[plane engine roars] [playful guitar picking] - Angela Fitzgerald: Nothing excites teenager Max Gabb more than airplanes.
- Yeah, coming in next... from La Guardia.
- Max is all about tracking, identifying, and photographing planes.
– Max: Oh, and there's the Chicago plane.
Everything's coming at once.
[camera shutter clicking] There's a bunch of spots around the airport to do it, and anyone can do it.
[shutter clicking] - His hobby is called "plane spotting."
– Max: Departures on one runway and arrivals on the other.
[camera clicks] All right.
I started doing this during COVID as a goal to bike.
[upbeat synthesizer] Every morning, I look on the flight radar.
If there's something coming in, I'll get my camera equipment and bike over and spot it.
– Jamie Gabb: He needed something to get out of the house.
I mean, you couldn't do much.
Biking was a good thing to do.
And he's, "I'm going out to the airport."
[Max pedaling] [music, birds chirping] - On this day, Max takes his dad, Jamie, along.
- Dad, it's up here.
- To a favorite perch near Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport.
– Jamie: I like this spot a lot.
– Max: Yeah, it's really nice.
[airplane engine noise] - Max: Ooh!
There's a C-130 coming in.
Wow!
- While the C-130 is still off in the distance, Max has his sights set on another unique aircraft.
– Max: This is the one that I'm really, I'm here for.
- There's only one plane like it in the world.
- Yeah, Colorado One's next.
It's currently about to cross the state line.
Nope, it is in Wisconsin.
There's a lot of planes in the world, and a lot of them are rare for Milwaukee's airport here.
When the rare ones come in, that's when it's really fun to get the planes.
[airplane engine, wheels on tarmac] Max: It's about to go on final.
No more turns; it's straight for the runway, lined up, and ready to land.
[camera shutter clicks] It's special, painted as the state flag of Colorado.
I really like that one.
That's probably one of the better ones they have.
- With Colorado One on the ground... - I'm gonna look at the schedule and see... - Max gets another hit on a plane incoming.
– Max: And then, this is a United plane that's coming in to take the Orioles back to Baltimore.
They are playing right now, the Brewers are.
[shutter clicks twice] - In just a few years... - Max: This is a Delta A321 from Atlanta.
- Max has already spotted more than a thousand aircraft.
[shutter clicking] - The best spotting experiences I've had is probably Air Force One, back on Labor Day when the president came to Milwaukee.
Another experience, there were four McDonnell Douglas Harriers, very rare.
They didn't do the vertical takeoff or landing, but still, it was really awesome to see.
[jet engine roaring] - To see Max so excited, it might surprise you that his fascination started from the fear of flying.
- I was afraid of planes, originally.
– Jamie: There were times where it was not always fun to sit next to Max.
He just did not like the turbulence.
So, he started to calm down and he did his research.
– Max: Let's flip it.
Literally, all of it opposite.
I kind of like light turbulence now.
It gives for an interesting ride.
- Good thing Max now enjoys air travel because his plane spotting has expanded well beyond Wisconsin's borders.
[camera clicking] - I've gone to Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Vegas and Utah and Denver.
And in St. Martin, the airport with the beach, where the planes are a few feet above the beach goers.
It looks really cool.
[loud engine overhead] - Max also makes it easy to track his aviation adventures.
– Max: I like to edit videos and do media for planes.
Post it to my Instagram and YouTube later.
[airplane accelerates] - It was definitely a successful trip, [zipping bag] even though the C-130 didn't end up landing here.
- As a young boy, Max faced his fear, and now, he has sky-high dreams.
- Yeah.
[laughs] I've wanted to be an airline pilot when I knew all the things that I know about planes.
- That would guarantee Max the best seat for plane spotting... [camera shutter clicks] turbulence and all.
– Jamie Gabb: It's nice to see that he is a self-starter and can focus on what he really enjoys.
Be it his schoolwork or his plane spotting, for sure, yeah.
[sunny, lighthearted vocals]
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