[php] [/php]

Keeping this site running.

by | Sep 2, 2024 | Book Reviews, Equipment Reviews., Spotting, Website Review

Site Costs

Although not a massive expense, keeping this site running does cost a bit. I’ve had the occassional donation – but they are occassional and I drink a lot of coffee along with eating the odd dohnut. So as an additional cost covering stream I’ve started an Amazon Associate account, just to try and defray the costs for the site a bit more. This means that there will be Amazon links in some posts, there will also be reviews of any spotting related products that I buy.

 The site used to carry links to aviation stuff on Amazon, usually books that I thought would be suitable for people interested in aircraft and their histories. So the site will not look that different, but if you are thinking of buying something from Amazon – coming here and clicking through on a link would help – it also doesn’t cost you any more for the product.

What does it mean for the site, well it should hopefully mean that I will be less out of pocket than I am. And I may be able to find more interesting things to post about, anyway that is the gist of it.

Survivors – P-51 – Mustang – USA

by | Aug 30, 2024 | Database, Spotting, Survivor Series

Surviving Mustangs

The list of surviving North American Mustangs is quite lenthy, but before delving into the survivors what is the definition of a Mustang. To understand this we need to look at the evolution of the Mustang, designed to a British specification by North American Aviation. Originally approached to Build the Curtis P-40 under licence for the British, there was agreement that a new design would be more appropriate and so the NA-73X was born. This was the original Mustang Mk I, at this point the British Purchasing Commission effectively ordered 320 off the drawing board.

Of the first batch of Mustangs, two were allocated to the USAAC – the serials allocated were 41-038 and 41-039 and the XP-51 had arrived. Originally armed with two .50 calibre guns in the nose and four .303 calibre wing mounted guns the Mustang Mk I (NA-73 and NA-83) became the Mustang Mk Ia (NA-91) in RAF service when the wing armament was changed to 4 * 20mm cannons. The a,b,c suffix being commonly used when there was a wing armaments change, particularly when changed within a version as here.

The Mustang Mk Ia was in production when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour, the USAAC withheld a number of the 300 Mk Ia Mustangs that had been ordered and these became the P-51-2 or the F6A in USAAC service. North American Aviation at this time was closely involved in the Rolls-Royce Mustang X project, to re-engine the Mustang with the Rolls-Royce Merlin 61 as used in the Spitfire Mk IX.

The above lineage brings us to the North American Aviation P-51A Mustang, on the way there was probably much in fighting among various factions – but essentially the P-51A was arrived at through British requirements and North American Aviation technical skills and manufacturing capacity, modified by British need.

There were over fifteen thousand Mustangs built of all variants, with a number still in active service until the1980’s. They were operated by many countries, even built in countries like Australia and Canada by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation.

How many still survive is a difficult question to answer, I don’t doubt that I will miss a few from the list. But to minimise the chance of this, the list will be broken into sections to make it more manageable as the largest group are the US registered aircraft – here they are all 211 of them.

The table below is the current list of surviving North American Mustangs on the US register as dated the 6th of August, these are all believed to be in a flyable condition although some of them may fly infrequently.

It is quite likely that the table will change from time to time, some will be added and in the event of accidents or sale some may be deleted – I will try and keep it up to date, any help would be appreciated.

 

Surviving P-51 Mustangs

Support this site.

It does take some time and effort to create these downloads, also there are a number of costs associated with running the site. So if you can consider supporting this site with a donation it would be helpful, if you find the site useful then why not treat me to a doughnut – or even a doughnut and a coffee if you’re feeling really flush.

But regardless of whether you donate or not, I hope that the contents of the files are of some use, also bear in mind that the files are as dated in the bar graph on the down load page – I will try and produce a new data set every month or more frequently if time allows.

Please note these files are provided for personal use, if you want to use them for any other purpose or if you want to make them available through your own site – get in touch first.

 

 

Prestwick Brabazon Visit

by | Aug 30, 2024 | Airport History, Spotting, Spotting News, Wrecks and Relics

The good old days.

