Why can't I find a flight in flightradar24. Flightradar24 - a service that shows the movement of aircraft online

Flightradar24 is an internet service that shows real-time air traffic around the world. Flightradar24 displays data from many sources such as ADS-B, MLAT and FAA. Data from ADS-B, MLAT and FAA systems are synchronized with schedules and flight status from airports and airlines, all of which provide a unique air tracking experience for you on flightradar24 and Flightradar24 apps.

ADS-B

The main technology we use to obtain flight information is called automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (). The principle of operation of ADS-B is shown in the picture on the right.

1. The aircraft determines its position using the GPS satellite system.
2. The ADS-B transponder (transmitter) on the aircraft transmits these and many other data by radio signal
3. ADS-B radio signal is received by the receiver
4. The receiver transmits data to Flightradar24
5. Data shown on www.fr24.com website and in Flightradar24 apps

Today, approximately 60% of all passenger aircraft are equipped with an ADS-B transponder. This percentage is constantly increasing as ADS-B is introduced as the primary radar for aircraft control.

Flightradar24 has a network of over 3,000 ADS-B receivers worldwide that receive aircraft and flight data information from aircraft ADS-B transponders and transmit this information to our servers. Since the frequency used is 1090 MHz, the coverage of each receiver is approximately 250-400 km (150-250 miles) in all directions from the receiver's antenna because the curvature of the earth "blocks" the signal. The farther the aircraft is from the receiver, the higher it must fly in order to receive a signal from it. Therefore, over the oceans, there is simply nothing to receive ADS-B signals with.

About 99% of Europe is covered by ADS-B receivers. Good coverage also in USA, Canada, Caribbean, Brazil, Russia, Middle East, India, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand. ADS-B coverage varies in other parts of the world.

MLAT

Some regions are covered by several FR24-branded receivers, with the help of which it becomes possible to determine the coordinates of the aircraft using Multilateration technology, the method of calculating the time difference in signal reception (Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA)). By measuring the difference in time of receiving signals from the aircraft's "old" Mode-A/C transponders, it becomes possible to calculate the position of the aircraft. Four or more FR24 receivers must receive signals from one aircraft - this is a necessary condition for MLAT to work. This implies that MLAT operation is possible at altitudes above about 10,000-20,000 feet, and the probability of receiving a signal by 4 or more receivers increases even more with increasing altitude of the aircraft.

MLAT currently covers a limited part of Europe and North America but is expanding rapidly.

FAA

In addition to ADS-B and MLAT data, we also receive data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States. Unlike ADS-B and MLAT data, which are real-time data, FAA data has a latency of approximately 5 minutes under FAA regulations. On the Flightradar24 map, all aircraft received from the FAA are orange.

The FAA data is based on data from conventional radar (i.e. aircraft not only with ADS-B transponders) and includes most of the data mainly from commercial flights in US and Canadian airspace + some over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Which aircraft can be seen on Flightradar24 (inside ADS-B coverage)

Common aircraft models that usually have an ADS-B transponder and are visible on Flightradar24 (within ADS-B coverage):

• All Airbus models (A300, A310, A318, A319, A320, A321, A330, A340, A350, A380)
• Antonov AN-148 and AN-158
• ATR 72-600 (most new deliveries)
• BAeATP
• BAe Avro RJ70, RJ85, RJ100
• Boeing 737, 747, 757, 767, 777, 787
• Bombardier CS100 and CS300
• Embraer E190 (most new deliveries)
• Fokker 70 and 100
• McDonnell Douglas MD-10, MD-11
• Sukhoi SuperJet 100
• Some new Ilyushin and Tupolev (eg Il-96 and TU-204)

Common aircraft models that usually do not have an ADS-B transponder and are not visible on Flightradar24 (inside ADS-B coverage):

