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Tracking Hidden Aircraft

by | Aug 20, 2024 | Database, Electronic Identity, Spotting, Visible Markings

Tracking Hidden Aircraft

Over the past few years, most plane spotters have used Flight Radar or ADSB to identify aircraft. Some use tools like “Have I Seen It” that show only aircraft or scrapes that you haven’t seen. But with some of the worlds entitled wealth and the Military “opting out”, these tools are likely to become less useful in the future.

With the advent of the LADD, PIA and now the removal of visible markings from all Air Mobility Command aircraft, the plane spotting world is becoming a less friendly space for spotters to be in. The FAA’s LADD and PIA programs are annoying, but don’t defeat the Mk1 eyeball, however there is the possibility for the AMC change to cause spotters a real problem as there is no certainty that the ADS-C information can be confirmed.

Here is a typical example of how the PIA programme obfuscates an aircraft identity and with it the owner, the picture above shows an aircraft track from ASDB over the United States. You will notice that there is no registration displayed, just a call sign, a Hex code and a DB flag of PIA.

So lets look at some stuff about the data displayed, firstly the aircraft icon which indicates a single engine propeller driven aircraft. Not unusual at all, however when you look at the altitude and speed things don’t seem to add up – it is flying at 45,000ft at over 400kts. Although it could be a single engine prop driven aircraft, there are very few that would be capable of being in that envelope.

What else can we discern from the data, well the Hex code A4E954 is the next clue. This code equates to N4132C, a check of my database shows this to have been a Stinson 108 now de-registered – these do not fly at 45,000ft or at 400kts. There is no entry in the active file for that registration, but a check on the reserved registration file shows that the registration is reserved by the SBS Program Office – there are more more than 50,000 rgistrations with that reservation.

The only way of positively identifying this aircraft, would have been to be at the departure or the arival airport – or be in contact with spotters at each end.

 

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.

 

 

AMC Removing Markings

by | Aug 12, 2024 | Airport History, Aviation News, Database, Online Logging, Spotting, Spotting News

Serial Removal

Whats the problem with a visible serial number or registration, there are none if you are a plane spotter – actually they are quite covenient. But from an operational security perspective, they allow a specific asset to be identified. So Air Mobility Command has decided to remove the visible serial number, along with the data block normally carried on the port side of the aircraft – which also gave the aircraft serial.

AMC Announces

Air Mobility Command has directed its refueling and cargo planes to obscure the majority of identifying information painted on the aircraft, citing national security concerns — an unusual move that is alarming to government watchdogs. (Published by Military,com 01/03/2023)

In truth, the visible serial number on any United States Air Force aircraft is probably under threat – not just the Air Mobility Command sircraft. As technology has made the requirement for a displayed serial number redundant. The USAF approved the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) back in 2009, so the visible serial number has probably been on the way out since then – although it seems that the decision for AMC was early 2023.

From a support perspective, the tech’s that have to do work on a specific aircraft – just need a simple RFID reader to confirm that it is the correct aircraft. The technology is well proven, think about tapping your bank card to pay at a checkout.

What does it mean for a spotter?

As spotters, we all like to know that what we see is what we think it is. This change means that you have to place trust in the technology, even the Mk 1 eyeball is of no use whatsoever in the case of an aircraft with no markings to identify it. At the moment I’ve managed to identify (possibly) four aircraft reported as having the serials removed, but that could be just three as two of them are reported as KC-135’s – there’s also a C-32 and a C-130 that I’m aware of.

So when it comes to exact ID of the aircraft, it’s down to what you can get from FR24 or ADSB Global – how much you want to trust that is down to you. In the main it is probably pretty accurate, but it is possible to transmit any code or none.

I’m currently trying to put together a composite list of units and aircraft, I will post these (currently speculative) lists when I get a chance.

 

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.

 

 

US Registered Warbirds

by | Aug 9, 2024 | Aviation News, Database, Online Logging, Spotting, Wrecks and Relics

US Registered Warbirds

Most people reading this will have heard the term “Warbird”, but for clarity I’ll add the current definition as it has changed somewhat over the years. Originally a warbird was a Second World War aircraft, demilitarised and operated by civilians or a preservation entity like The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. Now it is considered as any “vintage” military aircraft with a civilian or a presevation society like the BBMF or the Comemorative Air Force as the operator.

Seeing an aircraft like a Mustang, Hurricane, Spitfire or something else from the war years is something quite special. Visiting Duxford in the UK or some of the other locations around the world and seeing these aircraft still flying is memorable, appreciating how much care and attention is lavished on these machines – some approaching 100 years old evokes something akin to awe.

