Another one of those pesky FF/FA threads

BigBadLou

BigBadLou

Final Approach
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Display name:
Lou
I have seen many threads here asking why a short local flight with flight following did not show up on FlightAware.
The answer is usually "it depends".

In my experience, I always showed up on FA if I went on a long trip (across centers) with VFR FF.
But last night when I made a 4-hr round-trip to Dallas (went from Charlie to Bravo and back, crossing a center boundary), neither of my legs showed up on FA. That is new to me. Wife was unhappy, she wanted to stalk me to see whether I am safe and progressing well.

Question: why did I not show up on FA?

What say you, the Ynterwebs board full of smart-alecks, arrogant pilots and jokers? :)
Should I have brought a tub of coleslaw? Or was I supposed to wear sandals while flying? :D
 
It's probably just hit or miss. I've never seen my VFR flight with FF come up on FA no matter how long or short it has been.
 
If it's just your wife wanting to stalk you, you can always use google to track your location, and then share that with your wife through google plus. I don't know if it will work as well as flightaware. My wife and I both share our location with each other. We can both look up where the other is at any time.
 
one way to make it show for sure... go IFR.

But agreed ive had some VFR FF show on FA and not others. Recently I went on a 75 mile trip and had FF both ways. Only the going showed up and the return did not. I can almost tell if it will show based off the squawk code im given. But yeah that's just the way it is. For wife stalking though using FA is never good for VFR because what if they refuse service to you? Then it really wont show on FA. Maybe get that SPOT thing??
 
It only shows up if the controller puts you in the system. Most controllers don't bother with the added workload ,if your VFR,with flight following.
 
Flew from Liite Rock to Charlotte, NC a couple weeks ago. FF the whole way. Nada on FA. Flew through two bravos on the way.
 
The only way to be sure to show up is to file and fly IFR (unless the tail number is blocked by request with the site).

Flying VFR can be hit and miss. If you stay in one control area almost certainly you'll be on a local code that doesn't get tracked and even on longer trips there are no guarantees.
 
Only way I know 100% is like the other mentioned, IFR. There is a another way to get it 50%-100%, but it requires ADS-B 1090ES and listening stations.

If we where in Europe it would be 100% no matter your flight plan because of ADS-B and their rules.

If you wife wants to follow you with any reliability then I'd say invest in a SpiderTracks unit. Yeah it's a monthly cost of a few $$, but it will keep your wife off your back.

I had a gf that wanted to know I was safe but thankfully a before and after text was sufficient.
 
ARFlyer said:
Only way I know 100% is like the other mentioned, IFR. There is a another way to get it 50%-100%, but it requires ADS-B 1090ES and listening stations.

If we where in Europe it would be 100% no matter your flight plan because of ADS-B and their rules.

If you wife wants to follow you with any reliability then I'd say invest in a SpiderTracks unit. Yeah it's a monthly cost of a few $$, but it will keep your wife off your back.

I had a gf that wanted to know I was safe but thankfully a before and after text was sufficient.
Click to expand...

I've heard that a guy can run into BIG trouble if the wife *AND* the girlfriend are both tracking your movement. Be careful out there!
 
I recall a thread elsewhere on this forum where some guy was trying to find out how to make sure he DID NOT end up on FlightAware with flight following. Apparently where he was flying was not where he was telling his wife he was flying.
 
A) Yes, I agree, IFR is the only sure-fire way. I chose not to file because the dpt and dest points were SCT so I went VFR-over-the-top for an hour and half.
B) In my previous experience, all my longer flights outside of the local area always resulted in FA visibility.
C) So I was just wondering whether there was any change and where it was (FA? NAS?)
 
I've noticed that lately my VFR flights with FF have not been showing up on Flight Aware and that was almost never the case in the past. Something has changed somewhere by somebody :)
 
azpilot said:
If it's just your wife wanting to stalk you, you can always use google to track your location, and then share that with your wife through google plus. I don't know if it will work as well as flightaware. My wife and I both share our location with each other. We can both look up where the other is at any time.
Click to expand...
simtech said:
Maybe get that SPOT thing??
Click to expand...
Wouldn't that require:
A) some costly gadget?
B) some kind of a costly satellite service?
C) consent to Google/whoever to spy on me?
FF on longer trips used to reliably show up on FA so it was a great way to track my flights without any gadgets. Too bad. Good excuse start filing from now on. :)

ARFlyer said:
If you wife wants to follow you with any reliability then I'd say invest in a SpiderTracks unit. Yeah it's a monthly cost of a few $$, but it will keep your wife off your back.

I had a gf that wanted to know I was safe but thankfully a before and after text was sufficient.
Click to expand...
Again, we had no desire to waste money for no apparent extra benefit since FF used to work well for us. And wife isn't actually a stalker (that was just a joke), she just likes to follow to see how I am progressing and that I'm alright. (she actually likes me ... for some strange reason) I call/text her before taking off and call her after to tell her I landed okay.
And since we are pretty much private people keeping to ourselves, I really do not have the desire to be touting to the whole world what altitude I am at every waking second. Heck, I don't even understand what this Tw@tter thing is all about. *shrug*

We have occasional meets with TRACON guys in our area. I will ask one of the "local boyz" what's in the game for FF to be on FA. Maybe he'll give me a tip/trick on how to ask for FF so that it does show up. :)

Now go fly, people, before the rains hit tomorrow!! :)
 
If you have an android device, tell her to log on to your gmail account and look at device manager. Or icloud's track my iphone. =D
 
ircphoenix said:
If you have an android device, tell her to log on to your gmail account and look at device manager. Or icloud's track my iphone. =D
Click to expand...
Ohhhhhhhhhh! So THAT's what iCloud is? Tracking service for phones in clouds? Sweet! Never knew. :D
I don't think crApple can track my cell phone. Heck, I don't think they can even hack it. I don't think they employ anybody with the knowledge of Cobol. :D
 
I remember when tracking first came out, walked up to fbo at Jeffco to hear an older man & younger woman who just got out of a 210 discussing somewhat excitedly "How did she know where you were flying to?" "I have no clue" etc.
 
I routinely fly routes that cross tracons and centers, and until December, almost always showed up on FA. Since then, none of them have.
 
I think it has more to do with where you start your FF. If you start in Center's airspace, it seems to track it. If you start in TRACON airspace and then get handed off, it doesn't seem to track you. I think it has to do with whether the flight plan gets entered into Center's ERAM computer first.
 
I think something has changed too around the first of the year.. Almost all (90%) of my FF VFR flights would show up regardless of where I was or how far I was flying.. It was so reliable I setup for my wife on Flight Aware also so she would get texts when I arrived ect.. now nothing at all.. So something had to have changed around the first of the year.. bummer !
 
I've seen that if I get Flight Following from the departure airport it is always on Flight Aware. When I pick it up en-route in Central Texas it is about 60-70% tracked.

Must admit, I almost never file VFR flight plans. I always do request Flight Following. Maybe another thread, but if I request Flight Following and they are unable I might/should call up FSS and get a VFR plan filed. It's just so rare where I fly that I haven't considered it.

I don't use ForeFlight. Not sure if that's what others in the thread think FF is.
 
When I fly VFR with flight following I show up maybe half the time on FlightAware. Depends on if they put me in the system or not. Sometimes I'd even show up for just half of my flight. It's like they had me in the system while I was around controlled airspace, then when I left they dropped me, but kept me on a squawk code. I know that's not the case, but it seems like that's how FlightAware records it.

Of course..IFR flights are always recorded.
 
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