How to Upload your Photos

Only members are able to upload photos to the AirHistory.net database. If you wish to join as a member, please go to our Contact page and select "Apply for Membership" from the menu.

Before starting your first upload, please refer to our Which Photos to Upload guide to see which kind of photos we are looking for. You will find that AirHistory.net is not like other aviation photo websites and reading that guide first will prevent unnecessary disappointment.

The upload procedure is easy to follow. There are help texts at each step for guidance and it is recommended you refer to them until you are familiar with AirHistory.

It is important to note some data fields will provide options after entering only a few characters. These fields include aircraft type, operator and location. It does so by searching for existing database entries. Characters such as spaces, full stops and hyphens are ignored, so typing F27200, F-27 200 or F.27-200 will all find the correct F27-200. You need not to type what you want in full. Typing 7378 will list all 737-800s, and just EGLL or LHR will list London-Heathrow Airport.
When the data you are entering no longer matches anything in the database, a message will appear "no results found". Provided there is no typographical errors, continue entering your data. When you have finished, click outside the data field and a popup will appear asking if you want to add the new data. When you click yes, other data fields may appear. These are explained in the appropriate parts of this guide.
We urge you to check carefully for existing entries before creating new entries. Unnecessary duplication will make it more difficult for people to find your photos.

The format for entering a date is year-month-day: 2018-01-31 becomes 31 January 2018 in the database. There are calendars with pull-down menus to assist you. A date range can be set when the exact date is not known. This is done by entering start and end dates. If a single month is wanted, it is year-month-00, so 2018-01-00 becomes January 2018 in the database.

Step 1 - Drop or select the photo

Click Upload, then drag and drop the photo into the rectangle, or click the Browse button to select your photo. If you have more than one photographer's name tied to your account, select the name that indicates the correct authorship of your photo.

Step 2 - Aircraft or Airport

There are separate upload pages for aircraft and airports. If you click the wrong one, cancel the upload and start again. These instructions are for aircraft but the principles remain the same for airports.

Step 3 - Autosuggest

  1. Enter the registration/serial
  2. Enter the date or date range. Autosuggest makes selections based on the dates closest to the date of your photo.
  3. Click Auto-suggest info

You will receive one of two responses:

  1. There is no registration/serial matching the request. Go on and fill the rest of the data fields manually.
  2. A list of aircraft, with thumbnail photos, that match the registration/serial of your photo. You can click the thumbnail for a larger view. If none of these photos are the same aircraft in your photo, click cancel and fill the data fields manually.

If the aircraft in your photo is on the list, select the one with the data that best matches it by correctly filling the largest number of data fields. Where it does not, the data can be changed later.

The following data fields will fill automatically:

  • Aircraft type
  • Construction number, line number and other airframe data
  • Military codes, fleet numbers and other marks
  • Operators
  • Aircraft name

At this point you should check that all the auto-filled fields are correct for your photo. The data that are most likely to change are the operator and codes and other marks. The aircraft type might change if, for example, the photo is before or after a conversion. Changing the auto-filled data is done the same way as inputting new data.

Step 4 - Manual data entry

Aircraft marks

For most civil aircraft only the registration (official) is required. Many military aircraft, warbirds and operators with fleet numbers will have additional fields to complete. Aircraft with dual registrations and from countries that do not display the national prefix will also require additional information. Use the help texts for guidance.

Aircraft data

A very large number of aircraft types are held in the database and this field will offer suggestions when you are typing. It is best to NOT start typing at the beginning, but instead type a distinctive part of the aircraft version. For example, to select the Boeing 747-236B, it is best to type "747236". This will immediately show the version you need in the menu, which you can then select. In general, you should avoid typing any manufacturer name, because the version you seek may be under a different manufacturer (for example under Lockheed Martin instead of Lockheed).
If the aircraft type you entered is not in the database, upon leaving the field you will be asked if you want to create a new type. Please check carefully before adding a new type and do not do so until you are sure it is not on the database (possible under a slightly different name).

If you are certain you need to create a new aircraft type, enter the full version (including the manufacturer name) in the field and then click outside the field. Answer yes at the prompt that follows. This will open the generic type field, where you must select the generic aircraft type for which you just entered the new version. If necessary, you can add a new generic type in a similar manner, but again please only do so when you are certain that the type you need is not already on the database.

