Tracking an RAAus aircraft on the web?

[SGM]

Looking for some advice on how friends/family can track thy progress of an RAAus registered aircraft, with mode c transponder, flying cross-country, under a NAIPS registered flight plan..

My (limited) understanding is

1. Avplan (and presumably Ozrunways) will show your progress to others but only to those the same software (shame they can't share), and of course the aircraft has to be in mobile coverage for GPS coords to make it up to the server, they don't offer the data publically;

2. Flightaware and Flightradar24 will not show anything live because they rely predomainately on ADS-B (which I do not have).  They will not record arrival and departs from their airports, even though NAIPS knows.  

3. Webtrak https://webtrak.emsbk.com/ would show a flight with code 1200, but only if you are in close proximity to one the (mostly) capital city airports

4. Some airports have an arrivals/departs webpage which seems to be a RPT filter on NAIPS data?

The reason for confusion is when my aircraft was registered under CASA, ie VH, it was trackable on Flightaware... and I am sure I have seen a record of an RAAus flight there once, but I can not seem to rerproduce it.  SImilarly when I flew to Mildura once I was suprised that my planned inbound flight appeared on an arrivals webpage. Perhaps there is some "trick" to having your NAIPS flight plan data made public?

On seperate note, in Avplan, I have recently noticed a number of RAAus aircraft with the Callsign Rxxxx where xxxx is their 4-digit RAAus registration.  These are ADS-B equiped (where as I am not).  Is it preferred Avplan or other noclamature to have the map-visible "callsign" as Rxxxx?

Steve

Edited December 5, 2021 by SGM
typo

[turboplanner]

For your family there are cheap transponders for cars, used as anti-theft devices. One of those may do the job for your family.

 

[Thruster88]

With the SkyEcho2 my thruster shows as Rxxxxx while flying but it can not be searched for. The VH aircraft can be seen and searched for when using SkyEcho2 (adsb)

 

Mode C transponders can not be tracked by fr24 or flight radar. 

 

[SGM]

24 minutes ago, turboplanner said:

For your family there are cheap transponders for cars, used as anti-theft devices. One of those may do the job for your family.

 

Perhaps.. but I guess that's really just the same as the "Find My" apple/android app (since I always have my phone with me).

If noone has investigated this before I might contact NAIPS and see who they share filed flight plan data with (they must have a public API for the scheduled arrivals/departures pages of airports).  I also suprises me that CASA will approve Avplan and OzRunways, but not require approved parties to share live flight data share data with each other.  It would be safer if we could all see the planes with the "other EFBs", see conflicting NAIPS flight plans and even have a feed the mode-C bounces that must be available to Webtrak.  

If we ever want commercial drones to work, then sharing this this seperately siloed data will be critical.

 

[KRviator]

Ozrunways users can be tracked at TX.ozrunways.com

 

If you lodge a flightplan and use flight following you should be visible using MLAT to and FA/FR24 recievers nearby, with a standard Mode A/C transponder, IIRC.

Edited December 5, 2021 by KRviator

[Bosi72]

Just turn on Family sharing on your phone (android), or believe there is a similar app for ios and they will be able to see you.. Otherwise skyecho, avplan, etc are other options

[kgwilson]

A Spot Tracker will show your track and altitude on google maps every 5 minutes. When you land a single push of a button will send a pre written email to a number of addresses you put in & show exact location & that you are OK. It also acts as a PLB & you can send a one button checkin message with your exact coordinates at any time. Tracker cost is about $180.00 with a $200.00 annual satellite service fee.

[SGM]

Thanks.. We did buy a regular PLB, which I hope goes unused.   I also hope that in the event of an emergency my mobile phone network traces, Av-plan logs, "find my phone" app,  mode-C records and the NAIPS-filed flight plan all prove useful in narrowing down a location.  I probably shouldn't worry as I suspect statistically an "incident" in near proximity to an airfield is probably more likely.

BTW still haven't worked out which public websites receive our NAIPS flight plan information ie RAAus scheduled arrivals/departures at regional airfields.

 

[KRviator]

3 hours ago, SGM said:

BTW still haven't worked out which public websites receive our NAIPS flight plan information ie RAAus scheduled arrivals/departures at regional airfields.

 

FlightAware certainly does - but I was squawking Mode-S