. Thank you very much!
If you're unfamiliar with finding coordinates, please refer to our How to Find Coordinates document in the Reference section of our website. It provides an easy-to-follow guide. |
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As a historic
aviation photo database, we don't just collect information about
aircraft but also about the airfields and other locations where the
photos were taken. Just like anything else, airfield names often change.
At AirHistory the location name in the photo caption is always the
current or last name, which may feel a little awkward sometimes. We
know that RAF Laarbruch was not called Weeze Airport when XZ387 was
still around!
We think it is important, however, to show all
photos of one airfield under one link, irrespective of the name that was
valid at the time of the photo. Also, it is often very difficult to
find out which name was valid at the time of the photo, particularly for
old photos, and the photo date is not always known. For big airports
the correct name can generally be found, but this is often not the case
for general aviation fields, heliports, or aerodromes from the old
days!
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However, previous and alternative names are present in our database, and they can be seen, too! When you hover the mouse over the yellow City/Airport
entry in the caption, the historical and alternative names appear. The
screenshot on the right shows the old names of London - Heathrow.
This is convenient not only to trace an airfield's history. Today, many
well-known airfield names are no longer in official use, and our
database reflects this. However, these historic names are still listed
in the database, and can still be used in searches.
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| There's more under your mouse |
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The 'mouse-over' function seen above in the Location field of our database has also been added in three other places. In the Operator field,
you can now sometimes see a mouse-over text showing the country the
operator is from, for example' Mexico' for this Policía Federal
Cessna. In the Museum or Collection Name and the Event Name fields
you may see a mouse-over text showing the location that is valid for a
photo, which is convenient especially for events which may have been
taken place at different locations throughout the years. This
functionality is work in progress, but it has already been added in many
places where it is most useful.
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| What's that about Unit Markings? |
| At AirHistory.net there is a
database field named Unit Markings. For photos of military aircraft, a
military unit can be listed here. Not every photographer has the
necessary knowledge or the interest to fill this in, and it is therefore
not required. But we highly appreciate it when it is filled in
correctly! |
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An important principle that not
everybody is aware of is that this is not about the unit that actually
operates the aircraft, but simply about the markings that are painted on
it. Unit markings can take several forms: a squadron badge, a letter or
number code, a coloured band, etc. Units can be lower echelon ones
like flights and squadrons. but also higher echelons like wings or even
commands. If a marking for such a unit is painted on the aircraft we
will list it; if not, we don’t list it. Thus, even though you may know
for sure that an USAF aircraft flies with 69 TFS that is part of 347 TFW
that is part of TAC, that does not mean that the Unit Markings should
automatically be listed as '69 TFS / 347 TFW / TAC'. We only list those
parts for which the markings are actually carried on the aircraft.
Also
important is that we only list the markings that are carried on the
depicted side of the aircraft. The reason is that the viewers cannot see
the other side, and the editors also cannot verify what is on the other
side.
Below are given some examples with an explanation of
the markings and how to deal with them in the database. This is an
abstract of a more comprehensive How to list Unit Markings document that is available in the Reference section of the AirHistory.net website. |
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This Dutch Starfighter is an easy example: it carries the parrot squadron badge of 322 Sqn.
Unit Markings: 322 Sqn
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This A-7 was
photographed during a squadron exchange between Greek unit 338 Moira and
German unit JBG 38. So it was most certainly assigned to 338 Moira.
However, it doesn’t carry any unit markings, so the Unit Markings field
must be left empty. Of course, you are welcome to mention the unit in
the Photo Comment field.
