You make good points sir. Bravo
The issue with shooting aircraft though, is that they are in the air, flying under clouds, or sometimes in direct sunlight, which changes very rapidly. Since they're not on the ground, I cannot meter for what the ground is. It's really trial and error. Like I said, Any given shoot, I'll take around 1,000 photos.
Also, I stated it's mostly luck (the ones in the air), because from the time you focus, to the time the shutter is off, the plane can be anywhere from 100-300 feet from it's point of focus. 3D tracking and all those gizmos help, but not 100% of the time. I would need a REALLY good lens to not have to worry about blurry photos.
As for the bird, I know the kid probably doesn't have a decent DSLR where he can choose where it is focused (looks like a P.A.S.)