• "Air Force One"
• Antonov AN-124 and AN-225
• ATR 42, 72 (except most new deliveries of ATR 72-600)
• Boeing 707, 717, 727, 737-200, 747-100, 747-200, 747SP
• BAe Jetstream 31 and 32
• All Bombardier CRJ models
• All Bombardier Dash Models
• All CASA models
• All Dornier Models
• All Embraer models (except most new deliveries of Embraer E190)
• De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
• Fokker 50
• McDonnell Douglas DC-9, MD-8x, MD-90
• Saab 340 and 2000
• Most helicopters
• Most old planes
• Most business jets
• Most military aircraft
• Most propeller-driven aircraft

Of course there are exceptions to the rule. Some older A300, A310, A320, B737, B747, B757, B767, MD10, MD11 aircraft are flying without ADS-B transponders, which would make them visible on Flightradar24 in ADS-B coverage areas. But there are also some Twin Otters, Saab 340, Saab 2000 and MD-80 aircraft with ADS-B transponders visible on Flightradar24.

Aircraft visible on Flightradar24 (within MLAT or FAA coverage)

In regions with MLAT or FAA coverage, most air traffic is visible regardless of aircraft type, but given that MLAT operation is limited to multiple FR24 receivers in the same reception area and altitudes above about 10,000-20,000 feet. The data provided by the FAA often does not include aircraft registration information.

Information blocking

For security and privacy reasons, information about some aircraft is blocked and it is not displayed on the map.

Coverage map

In areas where Flightradar24 has coverage, all major airports are marked with blue markers.

Flightradar24 is recruiting volunteers around the world to increase its coverage. .

Please be aware that aircraft coverage and visibility depends on many factors including aircraft type, aircraft transponder type, aircraft flight altitude and ground surface and may vary. If the aircraft you are looking for is not visible on Flightradar24, it either does not have the required transponder or is out of Flightradar24's coverage area.

Please visit our FAQ for answers to frequently asked questions about Flightradar24.

When your relatives or friends are flying by plane, there should be much less to worry about than if they were traveling by car. But relatives still worry and ask each other unanswered questions, for example, “how are they there” or “where are they now”. Moreover, the answer to the latter is of most concern, especially if an inscription about a flight delay appears on the board of the airport of arrival. To satisfy the legitimate curiosity of those left on earth, the web service will partly help Flightradar24(www.flightradar24.com), which will find the airliner you are interested in in the air ocean and follow its flight.

web service Flightradar24, created in 2007 by the Swedish company Travel Network, allows you to track the exact location of passenger aircraft and display it in real time on Google maps. This service attracted particular attention during the Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption in Iceland in April 2010, when many major media outlets (including CNN and BBC) used the site Flightradar24 to describe the current situation in the skies over Europe. To track and obtain information about aircraft Flightradar24 uses ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) technology. Most modern aircraft are equipped with special transponders (transceivers), thanks to which, during the entire flight, they receive accurate coordinates via the GPS system, and at the same time transmit their position along with other parameters, including speed, altitude, heading, etc. Flightradar24 has hundreds of ADS-B receivers installed in many countries around the world that receive information from aircraft and send it to the web service server. In addition, the US Federal Aviation Administration provides Flightradar24 their air traffic data (however, according to existing rules, they arrive with a 5-minute delay).

Use the web service Flightradar24 very simple. The main menu is located on the left side of the page, and the rest (most) of the screen is occupied by a Google map, which displays icons of flying aircraft. When you click on any of them with the mouse cursor, the menu is occupied by a tab with data on a particular flight: airline name, flight number, departure and arrival airports, aircraft model, its photo, flight altitude and speed, geographic coordinates, etc. For example, Airline: Aeroflot, Flight: SU2332, From: Moscow, Sheremetyrvo (SVO), To: Dusseldorf (DUS), Aircraft: Airbus A320-214, Altitude: 34000 ft (10363 m), Speed: 448 kt (828 rm/ h, 514 mph), Pos: 56.2397/31.5543. In addition, a colored line on the map shows the route of the liner. The color of the track changes with the flight altitude from white (below 100 meters) to burgundy (13 thousand meters). For convenient viewing, you can change the scale of the map, use satellite images of the terrain, etc. To find a specific flight on the map, enter its number in the search box of the main menu.