Seventy three years ago this week, there was a real feeling of optimism in the aviation industry – which was at its zenith. The British aviation industry employed more people than the NHS does today, there were new aircraft at all stages of the development cycle. One of those was the Bristol Brabazon, considered in some respects to be the first “wide body” airliner, to give some context the Brabazon fuselage had a diameter which was nearly six feet more than that of a Boeing 747 and was over a foot wider than that of an Airbus A380.

Big as it was, the Brabazon was planned to carry no more than 100 passengers – with the flagship companies of the day in some cases planning a layout accommodating less than 40 people. This would give each passenger the equivalent of a small room of space, using modern spacing methods – it would have carried around 300 passengers, at the time it was to have become the new queen of the skies – replacing the Imperial flying boats.

On August the 28th 1951 the Brabazon arrived at Prestwick, it was to have made a number of flights – but due to adverse weather made only one on Wednesday the 29th carrying The Seretary of State for Scotland.

At that same time the British aviation industry was engaged in the production or development of over 60 different types of civilian, military and research fixed wing airfrom the Auster to the Wyvern.

But there are spotters who are regulars at Prestwick who were there on the day the Brabazon was there, still talking about it – ah nostalgia for the good old days.

 

Support this site.

It does take some time and effort to create these downloads, also there are a number of costs associated with running the site. So if you can consider supporting this site with a donation it would be helpful, if you find the site useful then why not treat me to a doughnut – or even a doughnut and a coffee if you’re feeling really flush.

But regardless of whether you donate or not, I hope that the contents of the files are of some use, also bear in mind that the files are as dated in the bar graph on the down load page – I will try and produce a new data set every month or more frequently if time allows.

Please note these files are provided for personal use, if you want to use them for any other purpose or if you want to make them available through your own site – get in touch first.

 

 

My data, your data.

by | Aug 29, 2024 | Database, Downloads, Online Logging, Spotting

Anyone who has visited the downloads page on this site will have seen that there are a number of files available, these files are created by me from a number of sources and I intend to add more files over time.

The files are created from official sources and come with any mistakes contained in those official sources, just because it comes from the Federal Aviation Authority doesn’t actually mean that it is correct. What has to be taken into account is the fact that there are probably few checks on the data, that the data is input by individuals and there are many ways for the individual to missconstrue that data.

Take as an example the North American P-51D Mustang, almost all of them are using the USAAF assigned serial number instaed of the North American manufactiring serial number. In some cases the USAAF serial number is hyphenated in other cases not, the aitcraft detail is also sometimes hyphenated and sometimes not as in P51 or P-51. Not that this is a problem in the case of the P-51D as the MSN can be tied to the USAAF serial with relative simplicity, it is just an example of how even data from official sources can be a bit ambiguous.

The P-51 is also recorded as a number of types, each with its own identifier in the FAA database download, these were the official type identifiers – so we also have the F-51 hyphenated and not along with the F6A. There can be incorect manufacturer names, one that comes to ming is American Avia INC – where the type is redorded as a “North American P-51B”.

It generally doesn’t matter, it may to the purist but for most plane spotters all there needs to be is a way of differentiating between aircraft of the same type.

There are many examples of this type error scattered throughout official data sources, generally considered too big a task to rectify these things tend to be left as they are  – just for ease of keeping relatively accurate records. In my data I have not ammended the serial number just because of the amount of work, what about your data?

 

Support this site.

It does take some time and effort to create these downloads, also there are a number of costs associated with running the site. So if you can consider supporting this site with a donation it would be helpful, if you find the site useful then why not treat me to a doughnut – or even a doughnut and a coffee if you’re feeling really flush.

But regardless of whether you donate or not, I hope that the contents of the files are of some use, also bear in mind that the files are as dated in the bar graph on the down load page – I will try and produce a new data set every month or more frequently if time allows.

Please note these files are provided for personal use, if you want to use them for any other purpose or if you want to make them available through your own site – get in touch first.

