Planefinder

[Hot Flatus]

Hours of fun

https://planefinder.net

[Jaded]

Yes, got similar on the iPad.

It's interesting looking them up as they fly overhead, although the sound is delayed, so they are further away than you expect.

Once looked up a plane flying over at night. It was Air Force One. As you say. Fun 

[citoyen]

My 10yo nephew is currently obsessed with planes and spends all his time looking at a similar app and telling you all about where that plane overhead is going. He's going to be a British Airways pilot when he's older. Apparently.

[ian]

Make sure he learns to talk proper. There's nothing worse than a pilot who doesn't have plummy RP. How can you trust someone who sounds like they belong on BBC regional?

[citoyen]

Make sure he learns to talk proper. There's nothing worse than a pilot who doesn't have plummy RP. How can you trust someone who sounds like they belong on BBC regional?

I think he's already well qualified on that score (dad: minor public school, mum: provincial grammar, so he's had good training).

I would have loved an app like that at his same age. And OK, I admit I still like that kind of thing now.

[Jurek]

Yes, got similar on the iPad.

It's interesting looking them up as they fly overhead, although the sound is delayed, so they are further away than you expect.

Once looked up a plane flying over at night. It was Air Force One. As you say. Fun 

When Air Force 1 flew in to Stanstead a couple of weeks ago, there was no evidence of it on Flight Radar 24 .

[hellymedic]

Seems more efficient than FlightRadar24 for my purposes.

Scandinavia seems to be approaching LHR with two flights from ARN and one from CPH when I peeped.

[essexian]

There is a light aircraft near Wem which seems to be lost looking at their track!

[Jurek]

Seems more efficient than FlightRadar24 for my purposes.

Scandinavia seems to be approaching LHR with two flights from ARN and one from CPH when I peeped.

Bookmarked. 

[andytheflyer]

There is a light aircraft near Wem which seems to be lost looking at their track!

That's G-BILR, a Cessna from Shropshire Aero Club, they have a few of these for tuition purposes.  I fly my model aeroplanes at that airfield, Sleap.  It's an ex-RAF airfield.

[pcolbeck]

I'm not sure how accurate this is as the LS175 Leeds to Jersey flight is currently half way between Leeds and Liverpool.

[citoyen]

I'm not sure how accurate this is as the LS175 Leeds to Jersey flight is currently half way between Leeds and Liverpool.

Flightaware.com suggests that is its proper flight path...
https://uk.flightaware.com/live/flight/EXS175

[pcolbeck]

Probably, its turned south now.

Its interesting that some of the airliners I see high over my house are actually on the great circle route from The Western USA or Canada to Germany rather than to or from any UK airports. They head out across the North Sea between Bridlington and Hull. Great circle routes make no sense when you see them on a flat map.

[Jaded]

Yes, got similar on the iPad.

It's interesting looking them up as they fly overhead, although the sound is delayed, so they are further away than you expect.

Once looked up a plane flying over at night. It was Air Force One. As you say. Fun 

When Air Force 1 flew in to Stanstead a couple of weeks ago, there was no evidence of it on Flight Radar 24 .

I think Obama was not as worried as Trump.

[essexian]

There is a light aircraft near Wem which seems to be lost looking at their track!

That's G-BILR, a Cessna from Shropshire Aero Club, they have a few of these for tuition purposes.  I fly my model aeroplanes at that airfield, Sleap.  It's an ex-RAF airfield.

Cheers, I thought it might be something like that.

I wonder whether the gliders which fly from Seighford near me appear on this? They are towed so I suppose the aircraft which take them up will be.  I don't like flying but quite like the idea of going up in a glider.

[pcolbeck]

I wonder whether the gliders which fly from Seighford near me appear on this? They are towed so I suppose the aircraft which take them up will be.  I don't like flying but quite like the idea of going up in a glider.

Go for it its a lovely experience. I had a flight in one a few years ago. Go for a winch launch if you want added excitement

[citoyen]

Go for a winch launch if you want added excitement to enjoy your breakfast a second time.

FTFY

[hellymedic]

Icons seem HUGE compared to FlightRadar24!

There are times when we get overflown by many on the approach to LHR.

[Jasmine]

Hmph.  All the ones near me have no flight track, and N/A in all fields. Presumably all doing secret routes around Valley I suppose (all listed as Hawks).

[Jurek]

I believe that the aircraft has to be equipped with a particular piece of kit (the name of which escapes me) for it to show up on a site like this.
Not all aircraft (commercial / military / private) are.

TimC will be along shortly to explain.....

[andytheflyer]

I wonder whether the gliders which fly from Seighford near me appear on this? They are towed so I suppose the aircraft which take them up will be.  I don't like flying but quite like the idea of going up in a glider.

Go for it its a lovely experience. I had a flight in one a few years ago. Go for a winch launch if you want added excitement

I bought the wife a trial flight for her birthday some years ago from the Midland Gliding Club at Church Stretton.  They were fairly quiet that day, so I had a flight too.  Never again.  I've had numerous light aircraft flights and they are fun. No so the glider.  In the front seat - felt as though I was sitting on the thing with the big wrap around canopy, not inside, and it was aerotowed behind a Pawnee.  Lots of turbulence before we dropped the tow and then it simply felt as though I was up in the air, without any aeroplane around me.  Maybe that's what the enthusiasts go for, but I was glad to get down.  I'll stick to flying models.

[Tim Hall]

I believe that the aircraft has to be equipped with a particular piece of kit (the name of which escapes me) for it to show up on a site like this.
Not all aircraft (commercial / military / private) are.

TimC will be along shortly to explain.....

AIS. Except it's not, as AIS is for ships. Something like that anyways. AIS stands for Automatic Identification System so it could theoretically be that.

In a previous existence I got involved in trials of AIS boxes with the PLA. Rock up at the pier, walk on to PLA boat with box of electronic gubbins, spend a few hours going up and down the Thames at Greenwich.  Chatting to the developer bloke:
"So have the bugs been ironed out?"
"Mostly. It still has a problem reporting position when it's in the Eastern hemisphere, but that shouldn't trouble us today"
<me shows developer exactly how many times the bendy River Thames crosses the Greenwich meridian>

[Andrij]

I eventually worked out what PLA really stands for.  But my first thought was "Palestinian Liberation Army?  They had ships?  Oh, hold on, I'm thingking PLOrganisation.  Let's try that again..."

[ian]

I was watching a helicopter approach my house and then... it disappeared. It was probably black. Or went into whisper mode like Blue Thunder (maybe in this case it was Black Thunder). It can't have been Airwolf because it broke down every episode. Honestly, it was basically Borgnine Fixes The Bloody Helicopter Again.

[jiberjaber]

Here's basically how all the flight tracking sites work. I contribute to about 7 different ones from my receiver in exchange for that you often get full access to their sites which on some is really good and others I don't bother and can be worth between £0 and £30 per year per subscription if I didn't contribute.

https://360radar.co.uk/

One of the issues is that the majority of antennas are by their design biased to recieving a bit like a light house beam i.e. very horizontal and so when aircraft get closer to the reciever their signal gets less as they move out of that 'beam' due to their altitude, so can disappear as most of the software that plots the location require more than 3 valid signals to mark the aircraft location as valid.

The result improves the more contributing recievers that are distributed in your area.