Cool things seen on FlightRadar
Discussion
Not exactly cool, but I live a stone's throw from LHR and heard this a/c buzzing around earlier. Not sure what it's doing but it's interesting to see it flying around the general LHR flying areas. The noise doesn't bother me but I suspect Heathrow's twitter feed might be a little busy tomorrow with the usual NIMBYs complaining that aircraft might be flying around near a busy airport.
Does anybody have some knowledge as to what a 45 year old Piper is doing flying loops around LHR?
Does anybody have some knowledge as to what a 45 year old Piper is doing flying loops around LHR?
sebhaque said:
Not exactly cool, but I live a stone's throw from LHR and heard this a/c buzzing around earlier. Not sure what it's doing but it's interesting to see it flying around the general LHR flying areas. The noise doesn't bother me but I suspect Heathrow's twitter feed might be a little busy tomorrow with the usual NIMBYs complaining that aircraft might be flying around near a busy airport.
Does anybody have some knowledge as to what a 45 year old Piper is doing flying loops around LHR?
Calibration, according to the post two above yours. Does anybody have some knowledge as to what a 45 year old Piper is doing flying loops around LHR?
RacingPete said:
What are these planes actually collaborating, is it the marker beacons, something else?
I'm far from an expert but it looks like they've done a couple of approaches so they're probably calibration the Instrument or Microwave Landing System (ILS / MLS). There's one track where they have flown an arc to the east of the field, with LHR in the middle. This would usually be to test the DME (Distance Measuring Equipment).Website for the operator of the flights:
http://www.flightcalibration.co.uk
https://www.flightradar24.com/SHT19M/c61392c - Thomas Cook operating a BA flight?
alangla said:
https://www.flightradar24.com/SHT19M/c61392c - Thomas Cook operating a BA flight?
Strike coverage apparently.sebhaque said:
davepoth said:
Calibration, according to the post two above yours.
Oops. Bit of a reading failure on my part there.Interestingly I heard the Piper razzing around well into the early hours. Must have been nice flying around over empty LHR airspace!
pushthebutton said:
Ginetta G15 Girl said:
Given the callsign, I would suggest calibration of the VOR beacon(s).
VOR = VHF Omni-Directional Range - it gives you a radial from the beacon.
Possibly calibrating the westerly ILSs at Heathrow and then being vectored around/in between arrivals?VOR = VHF Omni-Directional Range - it gives you a radial from the beacon.
Trevatanus said:
pushthebutton said:
Ginetta G15 Girl said:
Given the callsign, I would suggest calibration of the VOR beacon(s).
VOR = VHF Omni-Directional Range - it gives you a radial from the beacon.
Possibly calibrating the westerly ILSs at Heathrow and then being vectored around/in between arrivals?VOR = VHF Omni-Directional Range - it gives you a radial from the beacon.
They were checking/calibrating the ILSs on 27L/R at Heathrow. The path it took looked like delaying vectors from ATC for whatever reason. Heathrow doesn't officially close; they just don't allow scheduled flights between 23:30 and 04:30. They still allow delayed departures and arrivals which would explain the vectors;as would the Tower switching the ILS signals from the left to the right to facilitate the calibration.
Edited by pushthebutton on Tuesday 7th February 19:31
Paul Drawmer said:
I have just set up a raspberry pi with FR24 software. However, it looks as if 360radar might be better to contribute to.
The pi is running a custom o/s from FR24
I am not a pi geek, and know nothing about it, so how could I get it set up for 360?
The O/S isn't that custom, just follow the instructions for enabling 360. The pi is running a custom o/s from FR24
I am not a pi geek, and know nothing about it, so how could I get it set up for 360?
Keep an eye on your FR24 stats when you do though, I added ADSB-Exchange to my setup and effectively killed FR24 and FlightAware.
Clio_16REG said:
Seen a fair few things on FR24 over the years, now stopped using it in favour of ADS-B Exchange, a radar that tends to show all Military aircraft aside from Bombers.
Living on the edge of Salisbury Plain I quickly gave up on FR24 etc, barely anything that passes overhead ever came up aside from flights in the early hours from the USA to Frankfurt. ADS-B Exchange is much better, although living next to Keevil which is pretty busy these days it's still not picking up at least 50% of traffic. 
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