Tracking Planes
I use Flightaware to track aircraft that are obviously of interest or are on long-haul flights, as it provides better tracking of
flights when the ADS-B ping drops off over the coast, or over remote areas where there are no ADS-B transponders..
ADS-B Exchange will just show the end of the trail, whereas Fkightaware will attempt to give you an estimated track until a new ping is heard.
Leaving the window open will also allow you to monitor Flightaware for when the ping returns.
Flightradar allows you to select a 'species' of plane (such as helicopter), or a specific type of plane. Executive jets of interest are Cessna Citations,
Learjets, Dassault Falcons and similar, particularly if they aren't showing a call sign or may show 'Blocked' on Flightradar.
The FBI and other law enforcement agencies may charter these types of planes and if you see two in formation with 'Blocked' call signs,
this may be an escorted flight. It's worth comparing Radarbox to Flightradar to ensure that you aren't just picking up an ADS-B echo though,
we've seen this happen.
Executive jets associated with big money (e.g. banks and trustees) are also of interest, particularly since the Wells Fargo exec was sucked out
of that plane and killed. Planes are leased and mortgaged and banks/trustees have an interest in this market.
Flight History
For some aircraft of interest, It's worth downloading the flight log. Flightaware and ADS-B Exchange, along with ADS-B.nl for military planes,
are invaluable for this. Retaining the history allows us to go back in the future and compare what we saw with actual events.
Screenshots
Any aircraft of interest should be 'tagged and bagged' with a screenshot. I use Paint, but any simple graphics that you can cut and paste into is good enough.
Please mark any targets or destinations of interest on your screenshot and provide some context as to why this was interesting to you.
Why aren't some Air Forces trustworthy?
This is a bugbear of mine. I've seen too much of the French Air Farce, the Swiss and the Germans sneaking off to unusual places such as Argentina,
Kazakhstan and the like. ASsk yourself why do the Swiss need an air force? SImple answer is that they don't, as they remain neutral in wars,
but they do need the military facility to bypass Customs and Immigration, in a way similar to the 2-reg planes.
Routine Flights
As you watch the skies, you'll start to see regular patterns. The British, Qataris, German, Belgian and French Air Forces regularly fly to the US and
they participate in training exercises.
Very Unusual Planes
From time to time, you'll see Israeli Kafirs, Hawker Hunters and even MiG-21s over the US. These are used by ATAC and are also used by Top Gun
exercises to allow fighter pilots to gain experience in jets with different abilities. Don't panic if you see them!
Spoopy Activity
Any planes that have to 'Go Around' or that may have been diverted/refused landing permission are very interesting, as these may indicate a happening.
Tag and bag these for future reference.
Some planes may also try to keep flying below 4000ft as this may cause ASDS-B to fall off. I have personal experience of seeing 2-reg planes do this and
it sticks out a mile. Always tag and bag these.
Squawks
On ADS-B exchange, you may see a plane squawk 7500, 7600, 7770 or similar. These indicate an emergency and should be monitored,
although some pilots manage to squawk 7700 while they are still setting the plane up on the tarmac.
Don't panic & over react when you see one usually it is operator error or the controller has requested that they use one of these codes to
more easily identify the aircraft on a cluttered radar screen.
Sometimes the codes are used to give the controllers some practice of handling an emergency - I have seen single/two seat fighter or
trainer aircraft using the 7500-hijack code.
The most common code is 7600 as aircraft are handed off from one control area to another they change to the wrong frequency & can't talk to
who they need to talk to so to alert the local controller they use the 7600 code & listen out on the emergency frequency until the
controller establishes contact.
The 7700 code is for genuine emergencies such as engine failure or bird strike etc. Sometimes airliners use this when they have miscalculated
their fuel consumption, needed to divert to another airport & need priority for landing.
The codes have specific meanings -
7500 – Hijack
7600 – Lost Comms (radio failure)
7700 – Emergency