Take a photograph in Black and White and to the average person it could just as easily have been taken 60, 70 or 80 years ago, there is a certain nostalgia that makes itself felt in that moment. It’s not just the fighters with the catchy names that are evocative, the trainers, transports, bombers and utility aircraft of the era also have an undeniable cachet.

Currently there are thousands of these aircraft on the US Civil Register, for example there are 206 “North American F/P-51” Mustangs active (with a CofA) in the August file available from our download page. There are 56 “North American B-25” Mitchell’s and around 180 “Douglas DC-3 & variants”, although these are still effectively being refurbished and re-engined by Basler Turbo Conversions. The aircraft listed above are some of the better known warbirds, but what about the lesser known ones like the Piper Cub.

When you look at aircraft like the Piper Cub (the first US aircraft shot down immediately before the attack on Pearl Harbour), which started life as the Taylor E-2 in 1930 with production ending in 1947 – almost twenty thousand being built between 1938 and 1947 – at peak production an aircraft rolling off the line every 20 minutes. There are still over 3,800 of these currently active on the US Civil Register, the youngest of these is 76 years old. Should they be classified as a warbird, personally I’d say yes.

They maybe didn’t have the zingy Spitfire, Mustang, Thunderbolt, Warhawk name and except for a few examples they weren’t armed – but they fit the original and new criteria in equal measure. There are many others that fit the bill, the Harvard under several designations such as the AT-6 or SNJ(pick a number) with at least 700 still current.

In all there may be more than ten thousand warbirds currently active on the US Civil Register, quite a respectable 3% or more of all aitcraft on the register.

 

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.

 

 

Latest File Updates

by | Aug 7, 2024 | Aviation News, Database, Online Logging, Spotting

August Update

Well the downloads page has been updated, all four of the downloadable files are now dated the 6th of August 2024 – providein a total of just over 730,000 records available for download. As normal the down load files are provided in a Comma Separated Valuses file, this can be loaded into any application capable of supporting the format – a good place to start are any of the spread sheet applications.

Over the next couple of weeks I intend to add a couple of files, these will be aditional to the existing Austalian and Canadian registers – where I intend to add the deregistered aircraft as far back as I can. Along with composite files covering surviving WWII aircraft, but these will take some time to create – it may be that I create some files of individual types first.

As usual the rules on the use of the data are free to use for personal use, but a mention of a donation would be nice if you’re going to post on your own site.

 

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.

 

 

Files Update

by | Jul 19, 2024 | Database, Downloads, Online Logging, Spotting

The New Data Files.

Have grown tired of waiting for the Australian data file to be updated, so have ammended the downloads page to reflect the data set used to create the files along with the record count for each file.

Hopefully the Australian file will be updated soon, I’m currently working on converting the ancillary datafiles from the Australian site and expect to have them done for the middle of August this should add a few thousand additional records to the downloads available. It will comprise at least two files, the derigistered and the changed registration files.

Following that I expect to be uploading some more check lists and a number of military data sets, but first I’m off line for a couple of weeks.

If anyone has anything specific that they would like, I’ll see if I can extract it and put it in a format that can be used from the downloads page. But it’s unlikely that I’ll be picking up any stuff from the site until the begining of August at the earliest.

Online Logging Maybe!

by | Jul 19, 2024 | Database, Spotting

The Plane Spotters Community.

I’ve looked at a number of online logging platforms in the past, to be fair they all have good and bad points. For me the biggest negative has always been that a number of these sites restrict your ability to download your log, some to just once a year – for a dedicated spotter a year can be a lot of data.

So I was pleasantly surprised to see the facility to send your log to an Excel spread sheet that can be saved locally, allowing you to have a local copy and an online copy (more copies is always better). Now to be fair, I’ve only entered 100 records into the site and haven’t had time to fully investigate it. But compared to some of the other sites that I’ve looked at the features seem to be quite good.

The database is fairly good, I know from personal experience how onerous a task it can be keeping a database up to date. Having nearly 2000 copies of the FAA Database Download going back as far as the late 90’s and hard copies going back to 1964, that doesn’t cover the hundreds of copies of other registers and fleet lists that I have incorporated in my own personal database.

Having checked the data out it is fairly accurate, but there are a couple of gotchas when it comes to inputting the data – but all in all it is fairly slick. Five stars on the ability to download your data after every logging session, pretty good rating on everything else that I’ve tried.

Once I’ve given the site a good test, I’ll post again with a more detailed review. But first impressions indicate that this site is better than average for an online logging platform.

The site is available here and is worth a checkout.

Support this site.

It does take some time and effort to create the downloads on the site, 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 date indicated on the percentage bar – the next set of download files should be available early August – hopefully the Australians will have provided an update by then.