Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Yes after doing circuits over Billinge for a while. Only 3 aircrew on board so it's safe to say it was just a check ride. No fast roping onto office blocks this time around ;)

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

An instrument calibration specialist based in Brighton seems to be making the most of the clear skies in the UK today. It's flown a small aircraft up to Glasgow, which has been wheeling around the approach and departure zones around Glasgow Int'l for the last hour or so. It's also landed three times, two of them touch and go. They seem to have some work to do on their altimeter, because the last time it came down it was on the runway at about -250ft. :D

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...1&d=1588604655

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Looks like the RAF's new toy (Poseidon MRA1) is conducting an active mission east of the Forth. Either a sub or whales a humpin' ;)

Attachment 28342

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

I have just been watching that. If it had gone any lower it would have been a submarine. Extraordinary flying by our RAF pilots.

(edit) This screencap from Planefinder indicates altitude - paler colour, lower alt. Where it's white, it's practically on the deck (or in the north sea, in this case).

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...1&d=1588778513

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

I'm in the flight path of Stansted, I know that the plane flying over my house at 17:04 is the FedEx MD11 from Indianapolis.


Yesterday I had 5 FedEx MD11s fly over my house within 40 minutes.


I use the free Flightradar24 app, but I'm debating do I buy the silver membership (83p a month), gold is silly money (£2.83 PM)

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Dunno ... it's a fun spectator sport while I'm stuck at home for weeks and the interesting flights are easier to spot because the skies are so empty. I'm kind of tempted to subscribe to something myself but I know that when normality returns I wouldn't make good use of it.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

The unfiltered stuff, ie: adsbexchange is where the fun is ;)

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

I literally have no idea what that means:D

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

tar1090.adsbexchange.com

No filtering or blocking of certain private and military traffic that the mainstream tracking sites do. Of course aircraft on active strike missions which are operating under emission controls you wouldn't be able to see.

They have changed the platform for this site over the past few months and it's not very user friendly to the casual observer as there are no database or photo tie-ups to tell you who the aircraft belongs to or in fact exactly what it is but you get the mode S address, registration and the aircraft type code to look up externally.

eg: L2T - B350 is a multi engine turboprop, type: Beech King Air 350 and the registration is ZZ419. We know however this is an RAF aircraft by it's registration and is actually a Shadow R1 ISTAR platform which just happens to be based on the King Air.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

ADS-B IIRC is radar IFF (Identifation Friend or Foe) stuff, tells you stuff about the plane, I used to progame ICs & IFF Boards in a previos life.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Kind of. The IFF function is more a feature of Secondary Surveillance Radar which relies on an ATC ground station interrogating the transponder of an aircraft (mode C and more recently Mode S) which will return it's altitude based on air pressure just like the altimeter on board.

This is traditionally used in conjunction with a "squawk" code assigned by ATC which the pilot will set on the transponder and the result of Primary surveillance radar (the big radar dish that spins around on the airfield or sits inside a golfball on top of a hill) returns merged onto the controller's display.

ADS-B is a system where aircraft will automatically transmit position data without being interrogated so it is potentially a replacement for Secondary Surveillance Radar. As it stands though there is no security around ADS-B and it is possible to spoof and falsify packets as there is no authentication in the signal chain so we're some way of before this will be able to happen.

Oi! you can wake up now ;)

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

I do know that "squawk" code 7500 is a hijacking

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

RAF's new toy: ZP802 just gave us a nice little airshow. Did the pattern a few times and now off towards the Isle of Man.

Camera at the ready this time :)

Attachment 28387

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

One of the Lakenheath F-15's went down off Flamborough Head this morning. Search for the pilot ongoing.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/202...hes-north-sea/

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

They’ve recovered a body in the North Sea :(