Unit Markings: [empty]
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This Greek
A-7 also doesn't wear a unit badge, but the tiger stripes are derived
from the badge of 335 Moira. In this case only the rudder is striped,
but this is still good enough for the aircraft to be listed as wearing
335 Moira markings.
Unit Markings: 335 Moira
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| This RAF Eurofighter Typhoon does
not carry any unit markings, except for a squadron code, as in the old
days. GN is the World War II code for 249 Sqn, which in this case
is only worn for commemorative reasons. Actually, 249 does not
exist anymore, and from documentation it is known that this aircraft is
operated by 29 Sqn. |
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However,
since we only list units for which markings are carried, we list 249
Sqn, and not 29 Sqn. Of course, you are very welcome to mention 29 Sqn
as the actual operating unit in the Photo Comment field. The code
GN-A itself, by the way, should go into the Military Code field.
Unit Markings: 249 Sqn
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This Hastings
carries the titles of Royal Air Force Transport Command, a higher
echelon unit. We abbreviate this to RAF Transport Command. It also
carries the Transport Command badge, and a marking for 511 Sqn. We
always place the lowest echelon marking first, so this should be listed
as:
Unit Markings: 511 Sqn / RAF Transport Command
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On USAF
aircraft there is often a lot to discover! This F-4E has the silver band
of 69 TFS, the badge and code MY of 347 TFW, and the Tactical Air
Command badge. This one shall be listed as:
Unit Markings: 69 TFS /
347 TFW / TAC
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| Important is that we only list the
markings worn on the depicted side of the aircraft. This A-7 flew with
174 TFS, part of 185 TFG, part of the Iowa Air National Guard. Another
photo shows a 185 TFG badge on the other side, but that badge is not
carried on this side. The 174 TFS badge, bat logo and HA tail code are
worn, but, as the HA code belongs to the squadron in this case, no 185
TFG marking is present on this side. |
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The badge of
the ANG is carried. There is no reference to Iowa, but as an exception,
we always list the ANG state in full, also when the state is not painted
on the aircraft. So this aircraft shall be listed as:
Unit Markings: 174 TFS /
Iowa ANG
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This US-2A
Tracker is only carrying titles of its base, Lakehurst. Bases are not
flying units, but for the US Navy such base names indicate that an
aircraft is operated by the station flight of the base, which is a
flying unit. This one shall thus be listed as:
Unit Markings: NAS Lakehurst
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| Most French aircraft have codes
that identify their unit. On this Mirage 2000, the initial '12'
indicates Escadre (wing) 12 while the 'Y' indicates Escadron 1 within EC
12. Note that we continue to use the traditional form of writing the
units: EC 1/12 instead EC 01.012. |
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Many
escadrons also carry old insignia from World War I units. Our Mirage
carries the badge of WWI escadrille SPA89. On the other side it carries
the badge of SPA162 but as that is not visible it should should not
be listed for this photo.
Unit Markings: EC 1/12 / SPA89
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| Finally, aircraft in the colours
of a display team will be listed as if the team is a unit. When we know
the unit of the team, it will be listed behind the team name. Teams
without a special colour scheme will not be listed. |
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This Dutch
Alouette III was flown by the Grasshoppers team. Two units have run the
Grasshoppers team: 299 Sqn and 300 Sqn. With this colour scheme, the
parent unit was 300 Sqn. So the unit markings should be listed as:
Unit Markings: Grasshoppers / 300 Sqn
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| We hope that the above explains
the basic conventions that we use and that this helps you to find out
how to list the unit markings with your photos. Maybe you are afraid
that your knowledge about units is not good enough, or maybe you don’t
find it interesting. The Unit Markings field will remain optional and
not required. We hope that you will give it a try, though. Again, a
more thorough document
with additional examples is available in the Reference section that you
can access through the main menu of our website. Military aircraft
units can be a fascinating subject, and one that will surely be
deepening your aviation knowledge! |
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Photos by Freek Blokzijl, Hervé Cariou, Joop Dionet, Paul Goddard, Joop de Groot, Michel van Herten,
Tim Martin, Keith McKenzie (via Ian McDonell), Harry Prins, Michael Roeser, Dietmar Schreiber,
Marinus Dirk Tabak, Dennis Vink - Phodocu, Fred Willemsen, from the Harry Prins Collection,
and from the AirHistory.net Photo Archive |
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