About how many aircraft are currently in the coverage area of ​​the service Flightradar24, easy to find on the Planes tab. It also provides information on flight numbers, types of aircraft, their registration numbers, etc. On the "Settings" tab, you can change the brightness of the map display, the size of the aircraft icons (Small - small, Medium - medium, Large - large, Auto - automatically) and the color of these icons (Yellow - yellow, Blue - cyan, Gray - gray ). It is also suggested to include an info label for each liner icon and customize it. So, in the first line of the label, either the call sign (Сallsign) or the registration number of the aircraft (Registration) is indicated. The second and third lines display one of the following parameters to choose from: aircraft type and registration number, speed and flight altitude level, codes of departure and arrival airports, aircraft type, registration number, flight level, speed. The settings on the "Filter" tab allow you to display aircraft icons only according to the selected criteria, for example, flight number, departure/arrival airport, altitude level, airliner type, etc. Mobile applications Flightradar24 available for iPhone/iPad, Android gadgets and Windows backgrounds.

It is said that traveling by plane is much safer than by car. Perhaps this is true, at least if the planes collide with each other in the sky, then this happens very rarely. However, having looked at the maps of a specialized Internet service, confidence in the safety of air travel may decrease. This original resource clearly demonstrates how many civilian airliners are currently in the sky and where they are flying.

It shows the direction of flight, speed, altitude, local time, temperature overboard and a bunch of other parameters, however, most of which are available only in the premium version. But the most important thing is that all this is displayed in real time.

By zooming in on the map with the mouse wheel, you will see that the planes are moving, literally flying above the ground. To view information about a specific flight, you need to click on the aircraft figure with the mouse. At the same time, on the left side of the web page, there will immediately appear information panel with various information such as: points of departure and destination, their local time, type and registration number of the liner, the distance they have traveled, altitude and airspeed, current latitude and longitude and some other information.

In the upper right corner of the web page there is a button in the form of a gear, by clicking on which you can open the settings panel that allows you to set more familiar units of measurement for you, for example, replace miles by kilometers . There you can also set many other display options, in particular, change the map type. Several modes are supported: Earth, Satellite, Road map, Hybrid and light and dark Radar.

Users with plugin installed Google Earth Moreover, they can also switch to 3D—mode. There is also various additional information about the weather, clouds, ocean currents and more, but to access them you would have to subscribe. By the way, its cost is only 1.99 euros per month, provided that you issue it a year in advance. A small restriction is imposed on the free use of the service: you can only watch the movement of aircraft 30 minutes to continue monitoring, you will have to reload the page.

Probably everyone who at least once met or saw off relatives or friends on a plane used the free Flightradar24 service. This is a very convenient way to track the position of the aircraft in real time.

As a survey of acquaintances showed, very few people know that this service is supported only by enthusiasts who send data to the server. Even fewer know that anyone can join the project.

Let's fill this gap. How it works will continue under the cut.

Iron

The very first question is where the data comes from.

Each civilian aircraft is equipped with a special transmitter, the so-called ADS-B transponder:

(photo from Garmin website)

This device sends special packets on a frequency of 1090 MHz containing the main flight parameters, aircraft type, its coordinates, destination, etc.

The signal on the spectrum looks something like this:

And what is most important for us, it is not difficult to decode this data, an RTL-SDR receiver, about $ 8, connected to a computer, is enough. Actually, the idea is probably already clear - if we collect data from many receivers, we will get a picture, something like this:

But that's not all. Some aircraft transmit data packets, but they do not contain GPS coordinates. If you receive data simultaneously from multiple receivers, the coordinates of which are known, then by analyzing the delays at different receivers, you can find out the location of the aircraft. This technology is called multilateration (MLAT), you can read more about it on the website.