 

 

ADSB Global Hiding

by | Aug 27, 2024 | Database, Electronic Identity, Online Logging, Spotting, Visible Markings

The FAA’s decision to allow the obfuscation of private aircraft identities is not unique; it aligns with practices in other countries that have implemented similar measures. This alignment reflects a broader trend in international aviation regulations, where privacy and security concerns are increasingly prioritised. Here’s a closer look at how international practices and standards influence the FAA’s decision:

European Union (EU).

Mode S Transponders.

In the EU, the use of Mode S transponders is mandatory for most aircraft. Mode S transponders emit a unique ICAO hex code that can be tracked. However, similar to the FAA, certain provisions allow for the use of temporary codes, especially for government, military, or state aircraft.

Data Privacy Regulations.

Europe has stringent data privacy laws, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which influences how personal data, including flight data, is handled. There is a growing recognition in Europe that private aircraft ownership and flight movements constitute personal data that may require protection.

State Aircraft.

EASA allows state aircraft, including military, police, and customs aircraft, to use reserved ICAO 24-bit addresses, which are not tied to the usual civilian databases, thereby masking their identity.

United Kingdom (UK).

Block All.

At the moment the UK doesn’t seem to have a system where the aircraft can transmit a false Mode S code, however it is probably just a matter of time before this facility is incorporated in the legislation. Altough again here the good thing from a spotters perspective is the glacial progress that will be made by the legislators, along with the ineptitude of the teams that will be doing the work – so don’t expect it to happen soon.

Military and Government Flights.

Like the U.S., the UK permits the obfuscation of identities for military and government flights for security reasons. This practice influences civil aviation policies, allowing for more flexible approaches to privacy.

Australia.

Aircraft Privacy Option.

Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) provides an option for private aircraft owners to request privacy measures that limit the distribution of their aircraft’s identity and movement data. This is especially relevant for those who might face security risks.

State and VIP Aircraft.

Australia, like many other nations, allows state and VIP aircraft to use special codes that mask their identity for security and privacy purposes.

Canada.

National Defence and Private Aircraft.

In Canada, the Department of National Defence operates under specific regulations that permit the obfuscation of aircraft identities. Private aircraft owners also have some privacy protections, particularly in cases where there are security concerns.

NAV CANADA.

Canada’s air navigation service provider, NAV CANADA, supports privacy requests by limiting the display of certain aircraft on publicly accessible platforms.

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Guidelines.

State Aircraft and Reserved Codes.

ICAO, the international body that sets standards for aviation, recognizes the need for certain aircraft to operate under conditions of confidentiality. This includes the use of reserved ICAO 24-bit addresses and special call signs for state aircraft, which include military, police, and other government-operated flights.

Global Cooperation.

ICAO encourages member states to cooperate on matters of airspace security and privacy. This international cooperation often influences domestic policies, leading to the adoption of practices like those implemented by the FAA.

Middle Eastern Countries.

Security-Centric Policies.

In several Middle Eastern countries, where security concerns are high, obfuscation of aircraft identities is a common practice. This is often done to protect high-profile individuals, including royalty and government officials, from being tracked.

Influence on FAA Policy.

International Norms.

The FAA often aligns its regulations with international norms to maintain consistency and facilitate cooperation with other countries. When multiple countries adopt privacy measures for aircraft, it sets a standard that the FAA is likely to follow.

Reciprocity and Harmonization.

International aviation operates on principles of reciprocity and harmonisation. The FAA’s decision to allow identity obfuscation can be seen as part of an effort to ensure that U.S. practices are in line or ahead of other leading aviation authorities, where practical it does make sense to move towards regulatory alignment.

Summary

So the global aviation environment will probably move towards allowing high net worth individuals to hide the identity of their private aircraft, if they don’t remove the markings like registration or serial number from the aircraft it won’t cause more than anoyance from a spotting perspective – as the information will propagate up the spotting grapevine.

Spotters as I’ve said tend to be a fairly communicative bunch, they have even established world wide networks where information regarding aircraft identities is disseminated quite effectively. There may always be the case where an identity can’t be confirmed, but it is likely that these will be few and far between.