When an aircraft type is selected or added, the construction number (c/n) field will open. For aircraft that require a line number, that data field will also open. You can open additional fields for conversion numbers and the manufacturer if the aircraft is licence-built.

Aircraft operator

Operator names may only be entered when titles or logos are actually carried on the aircraft. When you enter an operator, whether an existing one or a new one, additional options open for aircraft that have no titles and aircraft that have second or third operators at the time of the photo. The "Display/Historic Paint" field has a specific purpose. Read help texts for more information.
The database stores military operators by country, then service and not by the formal name. For example, it is UK - Navy, not Royal Navy or Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm.

Location

Airports and other locations can be found by entering part of the city's name, airport name, or airport code (ICAO, IATA or other). A huge number of airports are held in the database so do not add a new airport until you are sure it is not in there. There is an “in flight” button for aircraft photographed air-to-air from another aircraft.

The order of data for a new airport is city, town or locality, followed by a hyphen and the airport's name if there is a name. Then in brackets add the ICAO and IATA codes separated by a /). Most airports and aerodromes have ICAO codes. Some small private airstrips will not. Airports with IATA codes are generally those with regular air services but there are exceptions.
When adding an off-airport location, start the off-airport location with an asterisk and the system will take care of the rest. It is city/town first, location in the city/town second. (Example: *Santiago / City Plaza). You will be prompted to add the country and state/province.

Entering an airport opens other data fields, some of which are filled automatically such as state and country. There is a data field for aircraft held in a museum or collection and another for events such as air shows and air races. These must be aviation events. Both fields will search the database for matches as you are entering the data. When you see the event or museum you want, select it. Typing a year will give you all events held that year, so please add the year of any new events you create.

Categories

There are several photo subjects that require boxes to be ticked to assist database searchers. If your photo fits none of the categories, do not mark any of the boxes.

Aircraft Name

This section covers all aircraft names – airliners, private and military. Clipper Golden Eagle, Spirit of St Louis and Memphis Belle are all aircraft names. The database will be searched for matching names as you enter the name. Typing Clipper will give all known names that contain Clipper.

Photo Comment

This field can be used for historical facts or personal comments or recollections about the photo. Obscenities, offensive or derogatory comments, email addresses or links to other websites are not permitted. Try to write in a way that will still make sense in ten or twenty years' time. AirHistory.net is not social media, so do not use the photo comment for private messages or greetings.
If you mention dates in the comment, do not use all-number formats like 5/9/1998, because their meaning is not uniform around the world. It means 5 September 1998 to many, but 9 May 1998 to others. To avoid this confusion, dates must always be written with the month in letters, e.g. 5 September 1998, 5 Sep 1998 or September 5, 1998. Also, please always write the year using all four digits.
If you mention airports in the comment, use the city or name of that airport and not an ICAO or IATA code. Such codes are not well understood by most viewers.
The Photo Comment field is optional. If you have no useful comment to make, simply leave the field blank.

Comment to Crew

Here you can type any messages that may be relevant for the screeners or database editors. If you are asked for the reasons why certain fields cannot be completed, they will go here.

Upload or Cancel

When an upload is successful, you will be asked whether you want to do another upload or whether you are done.
Please wait until you have this message to make sure your upload is complete.

Although the upload process may seem complicated, it has been designed to promote accuracy to the greatest extent possible, and it will become easier as you gain experience in using the system.
We appreciate your time and efforts in contributing to the site.

How to correct errors

Members have a limited ability to make edits between upload and when the photo is accepted for the database.

The main thing you can change is the photo itself, using the Photo Replacement button. Follow the prompts and wait for the message that the replacement has been successful.

The edit button will allow you to make some additions and corrections. However the aircraft type, construction number, operator and location cannot be changed once the photo has been uploaded. A photo can either be deleted if these details are incorrect or you can submit a correction to the database editors to fix it for you. Editors will correct errors of fact only. They will not update your remarks other than to correct historical errors.

It is also recommended that photos be “deleted” while you are editing and reloading photos so the photo screeners do not accept them. When you have made your changes, click save changes. You will be returned to your queue where you can “undelete” your photo.