00:02Poised and perfectly positioned, patiently waiting for a plane.
00:06You'd probably go to half of these countries and get arrested if you start looking at aeroplanes,
00:09whereas here you can come here and join hundreds of others and take some great photos.
00:13For the Melbourne-based plane spotter, photographing aircraft during Australia's
00:17largest international aviation war games has been a lifelong dream.
00:22I've been following aircraft since I was 15. I just love it.
00:26I like my big things, ships, planes, boats, and planes is just another one of them.
00:32And big camera lenses as well.
00:34Well, they help. I like recording the serials on them and you can't read them off, they're going too fast.
00:39He's one of hundreds who have made the pilgrimage to Darwin for exercise pitch black.
00:44This year, the air-to-air combat activity has brought around 100 fighter jets to northern Australia
00:50from countries around the world.
00:52From the UK. Came out three weeks ago. Came out specifically for pitch black.
00:57It's a massive opportunity for any aircraft enthusiast to come out and see a variety of aircraft.
01:03And it's great just to catch up with my friends up here and make new friends.
01:06I still like having people around. Most of them are aviation enthusiasts like myself.
01:10You're like reliving a second childhood all over again at the age of 74.
01:15From veteran aviation enthusiasts to budding photographers, the plane spotting community is accepting of everyone,
01:22including aspiring fighter jet pilots like myself.
01:26It's a very tight community. Everyone knows everyone. We're all very nice to each other, giving each other tips.
01:32It's good fun as a community, somewhere where you belong.
01:37Spotting each other while getting the shot.
01:39Test away.
01:39Test away.
01:40Test away First flight.
01:41You
