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What’s in a sighting?

by | Jul 18, 2024 | Database, Online Logging, Spotting

Logging aircraft.

When it comes to your spotting log, it is all about personal choice or preference. Two plane spotters at the same airfield on the same day will obviously log all the same stuff, so far so good. But it is possible that, even though the sigtings may be logged in an identical manner on the day. When they are transferred to some kind of master log, they could be kept in an entirely different manner – there may even be completely different information stored.

Our two ficticious spotters, lets call them Fred and Joe might have different perspectives on the information that they want to record. As an example Fred may have seen the aircraft before, for Joe it may be a new frame. If the registration or the owner of the aircraft has changed, for Fred it may be a “paint scrape” for Joe it’s still a first sighting of that particular aircraft.

Fred may record additional information, for example “Brought the Barcelona Team to the Cup Final”. Joe on the other hand may just record it as a “Football Charter”, or he might add nothing to the log entry. So the entries that you create in your log on the day make a difference to the information further down the line if you want to do any kind of research or writing.

What do I record?

Typically I’d try for a photograph with the registration of serial number visible and sort it out later, I don’t tend to keep additional notes – unless it’s something out of the ordinary. For stuff that’s flying and is too far away for an image, Flight Radar and ADSB Global are your friend (which is why I have a Bee in my Bonnet over LADD and PIA), at the moment you can get most of the information that you need from these sources – with the caveat that LADD hides departure and arrival airports on Flight Radar and PIA hides everything on both Flight Radar and ADSB Global – inside US Air Space.

In my log, I generally record the basic information that I provide for down load on the site. What I add is a date, a location and whether it was the first time that I saw the air frame. I seldom add any notes other than a photograph ID so that I can reference the photograph instead of searching through the 50,000 or so digital images that I now have.

What should you record?

In my opinion, if you’re just starting out – everything that you can. As you become more experienced and refine your skills as a spotter, you’ll recognise what you need to record to give you what you want from the hobby.

PIA Traffic is it increasing?

by | Jul 16, 2024 | Aviation News, Online Logging, Spotting, Spotting Locations, Spotting News

Is PIA traffic increasing?

I’d say that it most certainly is, since President Biden signed the new FAA legislation on the 16th of May 2024 there seems to be an increas in the visible traffic on ADSB Global.

What is PIA, it’s short for Privacy ICAO Address. Without delving into it too much, it’s a method that the US Government provides through it’s FAA, that can be used by any private individual to hide their private flying habits from the general public. The ICAO part is short for the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

Why bother about the fact that someone wants to hide, actually I’m not that bothered. I am a little iritated about the fact that a number of the individuals who want to obfuscate the fact that they are zooming around in private jets, are in some cases the people who would have you believe that they are in favour of a greener sustainable future.

Or in other cases people who have cultivated a public following, then decided that they want to cherry pick what the public sees of their lifestyle. I understand the security concerns that these people may have, infact I can sympathise with them on that point – not from any personal perspective, but for the reason that being famouse doesn’t give anyone an excuse to bother you.

My issue with the privacy codes comes from my interest in plane spotting, I don’t actually care who is on the aeroplane – I really only want to know if I’ve seen the plane before or not. As a plane spotter it is pretty annoying, I’m still looking for aircraft identities from many years ago. And as far as this PIA program goes I wasn’t bothered by it until I discovered that it may be used internationally.

There are many problems associated with people knowing where you are and are going, but in truth trying to hide the identity of your private Jet isn’t very effective – see the article from Forbes here and the lack of effectiveness becomes obvious. The chances of hiding from the spotting community are slim in the short term and pretty well impossible in the long term. Hiding from others not interested enough to use all the services and tecnology available might be easier, but in many cases these may well be the people that you want to cultivate.

As a footnote I would like to point out that the PIA program is free and available to any one, the FAA have assigned more than 50,000 ICAO codes to the program. As of now only a few hundred of these have been allocated, in reality to be effective, the codes have to be changed every few flights at least – but the logistics of that are quite difficult. So at the moment, the PIA program is enjoying very limited success.

 

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 all from the 24th of June 2024 – I will try and produce a new data set every month or more frequently if time allows.

 

 

How can I identify a PIA aircraft?

by | Nov 22, 2023 | Aviation News, Database, Online Logging, Optical Enhancement, Radio, Spotting, Spotting Locations, Spotting News

Well this is a bit of a conundrum, you see a plane look it up on one of the tracking sites and all there is is a ICAO code and a call sign. Everything else, registration, type, origin, destination and many other spotter friendly features are not displayed.

How then do you find out the actual identity of the aircraft and whatever other information that you like to collect?

Well the truth is you won’t get the information without some effort, it’s unlikely that you’ll find out the information without the help of other spotters. The only certain way of identifying these aircraft is a physical sighting, at either end of the flight – so if you can’t be at the airport when it lands then other spotter groups would probably be the place to start.

