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HomeHomeDiscussionsDiscussionsiFly Wish-ListiFly Wish-ListADS-B Traffic for Distant AirportsADS-B Traffic for Distant Airports
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8/1/2020 1:59 PM
 

It would be lovely if iFly could display ADS-B traffic in the vicinity of any airport that had been dragged to the center of the Map display, even though the iFly GPS itself was many miles away. FlightAware and other tracking apps do it all the time. Their data may be proprietary--but the FAA has the data for the entire country.

 
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8/2/2020 10:31 AM
 

The FAA may have data for the entire country, but iFly kind of doesn't, and can't...at least while in flight.

iFly is primarily for use in flight.  Yes, it has some internet-supplemented capabilities that are available when on the ground, but mostly those enable or enhance pre-flight planning.  Things like internet-based weather radar and other wx products, online flight planning, etc.  Traffic monitoring at distant airports doesn't directly help with flight planning.  

In flight, traffic data is only available locally.  You can receive traffic data from targets directly in your line of sight, if you have a compatible-frequency receiver.  Or, you can receive traffic data from an FAA broadcast, which will only include traffic within 15 miles laterally and 1750 feet vertically of your position (or maybe a little outside of that, if you happen to sniff out an ADSB transmission triggered by another nearby plane).  But traffic data at airports more distant than 15 miles will not be available in-air (I'm assuming in-flight internet access isn't available, because it's iffy and can't be relied upon).

So, iFly would only have access to broader traffic data when connected to the internet, which generally translates to on the ground, when it's not needed to serve iFly's purpose. 

As you point out, if you're on the ground or otherwise have internet access, there are already tools like FlightAware that can be used for flight tracking (or specific-airport tracking) more effectively than iFly.

 
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8/3/2020 10:53 AM
 
Cobra wrote:

The FAA may have data for the entire country, but iFly kind of doesn't, and can't...at least while in flight.

iFly is primarily for use in flight.  ...

As you point out, if you're on the ground or otherwise have internet access, there are already tools like FlightAware that can be used for flight tracking (or specific-airport tracking) more effectively than iFly.

 

Good points, Cobra--all of them. I was using FlightAware on the ground that time, but often when flying I'm looking for certain airplanes at or near a rendezvous airport--or a lake or river--and can't get FlightAware on the cellphone. So it would be convenient then to "see" them on iFly. It's just a little wish, though, and not a Big Need.

 
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8/9/2020 11:25 AM
 

Gents,

Great topic, many thanks..

I can often see traffic 50+ miles away on my system - could be just the area of the country I'm flying? The NE has a lot of towers and a lot of people equipped with OUT systems...

I have a buddy who flies up from Annapolis to the Central PA area...I can routinely "see" him on the screen coming up from many miles away - helps with coordinating our re-joins and landing times to go eat. I am "seeing" things nearly 100 miles away on my screen in terms of ADSB targets...I have nothing special - just a STRATUX and this program with a uAvionix Tailbeacon...

Mike N714AJ

 
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8/9/2020 12:23 PM
 

Traffic reception directly from other planes is highly variable.  Of course, you need to have a receiver listening on the frequency they are transmitting.  If you have a dual-band receiver (listening on 978 and 1090) then you can hear everyone.  Some receivers only listen on one band or the other, though.  Additionally, you generally need to have line-of-sight between the two aircraft.

Those are the simplest variables to quantify, though.  Everything else is pretty much outside of what the average joe can measure.  In short, it boils down to how strong a signal is being emitted by the transmitting aircraft, and how sensitive is your receive to hearing it?  Different antennas, different cables, different connectors, different mounting locations, and different relative geometries of the two aircraft in question will all factor into how strong the signal is when it reaches the receiver, and how well the receiver will be able to interpret that signal.

What works for one person helps to indicate what is possible, but does not mean that is the limit of what is possible, nor that all pilots should expect their setups to be able to match that performance.

"Your mileage may vary."

 
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