Airplane Radar?

[robwrx04]

I'm sure this has been covered, just not sure how to search for it.

Is there an App for a phone that will let you know if planes are in the air? I live 20 miles away from an airport, so one's that are landing are in descent and not at normal altitude.

I have no idea how low they are flying, but want to be better safe than sorry.

 

[Noël]

http://www.flightradar24.com

 

[MrDrone27]

I'm sure this has been covered, just not sure how to search for it.

Is there an App for a phone that will let you know if planes are in the air? I live 20 miles away from an airport, so one's that are landing are in descent and not at normal altitude.

I have no idea how low they are flying, but want to be better safe than sorry.

If you ask Siri, "Planes overhead" she will tell you. A very cool feature that few people know about.

 

[Great Pumpkin]

Flight radar. What a cool site! So is Siri with her Aircraft Overhead!

 

[ianwood]

Do NOT use flightradar24.com, Siri or anything else online as a source for air traffic in your area. There is nothing available for the use you are requesting. You need to keep your flights low enough that you are absolutely confident you are no where near any aircraft. Period. End of story.

 

[Meta4]

Is there an App for a phone that will let you know if planes are in the air? I live 20 miles away from an airport, so plnes that are landing are in descent and not at normal altitude.

What height do you think a plane will be at 20 miles out?
Do you see planes overhead? How high are they?
If you are flying to commonsense safe heights for the Phantom you should be a long way below any traffic 20 miles from landing.

 

[morph000]

Ooohhh.. stupendously useful!!!
Just bought the Pro version as free doesn't provide flight paths etc etc.
Absolutely must-have app !

 

[GoodnNuff]

I've read not to use the Flightradar app. I was told it only tracks about 60% of commercial flights, and doesn't track any military or private planes, and there is about a 3 minute delay on what it does show?

 

[justin00]

Dunno where you guys live but I live in built up area.. and have single engine planes flying 500-1000ft quite often.... Nothing to do with them coming in for landing...
Forget the laws regarding flying in built up area's but the planes are flying very very low..
Had a heli fly over the park and bloody 200ft once as well.... very scary considering it just came out of no where and shot by... I stick to the limits and don't go over 400ft.. but yeah..... just relying on the fact that you are not near the airport so no planes will be low should be fine for commercial flights...but not the single engine / PPL folks out for a spin.

 

[darwin-t]

I use "Plane Finder" and "Flightradar24" on my iPhone.

I live about 50 miles from a major airport (Indianapolis) - the planes are thousands of feet up when they fly over my main flying field. When you click on a plane, you can track them until they land.

I thought they were a LOT lower. lol

 

[SteveMann]

Any flight tracker has a mandated delay in the data. Security concerns. They only track airplanes with a Mode C transponder NOT squawking 1200 (VFR).

I live 20 miles away from an airport, so one's that are landing are in descent and not at normal altitude.

Uh, they are at a normal altitude. But 20-miles away, depending on the type of aircraft, they will be at least 3,000 ft AGL for light airplanes and 6,000 to 9,000 ft for an airliner on approach.

and have single engine planes flying 500-1000ft quite often

Very highly unlikely that any of them are below 1,000 ft. If they were anywhere near the 500 ft level you would be able to read the "N" number without a pair of binoculars. Also, if you are in a built-up area and planes were flying that low, someone would have gotten a tail number for a complaint. If you are 20-30 miles from a large airport, the 'built up' area could be under class-B airspace compressing VFR traffic into a thin space between 1,000 to 1,500 ft. But never below 1,000 ft.

 

[MadMitch88]

Do NOT use flightradar24.com, Siri or anything else online as a source for air traffic in your area. There is nothing available for the use you are requesting. You need to keep your flights low enough that you are absolutely confident you are no where near any aircraft. Period. End of story.

I just saw a medical helicopter fly over the park I was at today and it was no more than 200 ft. off the ground. So are we supposed to fly our beloved Phantoms at max. of 50 ft. AGL in order to avoid collisions like this even though the FAA says we can legally fly up to 400 ft. AGL ?

Your advice is pretty much worthless --- especially when you use words like "absolutely confident nowhere near any aircraft". The only way that can be achieved is to leave your bird in the car.

 

[IflyinWY]

WoW,

There's some interesting reading. robwrx04 Please PM me with your location and I will tell you what to expect from your neighboring airport(s). What you must realize is you have to expect the unexpected. Whether it is Life-Flight or some goofie ole bugger in his Piper Cub, aircraft just cruise around with souls on board. It's our responsibility to stay out of their way. Think of it like this... a piece of plastic and electronics VS a life.

Pilots controlling aircraft "with souls on board" are probably traveling between one and two miles per minute and will not see your (our) little speck of plastic until it is too late to do anything about it. That's not conjecture, it's experience.

If you don't want me to hand you the answer, hang out outside and watch the skies. Grab your favorite person and a couple beers and enjoy the view looking up. Take the opportunity to observe the winds. Put a wind indicator ten to twenty feet above the ground and keep an eye on it. Check out the web for other airports in your area, ask a cop. They usually know of the smaller airports which will probably be what you should concern yourself with. Maybe there is one or more just a few miles away.

Please do not rely upon an APP or some other electronic device to keep the "souls on board" safe. Use your eyes, ears, and common sense.

