You’re sitting in your backyard or maybe walking the dog, and you hear that low, rhythmic rumble. You look up. There’s a white speck dragging a thin vapor trail across the blue. It’s moving fast. Naturally, you wonder where it’s going. Is it a vacation flight to Maui? A cargo hauler full of overnight packages? Or maybe something military? Figuring out what planes are over me right now used to be a guessing game based on engine noise and sheer luck, but now, it’s basically a high-tech sport.
Most people think you need some kind of expensive radar dish to see what's happening in the sky. Honestly, you don't. Your phone is already doing the heavy lifting by tapping into a global network of hobbyists who run tiny receivers in their spare bedrooms. It’s kind of a weird, beautiful example of crowdsourced data. These people use cheap hardware—often just a Raspberry Pi and a small antenna—to catch signals that planes are constantly screaming into the atmosphere.
How the Tech Behind Plane Tracking Actually Works
It all comes down to a system called ADS-B. That stands for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast. It’s a mouthful. Basically, instead of a ground-based radar "hitting" a plane to see where it is, the plane tells the world exactly where it is. Every few seconds, the aircraft broadcasts its GPS location, altitude, and velocity. It’s like the plane is constantly texting its status to anyone with an antenna.
Since about 2020, the FAA has mandated this for most aircraft in controlled airspace. This changed everything. Before this, tracking was spotty. Now, it’s granular. You can see the exact moment a pilot throttles up for a climb or begins a banked turn toward an approach path.
The Network of Volunteers
The data you see on popular apps doesn't come from the government. Well, not primarily. Sites like FlightAware and Flightradar24 rely on a massive web of terrestrial receivers. There are over 30,000 of these little boxes worldwide. Because the signals (1090 MHz) are "line of sight," they can't travel through mountains or the curvature of the earth. That’s why you might occasionally see a plane "disappear" over a remote forest or the middle of the ocean—there just isn't a volunteer nearby to catch the signal.
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For the ocean gaps, companies are now using satellites. Space-based ADS-B is the newest frontier. Companies like Aireon have put receivers on Iridium NEXT satellites. This means even if a flight is over the "Pole of Inaccessibility" in the Pacific, we still know its tail number and speed. It’s slightly terrifying but also incredibly cool.
The Best Tools to Identify What Planes Are Over Me Right Now
If you want to know what’s up there, you have options. Most people default to Flightradar24. It’s the "pretty" one. It has those little yellow icons that move in real-time. It’s great for casual use. You can point your phone at the sky using their AR (Augmented Reality) feature, and it’ll overlay the flight info directly onto your camera feed. It feels like living in the future.
But if you want the "unfiltered" truth, you go to ADSBExchange.
Why ADSBExchange is Different
Most commercial tracking sites filter their data. If a celebrity or a wealthy CEO asks to have their private jet hidden from public view through the LADD (Limiting Aircraft Data Display) program, Flightradar24 and FlightAware usually comply. They’ll hide the tail number or just remove the plane entirely.
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ADSBExchange doesn't do that.
They take the stance that if a plane is broadcasting on a public frequency, that data belongs to the public. If you are trying to figure out what planes are over me right now and you see a high-altitude plane on your radar app that says "Blocked," hop over to ADSBExchange. You’ll likely see exactly who it is. This is how "plane spotters" track government movements or billionaire travel patterns. It’s the raw, unedited feed of the sky.
Deciphering the Data: What You’re Actually Seeing
When you click on a plane, you get a wall of info. It can be overwhelming. "Squawk" codes are a big one. If you see a plane squawking 7700, that’s an emergency. 7600 means they lost radio communication. 7500 means a hijacking—though you’ll almost never see that, thankfully. Most of the time, it’s just a four-digit number assigned by Air Traffic Control (ATC) to keep things organized.
You’ll also see the "N-Number" or Tail Number. In the United States, these start with "N." In the UK, it’s "G." Think of it like a license plate. You can plug that number into the FAA Registry website and see exactly who owns the plane. Sometimes it’s a holding company with a boring name like "TVPX Aircraft Solutions," which is often a way to keep the real owner’s name off the front page.
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Understanding Altitude and Speed
- True Airspeed vs. Ground Speed: Your app shows ground speed. If a plane has a massive tailwind, it might be "moving" at 650 mph even though its engines are only pushing it at 550 mph.
- Vertical Speed: This tells you if the plane is "climbing out" or "descending." A typical descent is around 1,500 to 3,000 feet per minute. If you see a number much higher than that, something interesting is happening.
- Flight Levels: Pilots talk in "Flight Levels" (FL). FL350 is just 35,000 feet. It’s a standard way to ensure everyone is using the same pressure settings on their altimeters so they don't hit each other.
Why Some Planes Are "Invisible"
You might look up, see a massive C-17 Globemaster or a fighter jet, and see absolutely nothing on your app. This happens for a few reasons. Military aircraft often turn off their ADS-B transponders when they are on "sensitive" missions, though they frequently leave them on during routine training to avoid mid-air collisions.
There’s also a tech called MLAT (Multilateration). Some older planes don't have the fancy GPS-broadcast tech yet. To find them, tracking networks use "time difference of arrival." If four different ground stations hear the same old-school transponder signal, they can calculate exactly where the plane is based on the nanosecond differences in when the signal arrived. It’s pure math. However, it requires a lot of ground stations to be active in your area. If you’re in a rural spot, MLAT planes will stay invisible.
The Growing Community of Sky Watchers
This isn't just about curiosity. It’s a massive hobby. People actually "collect" planes. They go to the ends of runways with high-end cameras to get "shutter clicks" of rare liveries or specific tail numbers. Websites like JetPhotos.com act as a massive database where users upload these shots. When you click a flight on an app and see a photo of that exact plane, it was likely taken by a human standing in a field near an airport.
It’s also become a tool for social and environmental accountability. Activists use this data to calculate the carbon footprint of short-hop private jet flights. Journalists use it to track the movements of oligarchs or verify the locations of government officials during crises. The sky is no longer a "black box" where things happen in secret.
Practical Steps for Your Next Sighting
The next time you hear a roar overhead, don't just wonder.
- Open a "raw" tracker first. Use ADSBExchange if you suspect the flight might be interesting or military. Use Flightradar24 if you just want to see where the local Southwest flight is headed.
- Check the altitude. If it’s above 30,000 feet, it’s "cruising." If it’s between 10,000 and 25,000, it’s likely in a transition phase—either climbing away from a nearby city or starting its long descent.
- Look at the "Path." Most flights follow "highways in the sky" called Jetways. They don't just fly in straight lines; they follow specific waypoints with names like "COWBY" or "JEDI."
- Identify the Aircraft Type. A "B738" is a Boeing 737-800—the workhorse of the sky. An "A321" is its Airbus rival. If you see something like "GLF6," that’s a Gulfstream G650, which is basically a flying mansion.
- Listen in. If you’re really dedicated, use LiveATC.net. You can find your local airport's frequency and listen to the pilots talking to the tower. It’s surprisingly calm, even when things get busy.
Knowing what planes are over me right now turns the sky into a living map. It connects you to the rest of the world in a weird way. That plane above you right now? It might have been in London ten hours ago, and in four hours, it’ll be on the ground in Los Angeles. We're all just passing over each other. It’s worth taking a second to look up and actually see what’s going on.