Planes overhead

[Maglev]

When I hear an airplane flying over, I like to know what kind of plane it is, and where it's coming from and going to. I use FlightAware, which identifies all commercial traffic and some smaller planes. It identifies Canadian military flights, but not US military flights.

The vast majority of jets flying overhead where I live are 737's going from Vancouver, Canada, to someplace warm. Although there are occasional CRJ- and Embraer-type planes, I have NEVER seen an Airbus. The below screenshot is typical: Westjet flight 2060 from Vancouver to Los Cabos, Mexico, a 737-800, climbing from 18,100 feet at 482 knots: (my home is right below the last zero in "18100"):



I found this photo in a random article about QANTAS. I think it might be a photo Boeing took for the airline, perhaps pre-delivery (and maybe their first 787?) It shows my home island in the background; that lake visible beneath the plane is whence I get my drinking water, and my house is in the forest:



I am amazed by the number of international flights that fly high overhead. Singapore to New York, Seoul to Atlanta, freighter from Shanghai to Memphis... it almost seems as if flights are routed over this corner of the country to avoid Canadian airspace. We also get the world's biggest plane overhead occasionally, as seen in the screenshot below (there's also a Canadian fighter jet in the lower left, north of Victoria):

 

[TinCan782]

I recently started exploring this site:
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/
I can zoom in and ID an aircraft currently flying over my house. I'm under the approach (from the west) to Hollywood-Burbank Airport (BUR).

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Never used that one before @TinCan782. My office is under short final for a >10m pax airport with heavy maintenance shops so it can get pretty busy. Most modern aircraft are relatively quiet but I'll never forget the conversation-ending sounds coming from the low bypass engines of 732's and MD80's.

 

[west point]

Learn what the various landing and nav light patterns and you can identify some at night.

The state of Tennessee legislature has gone into the silly season, It is trying to pass a law banning jet contrails over the state as it is claiming contrails have dangerous chemicals. Guess the pols never saw all the contrails from WW-2 reciprocating engines bombers? If I find link will post.

 

[Maglev]

https://globe.adsbexchange.com/
I can zoom in and ID an aircraft currently flying over my house. I'm under the approach (from the west) to Hollywood-Burbank Airport (BUR).

It wasn't apparent to me where origin and destination were on this site, although it gave the tail number for the aircraft (you have to pay extra to get that on FlightAware).

 

[Willbridge]

I recently started exploring this site:
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/
I can zoom in and ID an aircraft currently flying over my house. I'm under the approach (from the west) to Hollywood-Burbank Airport (BUR).

I had the pre-internet experience in the mid-1970's with United's once a day 737 each way at Salem, Oregon. In a big snowstorm, I was asked to do a quick check for ODOT on how public transportation was doing. It would go into a brief for the governor. After I checked with the SP dispatcher for Train 14, I called United customer service. Their operator started to tell me the flight was boarding, but we were interrupted by a tremendous roar overhead. I was on the top floor of the Highway Building, and for some reason in the snow the sound was way worse than usual. I told the United operator that their flight had departed.

 

[Metra Electric Rider]

Thanks for the links: as expected, everything above me (nothing at the moment) is SWA to MDW. Even my favorite hiking spot is under the Midway approach (home at least varies based on wind patterns).

 

[sporksradiant]

I recently started exploring this site:
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/
I can zoom in and ID an aircraft currently flying over my house. I'm under the approach (from the west) to Hollywood-Burbank Airport (BUR).

I use this one as well. It's a little better for military traffic, which we get a lot of.

 

[Willbridge]

I followed the process - agonizingly slow - of building the new BER airport. Staying at a pension near old Schoenefeld in 2002, I could sympathize with the neighbors because so many of the Eastern European, Russian, and low-cost/charter flights were painfully noisy. Some had a screaming effect (the planes, not the neighbors).

