I'm MIA on Flight Aware!

VWGhiaBob

VWGhiaBob

Line Up and Wait
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
Messages
884
Display Name
Display name:
VWGhiaBob
For the past couple of years, my friends have followed me on Flight Aware (https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N371CD). I used the data myself sometimes.

Mysteriously, 4 months ago, my data stopped appearing. During this period, I have flown probably 25 flights, always with ATC Flight Following using my tail number, and sometimes also (but rarely) on a flight plan.

Did something change, or did I get banished from the system?
 
I don't know about 4 months ago but ALL of my flight following flights made it to FA until some time recently. the last, oh I dunno, 4 flights or so didn't make it there.
 
VFR flight following no longer appears in FA.
 
Almost never get tracked on FA if I'm not on an IFR plan. I flew from AR to NC and nada recently. I thought surely that one would show up given the distance and centers involved. Nada.
 
My flights were consistently on FA from Flight Following. I used it so folks would know when I would arrive. Now, none of them are.

I wonder if in GA we're on FA if we file and open a flight plan...
 
My round trip from Iowa to Indiana shows up on FA. I was VFR both directions using FF and no flight plan filed.
 
I suggest you bring it up with SoCal.

I've very seldom seen my VFR flights on FlightAware, ever.

IFR is, of course, another story entirely.
 
I blocked my personal tail numbers half a decade ago so...

With the work planes if I'm VFR it's super hit or miss for showing up, I'd say maybe 10% of VFR flights (with flight following ofcourse) shows up, IFR all the flights show up.
 
Mine used to show up most of the time but the last one that showed up for me is November last year. I was also wondering why my last 10+ flights haven't shown up.
 
I used to show up on long XCs talking to Center and on a Center squawk code, but rarely or never when just talking to a TRACON, VFR.

Last time I show up on their logs now was Nov of last year to go get the monkey.
 
Do you see your flight on fltplan.com? I've noticed that sometimes it will show up on one but not the other.
 
asicer said:
Do you see your flight on fltplan.com? I've noticed that sometimes it will show up on one but not the other.
Click to expand...

Haven't looked. But that's interesting.

I keep meaning to set up a screen grabber pointed at FlightRadar 24 on the home computer to see what shows up when I'm wandering around in the TRACON's airspace, but I never remember to do it.
 
Figured it couldn't hurt to ask so I sent an email to flightaware asking if something changed. Looks like something did in January in the FAA data they are receiving regarding VFR flights;


May 9, 7:14 AM

Hello,

Thank you for contacting FlightAware. Overall, we officially do not support VFR/flight following flights. It has long been the policy of the FAA that VFR flights are not distributed to the public, however, there have been times where this data has been shown. Since January, we basically stopped receiving information for those flights.

After looking into the issue, we have determined that there was an undocumented change made by the FAA in January that may have prevented some VFR data from being received by FlightAware. FlightAware has not made any changes in the way we handle VFR flights, however, since the FAA update, there has been an increase in VFR flights not displaying.

We are currently looking at ways to make more VFR data available. At this time, flights filing an IFR flight plan and whom fly IFR from wheels up to wheels down will have tracking information displayed on our site.

I apologize for the inconvenience and we thank you for your patience while we look at alternatives for providing the data.
 
Flight following used to show up only if a controller issued a code obtained from the national airspace computer system. If they used a 'local' code (''0020' '0201' etc.) it didn't show up.

I wonder what caused the FAA to change their data feed.
 
weilke said:
Flight following used to show up only if a controller issued a code obtained from the national airspace computer system. If they used a 'local' code (''0020' '0201' etc.) it didn't show up.

I wonder what caused the FAA to change their data feed.
Click to expand...
I'm guessing that it was discovered tracking data was being sent on flights someone would rather didn't get released. Those govt planes circling overhead cities raised a fuss a bit back. Could have been something related to that.
 
rocketflyer84 said:
I'm guessing that it was discovered tracking data was being sent on flights someone would rather didn't get released. Those govt planes circling overhead cities raised a fuss a bit back. Could have been something related to that.
Click to expand...

That or some FAA head honchos wife found out that he was getting some action on the side based on flightaware tracks.
 
weilke said:
That or some FAA head honchos wife found out that he was getting some action on the side based on flightaware tracks.
Click to expand...
Yeah. There was that guy on here a bit back asking what would happen if he just made up fake tail numbers for flight following because he was concerned about his wife seeing that his "business trip" was really a trip to the mistress. Sigh, this is why we can't have nice things.
 
rocketflyer84 said:
Yeah. There was that guy on here a bit back asking what would happen if he just made up fake tail numbers for flight following because he was concerned about his wife seeing that his "business trip" was really a trip to the mistress. Sigh, this is why we can't have nice things.
Click to expand...

Lol, I guess he got through to the right person at the FAA.

Maybe someone at AOPA can get to the bottom of the decision to remove VFR flightaware. A FOIA request generically addressed to the flight data folks would be a start.

I wonder what happens if you get a 'VFR on top' clearance while on a IFR flight plan.
 
I think FA's letter pretty much answers it. The "bottom of it" is that officially as far as the FAA is concerned the data feed FA and the others are using is for IFR plans. The fact that "in the system" VFR stuff shows up is largely conincidental and therefore not part of the ongoing API or testing. The FAA changed something that caused FA not to see VFRs they used to.

From talking to them in the past the data is pretty dodgy to begin with and VFR data frequently had bizarre jumps in it. I kind of know why this is likely happening, when I visited the FAA right about the time this data was rolled out they were showing me the new system they implemented. It was running on an Apollo Domain system which had been officially desupported the year before. Nothing like the latest stuff.
 
Hmmm... FA thinks I've flown from Maine to Paraguay.... Interesting.
 
Ron, I think you might be onto something. When we visited our local Class C tower and TRACON a few weeks ago, they were still recovering from the floods last fall.
Our guide (shift manager controller) pointed to their radar screen in the tower cab and said "the FAA gave us the newest technology they have". It was a CRT in a metal frame suspended form the ceiling.
He said that he's like to eventually see technology from this millennium in his cab. :)

So if the data feeds work the same way, possibly running through RS-232 cables before reaching FA, it might explain a lot.
 
BigBadLou said:
Ron, I think you might be onto something. When we visited our local Class C tower and TRACON a few weeks ago, they were still recovering from the floods last fall.
Our guide (shift manager controller) pointed to their radar screen in the tower cab and said "the FAA gave us the newest technology they have". It was a CRT in a metal frame suspended form the ceiling.
He said that he's like to eventually see technology from this millennium in his cab. :)

So if the data feeds work the same way, possibly running through RS-232 cables before reaching FA, it might explain a lot.
Click to expand...

What the hell does a serial cable have to do with connectivity?

Either the data flow exists, or it does not. Whether it comes over a serial cable, Ethernet, fiber, WiFi, carrier pigeon, voice or semaphore signals is irrelevant.

The issue is that FlightAware was depending on undocumented protocols. Surprise! They got changed without notification. That's a risk you ALWAYS take with undocumented protocols, and why it's poor engineering. Much better to work it out with your data source.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top