OK, so I have taken a few day's to dissect what you posted, and felt like that there needed to be some response to the issues you brought up. This is my opinion only.
I have also spent 30 years developing relationships at airports, and some have been very successful, and an equal number un-successful. But post 9-11 changed a lot of peoples perception about airport security. Had the 9-11 perps used say buses, boats, or another transportation method, then those of us who have spent many years taking pictures of "aircraft" of all types probably would not have near the issues we now contend with to accomplish our hobby.
There are many web sites available to track flights of both commercial and general aviation. In my humble opinion, so what ! I take pictures of airplanes, I don't have a specific interest in where they came from, and how long they are here, is there a celebrity on board (yawn), or the likes. I f an owner or pilot is willing to talk with me about their airplane then that is "icing on the cake" for me, but I never intrude, nor do I disrupt any air crew or pilot. They are doing their job at that moment and sometimes it is just not a good time for them.
For me it is about the airplane and the best picture I can take of it. Sometimes they turn out just fine (for my liking), and other times I can take a stinker picture better the anyone. It's a gamble.
You are correct about one point, IF you have on-field priviledge's, then you are a "guest" and nothing more.....you are at the whim and call of the individual escorting (if tyou are secosrted) you. So you treat them with the utmost respect, and professionalism, and then you get invited back, or even better they talk to other ariport managers, and they take your character into account, and invite you to their airfields. If you not escorted, then follow every rule put into place that they ask of you.....ie don't say you are going to park at one place, and then let them find you halfway at the other end of the airport.
Your note also seems to mildly suggest that people who post on this web site, somehow try and "stealth" their way around an airfield, to get that one special shot, or a group of shots, trying to hide their intentions and their reasons for being there.
I have taken a reasonable amount of time to look through a majority of the top posters on this site, and I must refute that intent. I have also read the posts on this forum, and there is absolutely no one that has posted in any way, nor condoned this way of getting a picture.
I always make my presence known, I do not hide my camera, I do not hide my transceiver, and if anyone from law enforcement stops by to see what I am doing, I talk with them in a professional manner, and 99.999% of the time, after seeing some of the pictures on my camera's LCD screen, tell me to have a "Good day, and enjoy yourself" (as long as I am not impeding trafffic, or causing any issues that would be considered a problem by law enforcement). I even have officers that give me their business cards, and ask if I could email them a picture of something they saw that they liked. My response "absolutely, not a problem", and I follow-up immediately.
One last point that is really critical, if you are asked by a pilot or an aircraft owner to not publish a particular picture of an aircraft, then do not publish it as a courtesy to them. You may find, like I have on a number of occasions, the next time these folks are in town, and you are at the airport, you will get the picture you want, and maybe even a tour of the inside of the plane.
Also follow some common courtesy rules that have worked for me. If you take a picture of an airplane belonging to the Drug Enforcement Agency, don't publish the picture of the plane. You never know when that plane may have to be used to spot and track drug runners and or people who are doing what they can to destroy other peoples lives. The same for some critical operations like Law Enforcement (unless you obtain permission), and then sometimes just ask people if they mind. In very rare circumstances have I ever had anyone say No.
So, that is my two cents worth, I did not want this to be in any way confrontational, nor without regard for the opinions you expressed, but it was important to air the other side of the coin. :)
