What happens when online plane enthusiasts meet up IRL?

‘Cranky Dorkfest’ offers an opportunity to embrace the awkwardness of meeting strangers you know only by their online handles.

On a recent Saturday, several hundred people flocked to Los Angeles International Airport and spent most of the day looking at airplanes—all because they follow the same airline-industry blog. That sentence may require some explanation even if you’ve read a post or two on Cranky Flier, the commercial-aviation chronicle written by industry veteran Brett Snyder.