In the 1970’s, they first gathered to share their mutual admiration for the airplane.

Under the leadership of Paul Collins, the founder and self-appointed president of the World Airline Hobby Club, roughly 60 airline/aviation enthusiasts first gathered in Cincinnati to trade aircraft memorabilia and talk aviation.

Since then the hobby of tracking aircraft by their tail numbers, taking pictures and video footage of them and sharing them with other aviation enthusiasts via the internet, also known as plane spotting, has grown into an international pastime that has enticed millions of participants.

The World Airline Historical Society is the organization that brings together these individual groups on a grander scale.

It is the same organization founded by Collins, only with a new name.

Here in Houston, the local chapter has been gathering aircraft aficionados for 16 years for the Houston Airline Collectable shows.

Just celebrated last month, the 16th annual collectable show is an informal conference of sorts where local plane spotters can trade, share and sell aviation memorabilia and artifacts from their personal collections.

The purpose of the event is to raise money for the World Airline Historical Society, who in turn utilizes the funds to promote and preserve the history of air transportation.

“The Houston Airline Collectible Show is where aviation fans come together to talk, trade, sell or buy almost anything related to airline industry.” says Duane Young co-chair of the event. “We welcome the general public with open arms, and we are interested in any aviation items they may have collected over the years. We encourage anyone who has an interest in aviation collectibles to drop by and take a look.”