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Where is my flight and when will it arrive?

Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 12:43 am
by rsipp
There is a web sight, http://www.flightaware.com that can be used to track the flight progress of any airplane flying on an instrument flight plan. To track a specific flight the airplane must be operating on an instruement flight plan and the tail number of the airplane must be known. These two items can be provided by your pilot during the pre-flight coordination. The web sight output is a map showing the current location of the airplane updated every minute or so along with the scheduled and actual takeoff and arrival times.

Dick Sipp
PNP pilot

Re: Where is my flight and when will it arrive?

Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 2:30 pm
by DLT
Actually, they just need to be "in the system", not necessarily IFR. I am VFR, but use flight following, and am therefore "in the system" and show up on FlightAware.

Re: Where is my flight and when will it arrive?

Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 5:19 pm
by RickG
DLT wrote:I am VFR, but use flight following, and am therefore "in the system" and show up on FlightAware.
If VFR with Flight Following there is no assurance your flight will be entered in a manner so that you show up on FlightAware. It depends on many variables including origination point, ATC sectors your flight will cross etc.

It's great when it does ... but ... I would not suggest a receiving rescue count on that to mean you are (or are not) airborne. Text message or phone call is much more reliable.

Re: Where is my flight and when will it arrive?

Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2015 2:17 pm
by Lou
Also, FlightAware is known for showing a significant delay in the flight's status. It commonly ranges from 5 to 15 minutes. So relying on FA flight status till the minute is not recommended.

FWIW, a nice direct link to an airplane's live flight status can be easily constructed by adding a tail number (with the initial N) to this link: http://flightaware.com/live/flight/
Example: for Cessna N1232G, type in http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N1232G and enjoy the direct information.

A few hints for non-pilots:
- many airplanes nowadays normally fly a straight GPS line from departure to destination, however that is not a rule so seeing small course changes on FlightAware is nothing to worry about (course deviations due to weather and traffic are not uncommon; airplanes without an autopilot are flown by hand and that is never precise; some flights are navigated by landmarks, highways, rivers etc)
- if the flight tracking line on the FA map ends before reaching the airport, that is absolutely normal
- if the flight tracking does not seem to make sense, check that the FA webpage is not showing an older completed flight
- you can get email notifications for flights you subscribe to but you will need to create a (free) account with FA