What I came to realize in subsequent visits was that the air traffic was getting quieter. Not that there were fewer flights, but rather that the mix of planes had evolved. The anxious neighbors had projected their concerns based on years of Soviet planes and second-hand Western jets. The big new airport finally opened, with some different traffic patterns, and I haven't seen any evidence of serious impacts on the community so far.

2005 invitation to a protest meeting. Beer was served.


2005 - poster on left, very idiomatic, says we don't want Schoenefeld.

 

[BlackDiamond]

I use an app called flightradar24 which provides a map showing aircraft in the area. By clicking on the aircraft you get flight number, type of aircraft and owner (if an airline), origin and destination. Currently I am staying in a hotel near the flight path to/from runway 6 at Lehigh Valley International Airport (KABE) so it is interesting to check on flights as they depart or arrive. One thing I noted is in the evening a large number of Amazon Air flights departing to different airports, presumably carrying air freight.

 

[PVD]

I live in one of the primary departure paths from LaGuardia, so around 6AM it starts. When the DC-9/MD80 and 727s went away, it is so much better. The newer engine equipped stuff made a huge difference. Used to watch a Met game and hear/see a plane take off pst the stadium, and know that shortly I would hear it overhead. Now I hardly notice..

 

[Maglev]

When I lived on Maui around 1982, United Airlines was just starting direct flights from the mainland. At that time, the runway at Kahului was deemed too short for a fully-loaded DC-8 to take off, so the flights were routed from Maui to Hilo, where they would fuel up for the trip across the ocean. This put the planes flying right over my house a few minutes after takeoff. I loved the sound of those four high-bypass engines going overhead!

Another thrill in those days was that there was a road that went right past the end of the runway where planes usually began their takeoff roll. I used to park there to experience the jet blast, which would nearly flip my little Toyota Corolla!

 

[TinCan782]

I recently started exploring this site:
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/
I can zoom in and ID an aircraft currently flying over my house. I'm under the approach (from the west) to Hollywood-Burbank Airport (BUR).

I'm now using this site as I am listening to air traffic control on my scanner.
I listen to the Burbank area of SOCAL Approach TRACON and airports BUR, VNY and WHP.
Interesting to locate aircraft I hear on the scanner.

 

[railiner]

I live in one of the primary departure paths from LaGuardia, so around 6AM it starts. When the DC-9/MD80 and 727s went away, it is so much better. The newer engine equipped stuff made a huge difference. Used to watch a Met game and hear/see a plane take off pst the stadium, and know that shortly I would hear it overhead. Now I hardly notice..

It was really bad in the hot summer days before they installed A/C in your building, if you’re old enough to remember that….

 

[Metra Electric Rider]

Funny - this thread made me more aware than usual of the planes that I saw while I was out hiking - the only one's that I could ID were Southwest of course, including one flying rather low in from the NW over the Stevenson!

 

[Maglev]

Here are the different US-Asia flights I've seen go overhead:

SIA 24 A359 SIN-JFK
UAL 882 B789 HND-ORD
AAL 60 B789 NRT-DFW
ANA 12 B77W NRT-ORD
DAL 859 A359 ATL-HND
DAL 296 A359 HND-ATL
EVA 32 B77W TPE-JFK
UAL 7 B772 IAH-NRT
PAC 958 B748 CVG-NRT
DAL 276 A359 HND-DTW
FDX 13 B77L KIX-IND
EVA 56 B77W TPE-ORD
AAL 61 B788 DFW-NRT
DAL 120 A339 HND-MSP
FDX 90 B77L PVG-MEM
DAL 26 A359 ICN-ATL
UAL 804 B772 HND-IAD
JAL 4 B77W HND-JFK

 

[TinCan782]

I tracked this interesting flight this morning.
By the regular pattern, I'd say aircraft N65U was doing an aerial survey (photos, mapping?) over the San Fernando Valley this morning. Altitude 6600 ft, speed 155 kt.
N65U is a 1967 Beech 65-A90-1. Multi-engine turbo prop. Nine seats, two engines owned by Dynamic Avlease, Inc.
Took off from Los Alamitos Army Airfield runway 22L at 0844 this morning. Landed at Long Beach Airport runway 30 at 1129 this morning.

