This site has been created as a resource to assist in the identification and cataloging of the American Aviation Historical Society’s (AAHS) photo archives. With more than 1,000,000 images, the task to identify and catalog the library represents a huge undertaking beyond the resources of a few individuals. Through this site, the AAHS invites any interested individual having the time and interest to volunteer their efforts to help us expand our photo archive catalog so that it is more accessible to others.
- You don't have to be a member of the AAHS.
- You don't have to be an expert “aircraft spotter.”
- We don’t expect you to be able fill in all the blanks.
Simply bring an interest in aviation.
If you are interested in helping in this project, simply click on the SIGN UP button and complete the form.
Steve Riter
AAHS Plane Spotter Administrator
ABOUT THE COLLECTION
The AAHS photo archives consists of more than 1,000,000 images in the form of slides, negatives, prints and digital images. The Society’s goal is to digitize its collection and make the images available to interested parties via an online searchable database. As of July 2021, approximately 200,000 images have been scanned to digital form and about 100,000 images in the collection have their basic information (manufacturer and model) cataloged. We are scanning the collection at a much faster pace than can be cataloged by office staff. Thus the development of this site to help facilitate our efforts by allowing us to reach out to interested individuals that would like to help, but from the confines of their own home and who would not need any special software or applications to do the work.
By basic cataloging, we mean that most images have been identified by at least their manufacturer and typical model (example: North American P-51), and no other specifics - specific model (P-51D-5-NA), registration number, serial number, construction number, owner/operator, photo date and location, photographer, and contributing collector. Some of this information can be gleaned from the actual image, others can not. But, the more information about each image we have, the more useful the catalog becomes.