The Flightradar24 app lets you track military aircraft in the sky – and it’s used by millions

Residents of Starstruck rushed to catch a Royal Air Force ‘radar plane’ flying overhead at Birmingham Airport this week.

And it wasn’t the only unusual plane spotted above the skies of Birmingham recently.

But other than hearing the roar of an engine as these beautiful metallic birds descend, is there a way to track a plane and know when it’s coming? Can you have your camera phone ready while they fly over your house?

READ MORE: Rare RAF ‘jet radar’ pictured in the skies over Birmingham Airport as locals jostle for a photo

Well, it turns out the answer is yes. And it’s not that difficult with the help of Flightradar24.

The website and app is the brainchild of two Swedish aviation geeks and started as a hobby project in 2006. Today it tracks hundreds of thousands of flights every day and has millions of users. users worldwide.

The global flight tracking service provides real-time information on thousands of aircraft around the world. It is currently available online and on Apple and Android devices.

How does Flightradar24 work?

But how does it work? It’s a bit more complicated. The service has the largest ADS-B network in the world with more than 30,000 connected receivers.

Its radars receive flight information from aircraft equipped with ADS-B transponders and send this information to servers to enable tracking.

While ADS-B, which stands for Automatic-Broadcast Dependent Surveillance, is a relatively new technology and rarely used by air traffic control, Flightradar24 has a network of over 20,000 receivers.

So how do you find flights near you? In areas where Flightradar24 normally has coverage, all major airports, including Birmingham Airport at Solihull, are marked with blue airport markers.

Users can find flights by searching for a flight number, call sign or registration. And playback is also available for individual flights so you can see flight history.

Here is. The next time you hear a roar above your house, open the app and you might know more.

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