type of communication. The result is that information on aircraft movements can be delivered worldwide in a real-time fashion to spotters. The hobbyist might travel long distances to visit different airports, to see an unusual aircraft, or to view the remains of aircraft withdrawn from use. Air shows usually draw large numbers of spotters as it is a chance to enter airfields and air bases worldwide that are usually closed to the public and to see displayed aircraft at close range. Some aircraft may be placed in the care of museums (see Aviation archaeology) – or perhaps be cannibalized in order to repair a similar aircraft already preserved. Aircraft registrations can be found in books, with online resources, or in monthly magazines from enthusiast groups. Most spotters maintained books of different aircraft fleets and would underline or check each aircraft seen. Each year, a revised version of the books would be published and the spotter would need to re-underline every aircraft seen. With the development of commercial aircraft databases spotters were finally able to record their sightings in an electronic database and produce reports that emulated the underlined books. Legal ramifications The legal repercussions of the hobby were dramatically shown in November 2001 when fourteen aircraft spotters (twelve British, two Dutch) were arrested by Greek police after being observed at an open day at the Greek Air Force base at Kalamata. They were charged with espionage and faced a possible 20-year prison sentence if found guilty. After being held for six weeks, they were eventually released on $11,696 (£9,000) bail, and the charges reduced to the misdemeanor charge of illegal information collection. Confident of their innocence they returned for their trial in April, 2002 and were stunned to be found guilty, with eight of the group sentenced to three years, the rest for one year. At their appeal a year later all were acquitted. As airport watch groups In the wake of the targeting of airports by terrorists, enthusiasts' organisations and police in the UK have cooperated in creating a code of conduct for plane spotters, in a similar vein to guidelines devised for train spotters. By asking enthusiasts to contact police if spotters believe they see or hear something suspicious, this is an attempt to allow enthusiasts to continue their hobby while increasing security around airports. Birmingham and Stansted pioneered this approach in Britain and prior to the 2012