Typically a week day view of US air space will show thousands of aircraft, and the vast majority of these are readily identifiable using applications or web sites like flightradar24 or in this case globe.adsbexchange.com.

So in most cases looking up and seeing an aircraft, will if you know where you are – make the identification fairly straight forward, a quick look at the app or website and you have everything you need.

In the begining tracking flights was more technical, there were tools like ACARS – but you needed certain technical skills to use that to track aircraft. But along came flightradar24, this was an absolute boon to the spotters.

Lack of privacy was seen to be a problem, so along came the FAA’s LADD (Limiting Aircraft Data Displayed) – which is a filter that the FAA puts in place for anyone taking a data feed from them – the image is LADD subscribed aircraft.

Just to be clear, these three screen shots were taken within a few minutes of each other the bottom shot is filtered by PIA subscribed aircraft.

As you can see, there aren’t that many aircraft in the view. But what I can say is that there is literally no information that would interest a spotter, the navigational information is there but little else is available.

In the next post I’ll go over the options and list some of the ways that you can try and find out the aircraft identity. But in the mean time consider this, both the LADD and the PIA services are free – so it’s likely that people using the LADD service will move to the PIA service.

The FAA’s PIA a Spotters View

by | Aug 9, 2023 | Aviation News, Online Logging, Spotting

Privacy ICAO aircraft address (PIA) program is now fully established, so Mr Elon Musk should be happy. To paraphrase Mr Musk, he didn’t want some lunatic putting a bullet in his head.

What is the PIA program, well it basically allows the owner of an aircraft or it’s operator to request a fake ID for that aircraft while it is inside air space under the juresdiction of the FAA.

To facilitate this, the FAA has effectively created some 50,000 fake identities – yes you read that correctly. These fake identities have to be used in conjunction with a fake call sign, making aircraft identification very difficult – unless you are close enough to use the Mk I eyeball.

As I’ve already said on here, plane spotters don’t actually care who’s on a plane. Possibly the Paperazzi do, but I’m pretty sure that if I spoke to 50 spotters that none of them would even have the slightest care about the passengers – unless a member of family was onboard. Even then a spotter is still likely to be more interested in the aircraft (Unless you’re in a spotters family – then I’m sure they are more interested in you than the plane), or at least taking a passing interest.

Over the past few days I’ve been looking at aircraft operating using this new program, what I can tell you is that from a spotters perspective it is a bit perplexing. But first some of what I’ve found on the FAA site ind in the downloadable database.

A check on my scrapes database indicates that these are all assigned in the reserved file, and they are assigned to the “SBS PRGM OFC” as at 31st July 2023 there are 50,003 registrations reserved to this user. These seem to have been assigned in five groups as described below, there are real allocated registrations in all these ranges.

Date Count N-Number Range Notes
2020/02/27 2484 N1025P to N1901U Group #1
2020/02/28 11391 N101AQ to N9076S Group #2
2020/02/29 27197 N126AQ to N208GB Group #3
2020/03/01 3843 N208GN to N220QF Group #4
2020/08/16 5088 N4146Y to N429TQ Group #5

The fake identities are already in use, with quite a number being issued – well from what I can see on various flight radar type applications. Interestingly, although ADS-B Exchange was purchased by NetJets – they have an active filter that allows you to view aircraft with a PIA. More on this subject to follow, where I’ll show some examples of how the flights are hidden – along with suggestions on what to try to find out the identity of an aircraft.

 

Too Much Privacy

by | Aug 8, 2023 | Application, Online Logging, Spotting, Spotting News

For aviation enthusiasts and plane spotters in the the world over, there’s nothing quite as impressive as witnessing the classic scene of aircraft tearing across the skies.

However, in recent years, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) implementation of the Privacy ICAO aircraft address (PIA) program has brought about significant implications for plane spotters particularly in the USA.

While the PIA system is designed to enhance aviation safety and security, it has inadvertently impacted the way spotters track aircraft and raised concerns about the exposure of aircraft owners’ identities.

Plane spotting, once an analog hobby with binoculars and notebooks, has evolved with technology. Today, aviation enthusiasts rely on a vast array of digital tools and websites to track and identify aircraft. Flight tracking apps and websites like FlightRadar24 and PlaneFinder offer real-time data on flight paths, altitude, and aircraft type. These platforms draw from various data sources, including ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) signals transmitted by aircraft.

FAA PIA System and Obfuscated Aircraft Identity

To protect the privacy of certain aircraft owners, the FAA implemented the LADD system in 2016. The LADD system allows aircraft owners to request the temporary blocking of their aircraft’s registration information from publicly available databases and tracking services. Consequently, when a spotter views the aircraft using flight tracking services, the aircraft’s registration number, and the owner’s identity among other things may appear obfuscated or hidden.

