flightaware, what triggers it to record a flight?

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Brad W

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What triggers flight aware (or other ADS-B) flight tracking sites to record a flight?

I took my 17yo son to fly with a CFI today. I haven't been flying in a long time, and he hasn't been up with me, & I wanted to treat him with something different before he heads off to college in just a few weeks. Actually hoping to see if it might spark a passion.... if not in flying, perhaps in engineering, or somthing else related.

Anyway, was hoping to review the flight track on flightaware, but the last flight it shows was 2 days ago.

Is there just a long lag between the flights and it getting posted?...or does it have to be on a flight plan, or something like that?
 
Not certain but FF with a squawk usually helps ...
 
Brad W said:
Anyway, was hoping to review the flight track on flightaware, but the last flight it shows was 2 days ago.

Is there just a long lag between the flights and it getting posted?...or does it have to be on a flight plan, or something like that?
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It's live, if the plane is in the air.

Was the plane ADS-B equipped? Have you tried looking at flightradar24.com or globe.adsbexchange.com ?
 
If it has ADS-b it should show up everytime, although there are some gaps where there are not 978 receivers.

Without ADS-b you need to be talking to ATC either IFR, or sometimes VFR flight following will do it, but not always.
 
You probably shouldn't do this, but if you file IFR then ask for VFR flight following it should show up on FA. Just be sure that they don't accidentally consider you IFR if you're not rated and current.
 
Brad W said:
What triggers flight aware (or other ADS-B) flight tracking sites to record a flight?

I took my 17yo son to fly with a CFI today. I haven't been flying in a long time, and he hasn't been up with me, & I wanted to treat him with something different before he heads off to college in just a few weeks. Actually hoping to see if it might spark a passion.... if not in flying, perhaps in engineering, or somthing else related.

Anyway, was hoping to review the flight track on flightaware, but the last flight it shows was 2 days ago.

Is there just a long lag between the flights and it getting posted?...or does it have to be on a flight plan, or something like that?
Click to expand...
Did you register an account and turn on position-only flights in your account settings?
 
dbahn said:
You probably shouldn't do this, but if you file IFR then ask for VFR flight following it should show up on FA. Just be sure that they don't accidentally consider you IFR if you're not rated and current.
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The guys on Opposing Bases actually recommend this if your intent is VFR FF. It generates a strip and saves the controller time by not having to type all your info in. Just tell Clearance you want to amend to a VFR altitude when calling them up.
 
yes, it has one of those tailbeacons...and flightaware has a flight track from 2 days ago coming up as the last flight. Thanks for the point out for globe.adsbexchange.com. I had not checked that one....don't see it there either though
 
dmspilot said:
Did you register an account and turn on position-only flights in your account settings?
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it's school rental.... Oh well, I recon the ads-b out thing is intermittent just like the plane's intercom
 
Schokie said:
The guys on Opposing Bases actually recommend this if your intent is VFR FF. It generates a strip and saves the controller time by not having to type all your info in. Just tell Clearance you want to amend to a VFR altitude when calling them up.
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I've never tried it, but I thought you were supposed to put VFR/XXX in the altitude field:
www.pilotsofamerica.com

Filing IFR for a VFR Flight?

i seem to recall a thread a bit ago that detailed how one could file a VFR flight plan by actually filing an IFR flight plan and putting something in one of the fields that made it VFR only and therefore activatable without the IR. Can’t find the thread. Was I imagining it? Has anyone done this?
www.pilotsofamerica.com www.pilotsofamerica.com
 
dbahn said:
You probably shouldn't do this, but if you file IFR then ask for VFR flight following it should show up on FA. Just be sure that they don't accidentally consider you IFR if you're not rated and current.
Schokie said:
The guys on Opposing Bases actually recommend this if your intent is VFR FF. It generates a strip and saves the controller time by not having to type all your info in. Just tell Clearance you want to amend to a VFR altitude when calling them up.
Click to expand...
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Might want to familiarize yourself with the Goodish letter (Post #73):
www.pilotsofamerica.com

can a vfr pilot file ifr

...and, apparently, lousy at both. I still don't see how any violation occurred since I never picked up a clearance.
www.pilotsofamerica.com www.pilotsofamerica.com
 
asicer said:
Might want to familiarize yourself with the Goodish letter (Post #73):
www.pilotsofamerica.com

can a vfr pilot file ifr

...and, apparently, lousy at both. I still don't see how any violation occurred since I never picked up a clearance.
www.pilotsofamerica.com www.pilotsofamerica.com
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Exactly why I prefaced with, "You probably shouldn't do this, but . . . ".

You also probably shouldn't ever ask the Chief Counsel a question unless you're ready to accept a hypothetical action to a hypothetical situation. I don't quite see how they can judge a hypothetical situation on "intent" when the intent was clearly just to show up on FA, not to operate on an instrument flight plan.

The Goodich letter is just a heavily over-worded response to what the FAA might do in a hypothetical situation based on their assumption of "clear intent", which "clearly" isn't the case in the situation described. Even within the text of that decision, they seem to be stating that filing of an IFR flight plan is NOT a triggering action to operate under IFR, even though it's a requirement is actually operate under IFR.

