Handheld Radio Advice

[Punchout]

I live by an airport and have always been a plane watcher. I've played around with this site and enjoy it, and have been thinking of getting a handheld scanner so that I can go hang out and watch the traffic come and go. I have been looking around a bit, and have found the Bearcat BC125AT and the Yaesu FTA550 look interesting. Does anyone have experience or advice on this? the Yaesu seems to make it hard to tell whether its scanning mode scans all frequencies in the spectrum, or only those that are stored. Are there any suggestions out there, or pointers to someplace I can ask about this?

[AeroBill]

As far as handheld scanners go, stick with the name brands, Icom, Uniden, Radio Shack. I've had good
success with all three. Get the best you can afford. Not familiar with the two you mention to make an
observation.
You should also think about what frequency coverage you want and just what you want to hear. Only
air to ground transmissions? What about listening to ground airport maintenance vehicles, emergency
vehicles, etc. on the FM LOW/VHF/UHF Band? Are there military aircraft using the airport? Want to listen
to them?
Then you may need to add 225-400 Mhz AM military air as well as 138 to 144 Mhz FM.
Often folks start out listening to just one band, but find that other frequency bands cover activity related to
their band of interest. Your choice. But with a full coverage scanner you have it all at your fingertips.
You can also go to the RadioReference web site. They have a section in their Forum devoted to aviation
listening with numerous tips for new listeners.

[AeroBill]

Just a couple other thoughts.
If you just want to listen to the civilian air band, check the specs of the handheld for it's
sensitivity on the AM 108-136 air band. Look for the one that has the most sensitivity.
It will help pull in weak ground stations.
Also check what battery power pack the radio has. I prefer those battery packs that use
the standard AA, AAA, or 9 volt batteries. Cheap and easily obtainable. Special battery packs
can end up costing you for replacement and will be harder to get once the radio gets a
few years old.