Impact on Plane Spotters

The FAA’s PIA system has presented challenges for plane spotters. On the positive side, the PIA system contributes to the protection of personal information for aircraft owners who may have legitimate reasons for maintaining their privacy – the truth is that in the main spotters don’t care who is on the plane, such as security concerns or corporate interests. However, for spotters, it means that certain aircraft they encounter may appear with generic or “blocked” registration data, making it challenging to identify the specific aircraft its owner or operator which is something that spotters would like to know.

Balancing Privacy and Enthusiast Interests

The challenge lies in striking a balance between individual privacy rights and the interests of aviation enthusiasts. Plane spotters have traditionally contributed valuable data to the aviation community, aiding in aircraft identification, safety reporting, and even historical research. With the PIA system in place, some spotters argue that they have lost access to crucial data, making it harder to maintain their hobby or contribute to the aviation community effectively.

Addressing Concerns and Encouraging Transparency

To address these concerns, the FAA and aviation industry stakeholders should consider promoting transparency and open communication. Aircraft owners who choose to utilize the PIA system could be encouraged to voluntarily share their aircraft information with trusted aviation communities and platforms to ensure that plane spotters can continue their passion responsibly and safely.

Conclusion

The FAA’s PIA system has undoubtedly brought about significant implications for plane spotters in the United States. While privacy and security concerns are essential to address, it is crucial to find a middle ground that respects the rights of aircraft owners while also allowing aviation enthusiasts to continue their hobby and contribute positively to the aviation community. By fostering open dialogue and transparency, we can work towards finding a balanced approach that benefits both parties and promotes the safety and enjoyment of aviation enthusiasts across the nation. After all there is a certain amount of information that we as spotters don’t care about, in the main spotters just actually want to know about the aircraft – see us standing by an airport fence and you’ll realise that we don’t care about the who – only the what!

 

Exploring Aircraft Tracking Sites and Communities

by | May 23, 2023 | Aviation News, Online Logging, Spotting

Plane spotting, the art of observing and identifying aircraft, has captivated aviation enthusiasts for decades. With the advent of the internet, plane spotters now have access to an array of online resources that enhance their hobby.

In this blog post, we will delve into the world of plane spotting, highlighting various aircraft tracking sites and aviation enthusiast web forums that can elevate your experience to new heights. So what’s available and how does it help the spotter?

It is all down to what your interests are, how you use the resource – with the forums, there is an element of “The more you contribute, the more valuable the resource becomes.”

 

FlightRadar24:

FlightRadar24 is one of the most popular aircraft tracking sites available today. It provides real-time tracking of flights worldwide, offering a comprehensive range of data, including aircraft type, registration, altitude, speed, and route. With FlightRadar24’s interactive map interface, you can explore flight paths, monitor arrivals and departures, and even receive alerts for specific aircraft or airports. This site also allows you to access historical data, enabling you to delve into the past and track the journey of a particular aircraft.

ADS-B Exchange:

For plane spotters seeking an open-source and community-driven platform, ADS-B Exchange is an excellent choice. It harnesses data from volunteers who host ADS-B receivers, allowing you to access real-time flight tracking information. With its extensive coverage, ADS-B Exchange provides an alternative perspective, offering additional data points for aircraft tracking. The platform’s map interface is user-friendly, enabling you to zoom in on specific regions or airports and uncover intriguing details about each flight.

Planespotters.net:

Planespotters.net serves as an aviation enthusiast’s paradise. It combines an extensive aircraft database with a lively community of passionate spotters. This site allows you to search for specific aircraft, airlines, or registrations, providing comprehensive information such as age, ownership history, and photographs. Additionally, Planespotters.net features a vibrant forum where enthusiasts can share their experiences, exchange tips and techniques, and engage in discussions about aircraft spotting.

JetPhotos:

JetPhotos is a remarkable platform for aviation photographers and plane spotters alike. It hosts an extensive collection of high-quality aircraft images contributed by enthusiasts worldwide. Whether you’re searching for a specific aircraft type, airline, or livery, JetPhotos offers a wealth of visually captivating images. Moreover, the site provides valuable metadata and detailed descriptions for each photo, including location and photographer information, offering insights into the world of plane spotting.

Airliners.net:

Airliners.net has been a go-to resource for aviation enthusiasts since 1997. It boasts an enormous database of aircraft photos, including historical shots, rare liveries, and unique aircraft configurations. The site’s forum serves as a hub for passionate aviation enthusiasts to discuss various topics, share trip reports, and exchange knowledge about plane spotting techniques. Airliners.net’s comprehensive coverage, coupled with its vibrant community, makes it a must-visit destination for every plane spotting enthusiast.

The digital era has revolutionized plane spotting, granting enthusiasts access to an extensive range of aircraft tracking sites and aviation enthusiast communities. Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned spotter, these online resources will enhance your passion for aviation, allowing you to track flights in real-time, explore comprehensive aircraft databases, view captivating photographs, and engage with fellow enthusiasts worldwide. So grab your binoculars, set up your tracking tools, and immerse yourself in the fascinating world of plane spotting. Happy spotting!