EDIT: Note that it took TWO lawyers to come up with that letter. That's never a good sign.
 

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Daleandee said:
Not certain but FF with a squawk usually helps ...
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Nope, doesn’t make a difference. FlightAware picks up ADSB, and if there’s a tower nearby, it’ll grab it. You don’t even need a transponder for it to pick it up if there’s a tailbeacon or skybeacon as your ADSB-Out solution.
 
RyanB said:
Nope, doesn’t make a difference. FlightAware picks up ADSB, and if there’s a tower nearby, it’ll grab it. You don’t even need a transponder for it to pick it up if there’s a tailbeacon or skybeacon as your ADSB-Out solution.
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I have ADSB and there are a number of towers where I'm at. Even so, many of my flights are not shown but most times if I'm squawking a code I get seen.

YMMV ...
 
Brad W said:
it's school rental.... Oh well, I recon the ads-b out thing is intermittent just like the plane's intercom
Click to expand...

Don't know how that is related to my post. I'm talking about your flightaware account.
 
that was interesting, thanks. Learned a bit about it I didn't know.... but I must have missed the bit about why our flight wasn't recorded. Extrapolating, it seems it might ahve something to do with being "in the system" (IFR or flight following).
For the record, I don't beleive our flight was using flight following, 99.999% sure.... (uncertain, because intercom in the POC rental was flakey and CFI and student used a portable so me sitting in the back seat plugged into ship's intercom couldn't hear most of the radio or conversations between the CFI and my son flying.
 
Brad W said:
For the record, I don't beleive our flight was using flight following, 99.999% sure....
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Then did you follow the instructions in reply #6? "Position only" flights are those where FlightAware just randomly picks up hits from your ADSB but there's no official record in the FAA system. Those don't always show up unless you have "Position-only" flights checked, and you need to create a free account to get to that setting.
 
Did they forget to turn on the NAV lights. This would keep them out of the system? My son has done that a time or two.
 
Mikey52 said:
Did they forget to turn on the NAV lights. This would keep them out of the system? My son has done that a time or two.
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My tailbeacon only works if it's on "bright". Has a bright and dim setting on the switch. One of the nuances the folks at uavionix were aware of on the old Cherokees when I told them the papr didn't have a report.
 
Jim_R said:
Then did you follow the instructions in reply #6? "Position only" flights are those where FlightAware just randomly picks up hits from your ADSB but there's no official record in the FAA system. Those don't always show up unless you have "Position-only" flights checked, and you need to create a free account to get to that setting.
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no...thnak you!!! I missed that...well actually I didn't understand it.... but now I do. Still, I can't find that setting anywhere
Mikey52 said:
Did they forget to turn on the NAV lights. This would keep them out of the system? My son has done that a time or two.
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well it was a mid day flight so I'd imagine the lights were not on. Is that really how those things get power?
 
Brad W said:
no...thnak you!!! I missed that...well actually I didn't understand it.... but now I do. Still, I can't find that setting anywhere

well it was a mid day flight so I'd imagine the lights were not on. Is that really how those things get power?
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I retract my earlier statement. FlightAware FAQ says position-only flights are now turned on for "all users", so there is no longer an option to change it. It's not clear whether "all users" includes guests or only people logged into an account.
 
If it's a tail beacon, it replaces the white tail light. Unless you run an extra wire to power it, it uses the nav light circuit.
 
Brad W said:
no...thnak you!!! I missed that...well actually I didn't understand it.... but now I do. Still, I can't find that setting anywhere
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I pulled up FlightAware to look for the menu navigation you'd need to find it...and I couldn't find the setting, either. So I Googled it, and landed on the FlightAware FAQ, which explains why:

1690774580804.png​

So...nevermind!

(Edit: I didn't see @dmspilot's post, which would have saved me the trouble!)
 
Mikey52 said:
If it's a tail beacon, it replaces the white tail light. Unless you run an extra wire to power it, it uses the nav light circuit.
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I'm betting that's it. It's a rode hard trainer so doubt they'd go to any trouble running dedicated power....

I guess i'm not as up to speed on the ads-b requirements as I might ought to be.... It never even entered my mind, but I would ass-u-me that they would have to be powered and on always, just like a transponder.
 
Brad W said:
I'm betting that's it. It's a rode hard trainer so doubt they'd go to any trouble running dedicated power....

I guess i'm not as up to speed on the ads-b requirements as I might ought to be.... It never even entered my mind, but I would ass-u-me that they would have to be powered and on always, just like a transponder.
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The skyBeacon/tailBeacon AFMS (chapter 2) requires a placard telling the pilot that the navigation lights must remain on at all times that ADS-B Out operation is required.
 
asicer said:
The skyBeacon/tailBeacon AFMS (chapter 2) requires a placard telling the pilot that the navigation lights must remain on at all times that ADS-B Out operation is required.
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That's not quite the wording of the placard. It is:

"NAVIGATION LIGHTS MUST REMAIN ON FOR ADS-B OUT".

Note the "for ADS-B out" is telling you why they must remain on, not when, which is always. Especially when flying under bridges.
 
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