Todd wrote:
Do I need permission from an aircraft owner to publish pictures of
their airplane for profit? I want to take pictures of airplanes and
publish them commercially, on the web and in print.

As you have figured out by now, it depends on way to many variables --
who, what, where, when, etc. Newsworthy photographs may be published
any time. The courts look very dimly upon any restriction of freedom of
the press, to the point that "the press" may be just about anyone at
any time. A newsletter with a ciculation of 10 gets the same protection
as any of the giant metropolitan dailies.

Use of an image for advertising is another matter. Models and owners of
property that have value because of their unique image are protected.
You cannot take a picture of Barbra Streisand and use it to sell coffee
without her permission. You can take a picture of her estate from the
air and sell it for scientific purposes, however.

Similarly, you could sell pictures of the Red Baron team in a newspaper
without their permission, but if you want to use the pictures to
endorse Shakey's Pizza or even lipstick you are going to need their
permission. I suspect that a calendar photo would also require a
release.

Some states offer special protection for photographing children, and
almost all states recognize certain rights of privacy.

Airliners.net and photo agencies generally do not ask photographers for
model releases. Airliners.net does not pay for photos, anyway (at
least, they never have paid me for one). Photo agencies usually assume
that photographers can produce the required model releases for whatever
use their pictures are put. Their contracts with the photographers
specify that the photographer has obtained all necessary releases. If
Global sells your photo and you don't have the necessary release and
someone comes after Global for it, you can bet that Global is going to
hold you in breach of contract, refuse to pay for your photo, remove
your other photos, never buy photos from you again, and probably sue
the pants off you. They will also pull your photo from the client who
purchased it and refund his money.

A good photo attorney can keep you out of hot water and also help you
protect your very valuable property. This guy seems to work pretty hard
at it:
http://www.krages.com/