When did your passion for plane spotting start?

My passion for aviation started at a very early age. My mother used to teach at the Luqa primary school and during lunch break, she used to take me to the airport to watch the arrival of the Air Malta flight from Rome. A neighbour of ours worked as a technician with the Armed Forces of Malta’s Helicopter Flight and he once took me along to see the helicopters.

Growing up, we weren’t particularly well off, but every year we would go abroad. Back then, children were actually invited to visit the cockpit during the flight. I can fondly recall those moments admiring the complex instrumentation of the Austrian Airlines DC-9s and the Air Malta Boeing 720s.

I guess it all snowballed from there. At St Aloysius College we had an aviation group, which I eventually took over. We visited the AFM’s Air Squadron and Air Malta’s heavy maintenance hangar. By then I had become a member of the Association of Aircraft Enthusiasts, now known as the Malta Aviation Society. These were exciting times and I became involved in the organisation of the first editions of the Malta International Airshow.

While on holiday in Poland, I bought my first SLR, a Russian Zenit 12XP. It was very rudimentary, solid as a brick, and probably weighed as much as one. Eventually a telephoto lens found its way into my camera bag. The Zenit soldiered on for many years until I could afford a second-hand Nikon.

In the cockpit of Air Malta's last Boeing 737 after its final passenger flight with the airline.

How much time do you dedicate to plane spotting?

With a family and two very young girls, finding any me time is always a feat. Luckily for me, my daughters have grown to like our visits to the airport and sometimes we dedicate some time to plane spotting during our Sunday family outings.

Due to either family or work commitments, I miss a lot of aircraft movements during the day, but if something comes in at night, then I’ll do my very best to get a shot at it. I mostly concentrate my hobby on dedicated trips abroad, where all I do from dawn till dusk is plane spotting. To date, I have plane spotted in around 50 airfields in around 14 countries.

What equipment do you need for plane spotting?

For the last 10 years I’ve been travelling on dedicated plane spotting trips

There are different ways of enjoying plane spotting. Some people are just happy to jot down logs of the registrations of aircraft they’ve seen. I’m more into the photo­graphy side of things. Many people start out with a compact camera. Today’s bridge cameras do wonderful jobs on a budget, but if you’re really serious about aviation photography, then you will need to invest in a semi-pro SLR camera and a range of lenses. Static shots at an airshow would require a wide-angle lens, but if you take the challenge to shoot a fighter jet display, then you will need a big zoom or telephoto lens.

Personally I’ve opted for Nikon’s D7000 SLR combined to a Sigma 50-500 zoom lens, a Nikon D5100 combined to a Sigma 10-20mm lens, and a Nikon D80 with an AF Nikkor 18-200 lens. A sturdy tripod is also important for night shots.

Many spotters use airband radios in order to listen to communications between aircraft and air traffic control. However, nowadays, the sky is the limit on the equipment available to plane spotters. We even have smartphone apps which allow us to track aircraft as they appear on radar.

What means do you use to anticipate the arrival of particularly interesting aircraft?

One of the nicest things about this hobby is that we are a close-knit community. Many people have different information sources. Some movements are unscheduled and unexpected, like when some airliner diverts to Malta due to a sick passenger or bad weather at its destination airport. In such instances, it’s mainly up to someone listening on the airband radio. We keep each other informed through SMS, Facebook groups and e-mail.

What features do you use to identify planes?

All civil aircraft have their own specific registration, which is unique to every aircraft. Military aircraft have a serial number instead, depending on the particular air force.

What is your spotting style: civilian or military aircraft?

I’m an aircraft enthusiast. If it flies and doesn’t have feathers, I’m going to take a shot.

Which is the best location for plane spotting in Malta?

Malta International Airport is blessed with a number of excellent spotting locations, mainly thanks to the hard work of the Malta Aviation Society, which has ensured that there is a mutual understanding between plane spotters and airport security. The spotting platform at Safi, just opposite the terminal, is an ideal location. The sun is behind you at most times of the day, offering good lighting for photos. The platform is sufficiently elevated to avoid the airfield fence completely, and it is located roughly mid-way down the runway, which ensures that you can get a good shot regardless of the runway direction in use on that day.

Have you ever travelled to watch aircraft abroad?

I visited my first airshow overseas, almost by accident, 15 years ago. I was in London and there were posters of the Duxford Autumn Airshow all over the tube stations. I simply had to go.

For the last 10 years I’ve been travelling on dedicated plane spotting trips with friends. I’ve been to Turkey, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, France, Greece, Germany, the UK and the Netherlands. This kind of travel is indeed an experience. It takes you off the beaten tourist path and you get to visit relatively unknown parts of the country and get a true feel of a country.

Which are the most exciting planes that you have spotted to date?

There have definitely been some moments whic­­h I’ll treasure forever. Air-to-air photoshoots with the AFM’s Air Wing and the Malta Aviation Museum’s Tiger Moth were truly challenging and rewarding experiences.

I have a particular fondness for older aircraft, especially military ones. Seeing the world’s last flying Avro Vulcan was definitely a big high for me, as was the airshow marking the retirement of the F-4 Phantom from the German Air Force. Another memorable experience was when I was invited on board Air Malta’s last revenue flight with the Boeing 737. Most aircraft can be exciting in their own way, some through their sheer power and performance, others through their size, grace of flight and form.