The FBO is watching your flight?

I believe it’s becoming more of an issue and only going to become worse.

Just in the last month our local air sport installed a virtower setup to track operations at the airport for funding, and already the airport manager has called me in reference to flight school planes and if it was such and such tail number flying on x day because they had a complaint of us doing turns around a point over a field…

The guy complained because he is raising gaming chickens and he thought we were spying on him. What’s bizarre is I couldn’t believe he actually admitted over the phone what he was doing.
 
Skymac said:
I believe it’s becoming more of an issue and only going to become worse.

Just in the last month our local air sport installed a virtower setup to track operations at the airport for funding, and already the airport manager has called me in reference to flight school planes and if it was such and such tail number flying on x day because they had a complaint of us doing turns around a point over a field….
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Can you imagine using this to charge planes flying by like Sunpass or something.
 
francisco collazos said:
Can you imagine using this to charge planes flying by like Sunpass or something.
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That’s already happening. Not flybys but using adsb data to geberate bills for ramp fees.
 
Of course FBOs track your airplane.
So does the FAA, your pilot friends, competing companies, ex's, nosy neighbors, complete strangers.
Just like all those that track your car everywhere you go...oh, wait a minute.
 
Gary Ward said:
I earned my PPL in 2015-16. When returned from my solo long XC my instructor questioned me if I actually landed at the airports I guess since I got back so fast? I guess he wasn't watching me online?

Lately flying my own plane flightaware is missing some of my flights since I am flying so low. I like that! lol
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When I did my student XCs I had to get somebody's signature in my logbook at each stop.

Flightaware is missing ALL of my flights! (no xponder or ADSB)
 
FPK1 said:
Just wondering, looking marginal as you were approaching or did you check weather from some source? With Banning airport AWOS still unavailable just curious if you found some alternate source of information to review?
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Airports on both ends were VFR, and non aviation sources were optimistic about banning. But from 30 miles away it just looked bad.
 
So instead of speed being monitored by airplane,we now have aircraft movement checked by ground. I can see how it would be helpful for a cfi to monitor their students on cross countries.
 
Pi1otguy said:
Airports on both ends were VFR, and non aviation sources were optimistic about banning. But from 30 miles away it just looked bad.
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Understood. It's really too bad they can't seem to keep the Banning airport AWOS up and running!
 
donjohnston said:
You go ahead. I'll sit here and watch your progress. :D
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Like many errors of government in the past, if we do nothing - we are stuck with the status quo. If we can get the attention of the right people, we can effect change.
 
Dana said:
When I did my student XCs I had to get somebody's signature in my logbook at each stop.

Flightaware is missing ALL of my flights! (no xponder or ADSB)
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No one said anything about that getting a signature when I did it.
My late friend was telling me one of his landings on his solo X C was bouncy and the manager joked that he was going to sign 3 times since that was how many times he landed!! We both laughed.
 
Pi1otguy said:
Now that we all have ADBS, are our FBOs and/or CFIs watching our flights in near real time?
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We do look at inbound flights to be ready to service their needs. On rentals, no, no one really pays much attention. When I send a student on solo cross-country flights I might check once in a while to see progress, but I don't really monitor consistently. The only other time I look to see where the airplanes are is when I have one scheduled and am waiting for it to return.
 
Not sure if it was a requirement in 1979, but I did so.
 
Gary Ward said:
I earned my PPL in 2015-16. When returned from my solo long XC my instructor questioned me if I actually landed at the airports I guess since I got back so fast? I guess he wasn't watching me online?

Lately flying my own plane flightaware is missing some of my flights since I am flying so low. I like that! lol
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In 2006 the FBO I was training at handed an old cell phone with some primitive GPS tracking in it to student XC's "to keep an eye on you" and then printed out a webpage that showed your map when you got home. This thing was accurate to about within a county :eek:
 
Todd82 said:
In 2006 the FBO I was training at handed an old cell phone with some primitive GPS tracking in it to student XC's "to keep an eye on you" and then printed out a webpage that showed your map when you got home. This thing was accurate to about within a county :eek:
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Would have worked great for me, as my flying is only accurate to about within a county. :D
 
Big-things-IRL-14.jpg
 
I was tracking my students IFR checkride, and saw the exact moment he busted by turning way too early in the hold.
 
Skymac said:
was such and such tail number flying on x day because they had a complaint of us doing turns around a point over a field…
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I might has asked if they were good circles or weird ovals.
 
donjohnston said:
Was that supposed to make any sense?
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It did make sense. It is what a lot of us surmised. But for some reason, I believe this is the first time that particular fact was disclosed, presumably because it weakens the cause for outrage. Obviously the FBO that rented out their airplane was monitoring their airplane, not the pilot. So this whole thread has no real point.
 
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