And finally, the last question is how the data is received. The answer is simple, anyone can host a receiver, the issue price ranges from $0 to $50. For example, this is how the Flightaware receiver map looks like:

As you can see, the coverage of the Russian part leaves much to be desired, so some have a good chance of being the first.

To receive data, you need:

Raspberry Pi2/3 with internet connected (price from $20)
- RTL-SDR-dongle (price from $10)
- at least the simplest antenna of 2 pieces of wire 6.8 cm long each (1/4 dipole at 1090 MHz)

A place with a more or less open view of at least part of the sky is also desirable. gigahertz signals are absorbed by obstacles like houses or trees.

I already had both a Raspberry Pi and an RTL-SDR, so I didn't have to buy anything. But anyone can try to get a ready-made receiver for free - both Flightradar and Flightaware send out kits for free to users from areas where coverage is currently insufficient. You can send a request via the link (Flightradar or Flightaware), of course, it is advisable to try for those who live in a fairly remote area.

I used a kit from RTL-SDR V3, which together with antenna and mini tripod cost $27 with free shipping from China:

By the way, as a second bonus, for everyone sending data to the server, both Flightradar24 and Flightaware provide unlimited access to premium account and all server functions (separately such access costs about $50/month). So if someone is interested in aviation and wants to have extended access to such an account, installing an RTLSDR receiver is a very cheap alternative.

Testing

Installation is extremely simple, on the Raspberry Pi, just connect the receiver and run one command:

Sudo bash -c "$(wget -O - http://repo.feed.flightradar24.com/install_fr24_rpi.sh)"
The script will request the necessary data (coordinates and type of the receiver, email address), then the software will work automatically, the user's attention is no longer required. At the same time, you can activate a premium account (for FR24 at https://www.flightradar24.com/premium/signup?account=free) and immediately use all its features (flight tracks, etc.).

You can go to the Raspberry Pi IP address page and see the current status:

Much more information can be seen on the Flightradar24 account page:

I live on the 6th floor relatively close to the airport, so the number of aircraft observed per day was more than 1000, even with a simple antenna on the windowsill. Interestingly, even with such an antenna, the maximum range to the received board was 215 miles. Different antenna options can be found on ebay by typing ads-b antenna in the search.

Alternative

Bonus for those who had the patience to read this far. Some readers may wonder: is it possible to do without third-party services like Flightradar? Of course, you can run the decoder on the Raspberry Pi directly. You can download the sources at github.com/antirez/dump1090 .

It is enough to type 3 commands on the Raspberry Pi:

Git clone https://github.com/antirez/dump1090.git cd dump1090/ make
Then the decoder can be launched with the command:

./dump1090 --interactive --net
The decoder starts working, and we see the "raw data" - a list of visible "boards":

Now you can go to the browser on the Raspberry Pi and admire your own, local Flightradar, the picture might look something like this:

Why might this be necessary? Firstly, just out of interest, and secondly, Flightradar24, unfortunately, filters some of the data and shows Not all aircraft (for example, military, government, or business jets may not be shown). By running our own local service, we see everything "as is", without any censorship. But, of course, the amount of data is limited by our local location and the quality of the antenna, and MLAT technology will not be available either. Dump1090 is available in source code, so those who wish can even create their own version of Flightradar, with blackjack and other bells and whistles.

findings

As you can see, everything is not so difficult, while it is quite interesting and inexpensive. To understand the order of prices: 10 years ago, the Airnav RadarBox receiver cost about $ 1000, now RTL-SDR, which does the same, can be taken for $ 10.

In my case, the receiver was launched only for testing, there is no practical point in keeping it constantly on, the coverage density of the European part already reaches 100%. For residents of the Russian outback, on the contrary, this can be quite interesting - it becomes possible both to do a useful thing for air travelers around the world by expanding the coverage area, and to get access to the Premium account of the aforementioned sites.

All successful experiments.