Upload guide & FAQ

• Formats: JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF. We re-encode to AVIF + WebP for delivery; the original is kept for full-res downloads.
• Size: up to 25 MB per file, up to 10 files per batch. A batch shares one set of metadata (registration, plane, location).
• Resolution: any. We generate display + card variants automatically. We strongly recommend at least 1600 px on the long edge so the photo looks good on retina screens.
• EXIF: camera, lens, exposure and shot time are read and displayed. GPS coordinates are stripped before storage — we use them once to suggest a nearby airport for the location field, then drop them.

• The aircraft is the subject. Centred or rule-of-thirds, not a distant speck behind a fence post.
• The registration is legible.If the tail number is too small to read, the photo can’t be linked to a specific airframe and we can’t verify the metadata.
• Sharp focus, good exposure. Soft, grainy, blown-out or heavily-cropped photos may be rejected.
• Honest editing.Levels, colour, and dust spots are fine. Composites, sky-replacement, and AI generation are not — we’re building a documentary index, not an art gallery.
• You shot it.Do not upload other people’s photos without explicit permission and a licence that lets you do so. See copyright & licensing.

• Stolen or unlicensed photos.
• Heavy AI generation, composites, or fictional liveries presented as real.
• Images with watermarks that cover the aircraft, or that obscure the registration.
• Photos taken inside restricted areasyou weren’t permitted to be in (military bases without authorisation, ramp access without a permit, etc.).
• Photos of incidents intended to mock victims or first responders.

New uploads enter a pendingqueue. A moderator reviews and either approves (the photo goes live) or rejects (you’ll be notified, with a reason where helpful).

After a track-record of approved uploads, you may be granted trusted uploaderstatus — your future submissions then publish immediately and are spot-checked instead of queued. You’ll see a green banner on the upload page when this is active.

If a photo is rejected and you disagree, reply to the notification or open a ticket via support.

When you supply a tail number, we try to match it against the open aircraft registry. A match auto-fills the plane type and operator, and links the photo to that airframe’s history page.

If we don’t recognise the registration you can propose a new entry — verifiers will review it and, if accepted, your future uploads using that tail number will link automatically.

• Free tier: 50 uploads per calendar month, ad-supported.
• Pro: unlimited uploads, ad-free, full-resolution downloads, advanced search filters. €7.99 / month. Upgrade.
• Each photo in a multi-file batch counts toward your quota.

• GPS EXIF is stripped before storage.
• We don’t expose your IP address publicly. It’s used for spam/abuse detection only.
• reCAPTCHA v3 runs on uploads to keep bots out. Trusted uploaders skip the captcha gate.