ADS-B traffic display

Briar Rabbit

Briar Rabbit

Line Up and Wait
Joined
Mar 22, 2017
Messages
626
Location
Albion, Nebraska
Display Name
Display name:
Rob
I typically fly in rather remote areas - central Nebraska to Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and the Dakotas. The amount of traffic that ADS-B in is showing is much more than I anticipated in these rural areas. I usually utilize flight following but not always. The traffic display of ADS-B In has impressed me to use flight following more often.

If you have traffic display in your bird are you also impressed how much traffic is out there that you have not noticed previously?

The airport I fly out of is in a MOA where they practice low level dogfights, etc. Wish they had ADS-B Out!
 
I have the same impressions. There is a lot going on out here between the MOAs.

The other day while heading eastward thru SE New Mexico between KROW and KHOB, I watched some target intercept and follow me for about 40 nm staying 400 ft below & remaining directly behind me. It quit following in trail once I got to stateline & broke off to the north toward Clovis. Watched it all on my display.
 
oilburner said:
I have the same impressions. There is a lot going on out here between the MOAs.

The other day while heading eastward thru SE New Mexico between KROW and KHOB, I watched some target intercept and follow me for about 40 nm staying 400 ft below & remaining directly behind me. It quit following in trail once I got to stateline & broke off to the north toward Clovis. Watched it all on my display.
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That sounds more like you were seeing yourself on ADSB via a center's radar.
 
I was a passenger once with my landlord, Alton. We were going to Frederiksburg (T82) to pick up my Mooney, ironically from a 2020 compliance job. Alton has a 1956 172 with Stratux and a tablet for display. Just as we crossed the lake Travis, I saw a blue spot right where we were. Alton rocked the wings a little, but it was nowhere! I tried to watch for him all the way to no result. We thought it could be a ghost like Sinistar said. Only when we went for landing in Frederiksburg, a Cherokee popped out because he overtook us to land ahead. He was a little higher and to the left, behind our wing. I don't know if he saw us and kept formation for miles, or was it all a coincidence. Just as our left wing obscured him, he might have had a difficulty seeing to his lower right. But to stay this close to 50 nm, I have to say I was surprised.

But not too surprised. I once was overtaken by a Bonanza. I was on FF and he was IFR, 10.5 and 11 even. So center pointed us to each other and there was no problem. It took _forever_ for him to overtake. Like, literally from Tucumcari to Moriarty. He was quite a bit higher over me than the Cherokee was over Alton though. But these things happen often when you go to the same airport.
 
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hopefully you're suppressing stuff that's much higher than you...…….there are a few settings, depending on what you're using to display adsb traffic. once I hid the stuff I don't need to see (the commercial stuff 20-30k' above me) it was at least a lot cleaner. although yeah, there is still tons of stuff out there lol.
 
I had the same feeling when I first got ADS-B in/out. I was amazed how much traffic I never saw. Even knowing where another plane is in relation to my own, sometimes I have difficulty spotting it. Although @eman1200 says that if you lean forward, it helps. :D
 
Lots of traffic out Saturday at the home drome. A 172 departed before me, standard right turn out. I depart, standard right turn out. I had him on the box, and visually, about 2 miles. A few minutes out it became obvious he wanted to turn southeast, I wanted to turn NE. We were at same altitude. We would have crossed. I slowed down to let him get ahead...he slowed. I climbed, he climbed. It was almost comical.
 
Its amazing how busy Lincoln and Omaha can be, or how dead. I've had ADS-B in for three years or so via GTX-345 with a GTN-650 displaying.
 
I remember years ago I flew in a plane that had one of those Xeon/Zeon whatever they were called boxes on the dash that were a poor man's TCAS. You never realize how much other traffic is out there that you never saw. "Its a big sky...lots of room"
 
oilburner said:
I have the same impressions. There is a lot going on out here between the MOAs.

The other day while heading eastward thru SE New Mexico between KROW and KHOB, I watched some target intercept and follow me for about 40 nm staying 400 ft below & remaining directly behind me. It quit following in trail once I got to stateline & broke off to the north toward Clovis. Watched it all on my display.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you’re flying too high, or you need to brush up on your CPL maneuvers


Chandelle.jpg
 
Briar Rabbit said:
I typically fly in rather remote areas - central Nebraska to Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and the Dakotas. The amount of traffic that ADS-B in is showing is much more than I anticipated in these rural areas. I usually utilize flight following but not always. The traffic display of ADS-B In has impressed me to use flight following more often.

If you have traffic display in your bird are you also impressed how much traffic is out there that you have not noticed previously?
Click to expand...

Yep... There's a lot of traffic out there, and it's amazing how hard it is to see until it's within a couple miles.
 
Flew down to SEMO to watch the eclipse a couple years ago, and on the way back the traffic that showed up from just the portable in was crazy. Looked like the traffic blob around ORD except at the south end of Illinois and all headed north. And everyone of em was an eclipse viewer
 
eman1200 said:
hopefully you're suppressing stuff that's much higher than you...…….there are a few settings, depending on what you're using to display adsb traffic. once I hid the stuff I don't need to see (the commercial stuff 20-30k' above me) it was at least a lot cleaner. although yeah, there is still tons of stuff out there lol.
Click to expand...
Yes, traffic is suppressed unless within a 1,000-2,000 feet vertically. Don’t remember the actual number. Just received an e-mail today that Avidyne has an upgrade to improve this function on our Avidyne 540 in addition to now displaying it on the ForeFlight app.
 
There is a lot more sky than traffic. . .GA midairs in cruise are rare indeed. I give it more serious attention nearing a destination.

It's like Candy Crush - fun to play with, but not a great deal of real value to GA, 'cept CAVU Saturday mornings, nearing the pattern.
 
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