There is a rumor floating around that boeing (and thus foreflight) is a silent partner to vector landing fee systems. Foreflight tracks information about each flight, including landings. If foreflight corporate is able to upload flight information from devices, and share with Vector, then landing fees would be easy, even if flying in ADSB anonymus mode. Anyone else hearing this rumor, or able to confirm or deny? If true, this would be one reason not to use foreflight.
This is NOT true whatsoever.
Interesting. How does Vector know to send the overflight user fee to foreflight? Is Vector watching the sky with a radar? Or is Vector watching the ADSB track on foreflight? What if a person is using another EFB, maybe iFlyEFB? Does this EFB also pass thru Vector fees? If not, this may be another reason not to use foreflight.
It's not the EFB that is the reason for the fee passthrough that can happen. One of ForeFlight's services to their Performance members is the ability to use a callsign, and call yourself "ForeFlight 1234" on the radio. This same thing has been provided by FltPlan.com (now owned by Garmin) for a long time, those callsigns are the ones you hear on the radio as "Dotcom 1234". You can see everyone airborne right now using these callsigns at these links:
As I write this, there's a Gulfstream under Dotcom (N550VR) and seven aircraft under ForeFlight (A Gulfstream, a Premier, a Citation, a TBM, and three PC12s).
Now... Even though these aircraft are operating under ForeFlight/Dotcom callsigns, they are all still squawking their assigned ADS-B code based on their tail number. I was able to see who they all were. So, even if they were landing at Vector-serviced fields, they would be getting billed directly.
For Vector to bill ForeFlight (or fltplan.com or anyone else that isn't the aircraft owner), the aircraft would have to be using a PIA (
Privacy ICAO Address). The hex code for aircraft ID that is normally assigned is strictly based on the tail number. For example, N4GA's hex code is A4A886. If they changed the tail number to N4GB, the hex code would be A4A887. So if you know the hex code, you know the tail number.
Since there are sometimes privacy issues with such things, it is possible to get a PIA that you use for a short time (at least 20 days) and then get a different one. There are blocks of fake tail numbers that are used for this. For example, if you look up N429NE, it's registered to "SBS PRGM OFC" at 800 Independence Ave. SW in Washington, DC. That is, FAA headquarters.
*IF* you are using BOTH a ForeFlight callsign *AND* a PIA, the only place Vector can possibly send a bill is to ForeFlight. And ForeFlight will then pay that bill and pass it through by charging you for it. They do not have a business relationship with Vector, they're merely passing through the bill that you incurred.
Very interesting. So if I understand this correctly, a person can be using ADSB anonymous mode, flying over the countryside, and breach some type of imaginary airspace that Vector claims to own, and foreflight will help Vector send an unsuspecting aircraft owner a bill for airspace usage fees. if this is correct, this is rather interesting.
It is not correct.
Aside from all the questions of legality of this scenario, do other EFB's such as IFly also report aircraft information to Vector, or do we know? If other EFBs don't link with Vector, in my mind this would be a definite motivation to switch away from foreflight, toward EFBs that don't talk to Vector or other aviation fee collection scams.
ForeFlight is not "reporting aircraft information to Vector" nor are they "linked with Vector".
visualstudio.microsoft.com
dotnet.microsoft.com
www.vector-us.com
