Flight spotting isn’t something I’ve ever got into. Sure, I have friends who can tell you what types of aircraft are on any given runway but none of them keep a record of what they’ve seen, let alone travel around trying to see airplane models that they can tick off their list. As a result, I’ve never really been ‘into’ planes. That is until recently.
It’s all the fault of the Flightradar24 app. This deceptively simple app opens up the skies in more ways than I ever thought possible. Through some very clever tech, the app lets you track and see planes around the world move in real-time on a detailed map. The first time I opened up the app, I was flabbergasted by how many planes were up in the sky. It looked like they were all going to crash into each other! I have newfound respect for air traffic controllers.
Homescreen heroes
This is part of a regular series of articles exploring the apps that we couldn’t live without. Read them all here.
The app also makes it possible to delve deep into flight and plane information and see an aircraft photo galleries. Additionally, by pointing your device at a plane, you can find out where it’s going and what kind of aircraft it is. It’s bonkers but it has me absolutely hooked.
Along with the simple pleasure of watching aircraft traveling around the globe, the Flightradar24 app becomes particularly useful when you want to track the flight of a friend or family member. For a long while, we’ve been able to utilize the predicted arrival times of flights, but refreshing a web page is pretty boring. The app’s virtual 3D plane tracker will help you get excited about visits from those long lost friends.
While you’re watching the airplane virtually hurtling through the skies, you can also plan your airport run. Take advantage of accurate and up-to-date weather information at the airport, so you won’t get caught in the rain while dashing between parking and the terminal. This is the app that has it all.
As I noted above, the augmented reality feature lets you point your phone up at the sky and locate aircraft as they fly across the sky. A handy circular 2D radar shows you which direction you’re pointing in and whether there should be any planes in your field of view. The radius of the circular area can also be easily expanded to find more flights. This is a perfect feature for geographically tracking and identifying planes.
When a plane is located in the direction you’re pointing, details of the flight will pop up on the screen. Basic information is provided, but if you want more details such as the arrival time, altitude, and ground speed, that’s as simple as pressing on the pop-up.
The feature’s usability was driven home to me when I was at the park with my son. He pointed out three separate aircraft trails in the sky and was really happy to let me know what he’d spotted. I said, “Do you want to know where each of those planes is flying to?” After saying “yes” in disbelief that I would know, I proceeded to pull out my phone and lift it to the skies. In a matter of minutes, we had identified the plane models and all the information regarding their flight paths. He was amazed.
Flightradar24 has a free version that offers basic flight tracking. You won’t be able to set up custom alerts or pull up full aircraft or flight details, which is a bit limited. You’ll also have to put up with incessant ads. I highly recommend upgrading to at least the Silver package for only $12.99. You’ll benefit from no ads, up to ten custom alerts, and a flight history of up to 90 days. Silver will be more than enough for most people. If you’re a serious enthusiast though, you’ll need the Gold package which provides 365 days of flight playback as well as other premium features. The privilege will cost you $34.99 per year.
Flightradar24 has so many different uses and is an app that I’ll just have available should I need to use it. Give the free version or Gold trial a go and see if you get hooked like I have.
You can download the Flightradar24 app on iOS or Android.