Oh yea, there is no such thing as a "normal altitude". There is climb, cruise and descent. If you are having a really bad day, there is also falling. Technical dorks feel free to avoid replies, I know there is pattern altitude, flight levels and everything in between.

The End

 

[IflyinWY]

Do NOT use flightradar24.com, Siri or anything else online as a source for air traffic in your area. There is nothing available for the use you are requesting. You need to keep your flights low enough that you are absolutely confident you are no where near any aircraft. Period. End of story.

+1

 

[IflyinWY]

Dunno where you guys live but I live in built up area.. and have single engine planes flying 500-1000ft quite often.... Nothing to do with them coming in for landing...
Forget the laws regarding flying in built up area's but the planes are flying very very low..
Had a heli fly over the park and bloody 200ft once as well.... very scary considering it just came out of no where and shot by... I stick to the limits and don't go over 400ft.. but yeah..... just relying on the fact that you are not near the airport so no planes will be low should be fine for commercial flights...but not the single engine / PPL folks out for a spin.

+1

 

[IflyinWY]

Any flight tracker has a mandated delay in the data. Security concerns. They only track airplanes with a Mode C transponder NOT squawking 1200 (VFR).

I live 20 miles away from an airport, so one's that are landing are in descent and not at normal altitude.

Uh, they are at a normal altitude. But 20-miles away, depending on the type of aircraft, they will be at least 3,000 ft AGL for light airplanes and 6,000 to 9,000 ft for an airliner on approach.

and have single engine planes flying 500-1000ft quite often

Very highly unlikely that any of them are below 1,000 ft. If they were anywhere near the 500 ft level you would be able to read the "N" number without a pair of binoculars. Also, if you are in a built-up area and planes were flying that low, someone would have gotten a tail number for a complaint. If you are 20-30 miles from a large airport, the 'built up' area could be under class-B airspace compressing VFR traffic into a thin space between 1,000 to 1,500 ft. But never below 1,000 ft.

Really?

When was the last time you flew a commercial airliner and/or a Piper Cub?

This is the kind of stuff that makes me stack one soap box on top of the others. I'm almost done, just one more post to address.

 

[IflyinWY]

Do NOT use flightradar24.com, Siri or anything else online as a source for air traffic in your area. There is nothing available for the use you are requesting. You need to keep your flights low enough that you are absolutely confident you are no where near any aircraft. Period. End of story.

I just saw a medical helicopter fly over the park I was at today and it was no more than 200 ft. off the ground. So are we supposed to fly our beloved Phantoms at max. of 50 ft. AGL in order to avoid collisions like this even though the FAA says we can legally fly up to 400 ft. AGL ?

Your advice is pretty much worthless --- especially when you use words like "absolutely confident nowhere near any aircraft". The only way that can be achieved is to leave your bird in the car.

Mitch, I disagree. It's nowhere near worthless. Is a soul worthless?
Ever caused a heart to stop beating? How do you think you would feel if you did? I think "ABSOLUTELY CONFIDENT" is a perfect choice of words. Aren't you glad you weren't flying your bird where that "medical helicopter" needed to go. Pilots are not always looking for a speck on the horizon. Sometimes they need to look at engine gauges, radios, charts, approach plates, and the other pilot or crew members.

Passing on the talking stick now.
Sure hope the OP got the message.

You jabbermonkies can start on me now. Good Freakin' Luck :lol:

 

[ianwood]

Mitch, it's really pretty simple. If you don't have clear line of sight, don't fly. If you're under a flight path but are not in restricted airspace, watch the airspace before you fly, know what altitude the restricted airspace starts, stay alert to all air traffic and stay well below it. There is no app for that.

For areas with low flying helicopters, you have to be even more prepared. It's not uncommon for a helicopter to pass by at 250ft AGL in LA. Clear line of site, knowledge of active helipads, a method of rapidly dumping altitude and even ditching are needed. High visibility strobes are a good idea too. Where there are tall objects that obscure visibility, stay at or below their height using only the airspace that a helicopter would not use.

Should you be in open airspace with a helicopter approaching, strobes on, flip to manual mode and let it fall fast.

 

[IflyinWY]

Darn, just when I thought I was finished.

robwrx04, My apologies,

The answer to your question is a resounding NO.

There is no app to tell you if there is an aircraft in the area. I'm not standing on my soap box, nor guessing. As much as the theys are watching, they can't see all; and if they could, they wouldn't be telling you, or me for that matter. The data is just not out there. The technology may be but the data is not.

Situational awareness is the key. Know where you are and who else is in the area. Know what the weather is doing, and has done recently. Know what your levels of awareness are. Yes, there is more than one level of awareness, for some of us.

Flying the Phantom is beyond cool, so cool I can't put it into words.

Don't rely upon your phone to tell you if it is OK to fly. Use your whits and don't be the first to bring down a plane or helicopter.

I may really be finished now.

 

[Flying High]

My 2 bobs worth,
I agree that the best way is to be aware of whats going on around you, that said in most normal circumstances if you are not in controlled airspace which you should not be without permission from CASA in our case and further than 3nm from a registered airfield or Helipad all manned aircraft should be flying above 500 ft.
If you see a plane that is obviously below this then report them to CASA or your countries air safety body.
That being said watch out for crop sprayers or emergency aircraft.".