Despite coronavirus restrictions Queensland's plane spotters are flocking together to find new ways to sustain their hobby.
They are virtually tracking flights via apps and websites and are sharing the few images that they can still take under the strict rules.
Airport staff, essential workers and enthusiasts who live close to airports are becoming a valuable source of the latest images.
Damian Freiberg from Clermont, 400 kilometres west of Rockhampton, has been editor of the Central Queensland Plane Spotting blog for a decade.
"If you're into the smallest inkling of liking planes there's certainly lots of things that you can do while you're at home," he said.
"I'm really enjoying seeing and keeping a record of all the different charter flights that are landing here.
"Some enthusiasts have actually kept a record of where every single aircraft has been stored at the moment."
Mr Freiberg says with fewer commercial flights in the skies there is more chance to spot aircraft a plane spotter may not have seen before.
"What we are seeing is a real influx of both medium-sized and small-sized charter aircraft," he said.
"In Clermont we had a business jet turn-up, obviously ferrying some official people around.
"Those official people may have previously taken a commercial flight to Emerald and then hired a car to come up here."
Airport relationship with plane spotters
A rare Nepalese commercial flight repatriating Australians from Kathmandu caused a stir at Brisbane Airport in early April.
"To my knowledge it's the first time a Nepalese airline aircraft has ever come to Australia … some of the plane spotters were really, really keen," Mr Freiberg said.
"Unfortunately some photos did the rounds on social media showing all the plane spotters closely huddling together.
"It was a bit of a shame."
That photo of the spotters was taken just days before the closure of the popular Brisbane Airport plane-stopping area at the Acacia Street loop.
But Leonie Vandeven from Brisbane Airport Corporation said, despite the crackdown, it has a close relationship with local plane spotters.
Amateur aeroplane enthusiasts on staff at the airport are documenting the situation for those stuck at home.
"We've never seen this before — it's never been seen before on this scale for this long," Ms Vandeven said.
"We've got a lot of aircraft lined up on our old runway and on aprons and other spaces.
"We have some spotters … who are sharing some pretty remarkable images."
As for Mr Freiberg, he will keep documenting the flights he can and swapping them with others in his online community.
"There was an enthusiast that wanted to know what was the final flight out of Adelaide airport the other day," he said.
"For us as enthusiasts, that's all of the sort of things that we can try and hunt down.
"We can keep it as a permanent record and perhaps as a part of history as we go through this troubling time."
