Hi folks, one of my all time favorite pastimes  and I'm sure one most of us enjoy, is plane spotting    I don't even need to go to the airport, I often enjoy just watching the traffic pass overhead, with or without binoculars, but most of the time without, and try to determine the aircraft type and airline.   I especially love seeing the rare birds, such as international carriers not served by my local airport, KPHL, passing overhead on their way to destination.   Looking back about 20 years ago or so, the internet was not around, so it was a challenge sometimes to figure out what is what.   But thanks to Flightaware, with it's live map (or close to live, I think there is a few minutes delay for security reasons) one can just run to their computer (or even a wifi enabled tablet outdoors) and boom!, you have your answer to what just flew overhead right there and then!  

 

I still get a thrill when I see four or two thick contrails high above in cruise, wondering if it's a 777 or 747, and find out not only the type but the airline and origin/destination of said flight.  For the most part, I have seen it all, so much so that I know an unusual flightpath instantly, and its fun for me to run to my computer and see what it is.   2 weekends ago, I noticed a long contrail moving in a south to north direction, something I never see.  I opened the live KPHL area map in Flightaware, and learn that it was a Westjet 737-700, at 40,000ft, flying Canadian vacationers from the Dominican Republic to Toronto.   Very interesting!

 

Just today, about an hour after dusk, I witnessed what appeared to be a very small jet flying low and slow over my house.   It was night, and all I saw were the strobes and nav lights, and I heard a fairly quiet hum from the twin engines.   Boy was I amazed to learn what that plane was.

 

It was Steve Wynn's personal ride, the first Gulfstream G-650 ever delivered to a customer!    It was on a short flight between KPHL and Teterboro KTEB (about 30 minutes and 92 NM), so that was why it was flying so low.  4000 feet for the entire duration of the flight, including the time over my house.   Turns out Steve, a well known Casino magnate and billionaire, may have been in town to present his proposal for a new resort/casino on the Philadelphia waterfront.  I can't be certain that he was on board, but it's most likely he was on his way to New York for some more wheeling and dealing.   I live directly under the MAZIE TWO STAR to Teterboro, and often watch the passing biz jets and wonder if there are famous businessmen or movie stars on board.   Thanks to Flightaware, I was able to obtain indisputable proof of what the flight was, even though it was dark outside.

 

Here's the flight taken from Flightaware: http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N711SW

 

So, do any of you guys and gals share in my weird obsession with using Flightaware to confirm air traffic sightings in your backyard?

Have you tried this one yet?

 

http://www.flightradar24.com/

 

I prefer it to Flight Aware now but I do use Flight Aware for planning a lot of my FSX routes with the PMDG NGX

Great find Matt.   I still prefer FlightAware, maybe because I'm so used to it and because I use it to copy/paste the routes and other flight specific data into FSX, but I do see one thing that I really really wish the folks at FlightAware would implement: Google Maps view.   The ground image in Flightaware is atrocious, I can't believe they haven't switched to a Googlemaps view yet.   It would make it so much easier to visualize my home location or anywhere I am at when I'm out and about relative to the flightpaths depicted on their map.  I also like how the icons match the a/c type, at least for 757s or 747s.  

Have you tried this one yet?

 

http://www.flightradar24.com/

 

I prefer it to Flight Aware now but I do use Flight Aware for planning a lot of my FSX routes with the PMDG NGX

wow I really like this, thanks :-)

 

edit cockpit view!

In keeping with my original post here, I wanted to note another unique situation I witnessed on this fine sunday afternoon.   I was doing some weeding in my yard, while admiring the traffic approaching KPHL on the BOJID1 STAR to runway 09R, making their turn over my house at 6,000 ft over the KYILL waypoint for the downwind track to the west where they are directed to vectors to the ILS runway.   That this runway configuration was active on a sunny calm day like today was a surprise, as west bound approaches/takeoffs from runway 27 are the norm when the weather is good.

 

Anyway, I hear a fairly loud sound in the short distance, I stopped what I was doing, and watched a US Airways 737-400 pass over very low.   It also didn't follow the usual track that the other jets were flying, so I knew something was amiss.   Another reason to be curious, is that to the best of my knowledge, US Airways 737's at KPHL tend to fly to/from Florida, and there would be no reason for that type to fly over my house on approach, as it would have flown an entirely different STAR from another direction.  Not to digress, but back in 2009, famous tv pitchman Billy Mays died a day after a rough landing on a KPHL to Tampa Florida flight, which was a 737-400.   Well, I run inside to load up the flightaware live view, and discover it was indeed a flight originating from Florida, and the reason it was over my house and flying low was because it executed a missed approach!   Exciting!

 

Flightaware link is below, and my house is right under the loop.   Sure enough, this flight originated at KMIA.   She flew over at 3,000ft, and it was very easy to tell it was a classic 737, as she was a little louder than most modern jets that I frequently see over here, like narrowbody Airbuses and 737NGs, but I still needed to see the flightaware page to be sure as I'm not used to seeing the older 737s in this day and age.   So, if you happen to live near an major airport and see a low flying jet, chances are it is finding its way back to the end of the queue to start it's approach all over again after a missed approach.  

