Flight radar 24

[v8-powered]

Surprised at Swiss Air - I work with a lot of Swiss guys and they seem free to travel throughout all of this?

[636mick]

Spotted something new to me, Project Loon. Google tells me it’s balloons flying on the edge of space to bring the inter web to countries without it. Seen them over Tanzania, Ghana, Brazil, Kenya. All at about 60,000 ft or just above.
Mick

[Horse]

It does vary. Last year, four light aircraft flew over in formation, only two had transponders. Some will show their track and ID, but no further information, such as helicopters which seemed to have popped up out of a field somewhere!

Saturday afternoon, there's a chopper circling over the town, then heading off. Is it the air ambulance? asked Filly. Nope, arrived from the wrong direction and wrong type of aircraft - it looked more like the size and colour scheme of coastguard (50 miles from the coast?). Didn't show on FR app. But, a minute or two later, the local air ambo seemed to show briefly - although shown as taking off a few miles from its base at Benson.

[636mick]

I wonder if FR24 have taken the opportunity to put out more info than normal. With the reduction in the number of aircraft out there I think they are adding bits in each day, or so it seems to me. I’m seeing lots more small private type aircraft, massive increase in helicopters and military stuff. Someone said earlier there were changes to transponders that may have helped.
Still not everything is visible though. I’ve had a few Chinooks over not showing, seen a couple of Lear Jet type things passing over but not showing.
Interesting times.
Mick

[Treadeager]

Rather different I know , but was I the only one astounded that the Malaysian Passenger flight that went totally missing a few years back , could simply " turn off " it's gps tracking systems and virtually disappear off the face of the earth by flying in and out of various radar limitations ?

[Slenver]

I wonder if FR24 have taken the opportunity to put out more info than normal. With the reduction in the number of aircraft out there I think they are adding bits in each day, or so it seems to me. I’m seeing lots more small private type aircraft, massive increase in helicopters and military stuff. Someone said earlier there were changes to transponders that may have helped.
Still not everything is visible though. I’ve had a few Chinooks over not showing, seen a couple of Lear Jet type things passing over but not showing.
Interesting times.
Mick

It's not really a case of them adding stuff themselves in the main, they just show anyone with the right equipment. More aircraft will show up over time as they buy the newer kit, but it'll be a slow change. Maybe you're just not seeing so much other clutter with commercial flights reduced and so noticing other things more?

[Slenver]

Rather different I know , but was I the only one astounded that the Malaysian Passenger flight that went totally missing a few years back , could simply " turn off " it's gps tracking systems and virtually disappear off the face of the earth by flying in and out of various radar limitations ?

Not really. Detection works in two main ways, primary and secondary. Primary is a 'standard' radar system - ie. the ground-based unit sends a signal and measures the distance when it gets bounced back. Secondary systems are similar but rely on the aircraft having a transponder on board that beams its own signal so is easier to pick up.

Normal primary radar only has a range somewhere between, say, 60 and 200 miles or so, depending on whether commercial or military etc. As the plane was hundreds of miles out to sea they would have to rely on ship-based radar. And there's only so many of them and they can't move very fast! The secondary systems have a longer range potentially - but also an on/off switch. The transponder is just a device like anything else in the cockpit with a power switch.

GPS can of course track you anywhere - but that information is only available to the device being tracked, ie. on the plane, unless you choose to share that information via radio or whatever. Again, that's the choice and under the control of whoever's flying the plane.

Long story short, once you're out to sea you're only visible if you choose to tell people where you are. Assuming you know yourself

[Treadeager]

That's all fair enough , but why ( given the risk of say hijacking or other acts of terrorism ) would you give an airline pilot permission to simply switch the device off ?

[Slenver]

That's all fair enough , but why ( given the risk of say hijacking or other acts of terrorism ) would you give an airline pilot permission to simply switch the device off ?

Dunno.. would need someone with knowledge of commercial stuff to answer better, and maybe there are systems that can't be turned off, I don't know. But ultimately a plane is under the captain's full control by design. Plus, things go wrong, blow up, short-circuit. It's generally very important in planes that you can switch anything off individually. You don't want to have to switch off the entire electrical systems of a plane (and then have everyone die) just because the transponder has caught fire.

[GuzziPaul]

I was told by a pilot , a few weeks after the event,(she flys A380s) the the Malaysian plane was tracked by the engine monitoring. Rolls Royce or whoever, monitor their engines to check maintenance schedules, car manufacturers do the same. The airlines can pay to have access to this data but not all do.

[Horse]

I was told by a pilot , a few weeks after the event,(she flys A380s) the the Malaysian plane was tracked by the engine monitoring. Rolls Royce or whoever, monitor their engines to check maintenance schedules, car manufacturers do the same. The airlines can pay to have access to this data but not all do.

That rings a bell, something like measuring the [miniscule] time difference between the signal arriving at different masts, allowed 'them' to work out the possible path.

[Nordboy]

Does anyone have the premium version?

Just wondering if it’s worth paying for?

[636mick]

Red Arrows have just taken off, currently off the east coast heading towards Northampton for 1025.
Mick

[WelshDragon]

Does anyone have the premium version?

Just wondering if it’s worth paying for?

I’d be interested to know too!

[ninja]

Does anyone have the premium version?

Just wondering if it’s worth paying for?

I wouldn't bother. They change things every few years so you have to pay again.
I use it for work, to see where my plane is and what time it's going to land. It's more useful than the companies ops dept now.

I paid once for the upgraded version. I wont pay again.

Depending on your level of spotteriness, it may be worth it?!

[WelshDragon]

Quite happy to sit in the garden looking at it when planes fly overhead, or I used to when there were more flying! Wondered if I was missing anything by not paying but I reckon the free version will do for me! Thanks for the info.

[Bigyin]

Amazing the difference on there from this time last year when there were so many yellow planes you had to zoom in to pick one to check....... now i can see a Piper PA28 as it was the only one in the sky over the entire county i live in which has an operating airport that normally does international flights

Military rarely show for obvious reasons but i did check last week when something came low over the house about 2330 and it wasnt that large and prop engined ....nothing on flightradar so my guess was a Boeing Osprey either USAF from Lakenheath or Mildenhall or UK SF training flight for night assault on offshore installations as it came in off the coast which is half a mile away

[Nordboy]

There’s a couple of interesting looking planes owned by Draken International just leaving the French N/W coast towards the UK at this very moment. Guessing they’re some sort of military training aircraft?

[636mick]

One of the Globemasters is over Mildenhall, doing circuits I think. They have been doing the same at Birmingham recently too. Wish it would fly over me, still not seen one in the flesh!

Nordboy, did you see where they went??

Mick

[GuzziPaul]

Essex Police helecopter went over us today and that wasn't on. Although the Air Abulance is, seen it several times flying overhead into London.