 

[Brian Battuello]

Very interesting. That's a pretty fuel-thirsty plane for survey work, must have cost somebody. And brings back memories of the LAX shoreline transition in my flying days. Quite a treat for the passengers checking out the beach and LAX from 3,500'.

 

[basketmaker]

I'm only a couple miles from Denver Int'l so air traffic is very common. And all types of aircraft and destinations including Japan and Europe. Sadly we don't get any Airbus 380's though. I use Flightradar 24 it is a bit more configurable than Flight Tracker. Plus I can watch the CZ go by everyday and watch planes at the same time.

 

[basketmaker]

I'm only a couple miles from Denver Int'l so air traffic is very common. And all types of aircraft and destinations including Japan and Europe. Sadly we don't get any Airbus 380's though. I use Flightradar 24 it is a bit more configurable than Flight Tracker. Plus I can watch the CZ go by everyday and watch planes at the same time.

 

[Brian Battuello]

When I was about 12 years old, I would sit in my grandparents house bedroom in Boulder with a telescope waiting for the CZ to emerge from the first visible front range tunnel. Then I would track it through tunnels 6/5/4/3/2/1 to the CO72 crossover and the Big Ten curve.

 

[TinCan782]

I tracked this interesting flight this morning.
By the regular pattern, I'd say aircraft N65U was doing an aerial survey (photos, mapping?) over the San Fernando Valley this morning. Altitude 6600 ft, speed 155 kt.
N65U is a 1967 Beech 65-A90-1. Multi-engine turbo prop. Nine seats, two engines owned by Dynamic Avlease, Inc.
Took off from Los Alamitos Army Airfield runway 22L at 0844 this morning. Landed at Long Beach Airport runway 30 at 1129 this morning.

View attachment 36292

Just found it.
Medfly Preventive Release Program
https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/PDEP/prpinfo/

​

 

[railiner]

Okay, train nuts, beat this. When I was about 12 years old, I would sit in my grandparents house bedroom in Boulder with a telescope waiting for the CZ to emerge from the first visible front range tunnel. Then I would track it through tunnels 6/5/4/3/2/1 to the CO72 crossover and the Big Ten curve.

I used to live in an apartment at 60th and Lamar in Arvada, overlooking the D&RGW mainline, as well as the C&S “beer line”.
I chose that apartment purposely to view the RGZ and the seasonal Ski Train pass by.
Nowadays it is the CZ and RTD ‘G’ line in view…

 

[NorthShore]

I used to like listening to air traffic control, following flights from O'Hare on radio as far as the Earth's curvature would let me. I'd usually lose eastbound flight signals somewhere over Cleveland Center, as I'd track them using paper aeronautical maps.

Being under the glide path for O'Hare I can marvel at the sight of planes lining up to land at three or more runways for miles out, as they turn west off the coast of Lake Michigan. Hiking in the woods, I even use them to orient myself in direction.

It's always interesting to try and identify paint schemes. Sometimes, using these apps is helpful when I want to see where a plane of international colors is coming from. Or, conversely, if flights are taking off with eastward headways, wondering where they're going.

It allows one's imagination to take flight.

 

[BlackDiamond]

Another thrill in those days was that there was a road that went right past the end of the runway where planes usually began their takeoff roll. I used to park there to experience the jet blast, which would nearly flip my little Toyota Corolla!

That reminds me of my experience when I was in the USAF stationed at Cannon AFB Clovis NM. There was a secondary runway that ended near the BOQ where I lived and when the wind was right aircraft would be taking off just a few yards away. Nothing like the sound of a pair of F-4s going to afterburner on their takeoff roll