 

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AWE718/history/20130505/1800Z/KMIA/KPHL

I sit out in my garden with my two boys and flightradar24's app installed on my smartphone... pointing out the various aircraft pasing overhead. Every now and then you get to see a rarity, like a Beluga on the way from Toulouse to Hamburg Finkenwerder...

 

A

If you have an iPhone, check out Plane Finder AR. Just point the phone's camera in the direction of the plane and it will tell you what it is.

 

http://planefinder.net/about/

Wow goates, that is a fantastic piece of technology!   I wonder how it knows the particulars of the smartphone picture target, but I imagine GPS is a big part of the equation.

I'm telling you, it's getting TOO easy to figure out what is flying overhead.  I'd like a little bit of suspense and a challenge, that's part of the fun.

 

 

I wonder how it knows the particulars of the smartphone picture target, but I imagine GPS is a big part of the equation.

 

iPhones after the 4th generation, and probably most current Android smartphones, have a built in gyroscope, accelerometer and compass. This combined with the GPS is what apps such as Plane Finder use. Lots of other nifty apps make use of these sensors too.

 

http://www.ihandysoft.com/carpenter.html

 

http://www.augmented-outdoors.com/

 

They do remove the suspense though!

Hi NGXfanatic (and all others in here)

 

 

I live in Denmark in Copenhagen, and live in the path of planes flying into Copenhagen (CPH/EKCH) 22L using the LUGA 3N, ROSBI 3N and SVD 3M using 04L. The altitude is typically between 2.500 ft and 3.000 ft.

It's an interesting approach into 22L as you pass close over the suburbs and the northern part of Copenhagen before making a sharp right turn over the water and dropping... Feels quite insane, when sitting in the airplane - in clear weather you have a nice view over Copenhagen when sitting in the right side of the aircraft.

The planes landing in CPH is not that big typically though... If one's lucky you could get to see an Scandinavian A340/A330 from the US passing overhead - a spectacular view IMO! It's not that common though - usually the fly to far north. Sadly I won't see the eastern arrivals from where I live.

 

I share your passion and the same excitement regards to the challenge of finding out planes flying overhead. Both on approach and looking up in the sky seeing the contrails and wondering...

When Newark is landing runway 22 left, planes are sometimes flying past my house at around 3,000 feet. In November of 2010, a United A320 out of Chicago O'Hare flew past my house. Of course, I didn't need FlightAware to figure that one out....as I was on the plane. In fact, the air traffic controller issued the flight a heading of 090 as we were flying parallel up I-287, and we ended up turning to fly right past my house. Of course, with my luck, I was stuck at the airport for another three hours, as my cousin was due to fly in later, and my parents didn't want to have to make the 45-minute drive twice. I didn't get home until four hours later.

Ahh, KEWR.   I live under the PHILBO STAR approach to that airport, where I can see traffic arriving from the south/southwest on the descent from 20000 to 13000 ft, and whenever I'm out in my yard I admire the steady stream of the quiet traffic queuing up for an approach to KEWR (no doubt on near idle power). 

 

Today, I'm out playing some softball with my 7 year old nephew and niece, and as I'm holding the bat getting ready for the pitches, I found myself distracted for about a half minute seeing what looked like a 727 with winglets on the approximate path of the PHILBO STAR to KEWR, but unlike the normal traffic, this aircraft was coming out of a right hand turn.   The kids are yelling at me to pay attention, but I was just too damn curious, so I drop the bat, ask for my sister to take my place, and run inside to the computer to load up Flightaware.

 

Turns out it was a Fedex MD-11 that was just exiting a 20 minute holding pattern at 14,000ft over KPHL.   I never noticed that there is a hold directly over KPHL, and that sure explains why the MD-11 was completing a bank.   From my vantage point, it is very hard to recognize the aircraft types on that flightpath, hence my first guess that it was a 727 with winglets.   Don't know why I guessed 727 winglets, as that is a very rare type, I think mostly used as a VIP or Business jet, but that's what my mind thought at the time, I ought to keep some binoculars handy in the future!.   Well, I look at the flight records of other arrivals at KEWR at that time, and most were asked to hold at various points, probably due to traffic or weather, as KPHL was experiencing some delays at the time. 

 

I can remember as a child always looking up to the sky when a plane passes overhead, and here I am in my late 30's, and I am still fascinated by planespotting! 

 

 

 

 

It was interesting, the one day I was at my house after having gone grocery shopping, so I was unloading groceries. As I was doing that, I heard a set of Rolls-Royce engines powering up. From where I live, I have never heard jet engines power up like that before, so I went to have a look, sure enough, it was a Lufthansa Airbus A340.

Neat.   I love hearing the engines revving at such low altitudes when they are slow on the approach.  I experienced a similar situation to yours at my uncle's house in Syossett NY, as he had most of the transatlantic heavies pass over at about 2000-3000 ft on the intercept for KJFK runway 22L.  That is a very special sound, one I don't hear where I live near KPHL because the approaching traffic is at 6000ft or above.