How to Track Your Plane in Real Time with Your Phone

Have you ever looked up at a plane crossing the sky and wondered where it came from and where it is going? Or wondered, at the gate, where the aircraft that will fly you is right now? Real-time plane tracking puts that information in your pocket. This guide explains the technology behind it and shows how to track an aircraft with FlightLog.

What Is ADS-B and How Does It Work?

ADS-B stands for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast. Aircraft continuously broadcast their GPS position, altitude, speed, direction of travel and identification to ground stations and to other aircraft. Each word has a meaning:

• Automatic: the aircraft transmits without any pilot action.
• Dependent: it depends on the aircraft's own navigation system for position data.
• Surveillance: air traffic control and others can monitor the aircraft.
• Broadcast: the signal is sent openly, so anyone with a receiver can pick it up.

ADS-B Out has been required in much of the controlled airspace of the United States since January 2020, and Europe phased in its own requirement from 2020, with retrofits of older aircraft following. As a result, nearly every commercial airliner you see in the sky broadcasts its position. Networks of ground receivers around the world, many run by volunteers, collect these signals and feed them into the databases that tracking apps read.

What Data Can You See?

When you track an aircraft through ADS-B, you typically get:

• Live position: latitude and longitude plotted on a map, updated every few seconds.
• Altitude: barometric or geometric altitude, usually in feet.
• Ground speed: how fast the aircraft moves relative to the ground.
• Heading: the direction the aircraft is moving over the ground.
• Vertical rate: whether the plane is climbing, descending or level.
• Callsign: the flight identifier used by air traffic control, often related to the flight number.
• ICAO24 hex code: a unique identifier for the aircraft itself, not for the flight.
• On-ground status: whether the aircraft is on the ground.

Tracking a Plane with FlightLog: Step by Step

Step 1: Pick a flight in the Tracker

Open the Fleet tab, then Tracker, select a flight of your logbook that has its registration and tap Locate: FlightLog follows that exact airframe. See aircraft registration numbers explained if you want to find a registration.

Step 2: Watch it live

If the aircraft is in the air, it appears on an interactive map with its live position, speed, altitude and heading. The map refreshes by itself for one minute; tap Locate again to keep following the flight as it progresses.

Step 3: Read the aircraft details

FlightLog shows the details of the aircraft next to the live position, so you can see which type of plane you are following. Each flight in your logbook can also carry its aircraft type and registration, and the aircraft collection lists the types you have flown.

Route Resolution: Where Is It Going?

ADS-B tells you where a plane is, but not where it is going. The broadcast includes a callsign, but no destination airport. When you have logged the flight, FlightLog already knows the route, and a flight number and date can be matched to a schedule that gives the airports and times. Without a logged flight or a schedule match, an ADS-B position alone cannot tell you the destination.

What Happens After Landing?

The ADS-B signal includes an on-ground status. When it shows that the aircraft has landed, the plane is no longer flying and the live track in the air ends.

Common Questions

Can I track any aircraft?

In FlightLog you follow the aircraft of your own flights, once each one has its registration. A plane shows up when it broadcasts ADS-B, which nearly all commercial airliners do. Some military aircraft do not broadcast, and some private jets use filtered or anonymized identifiers.

How accurate is the position data?

ADS-B positions come from the aircraft's GPS-based navigation, so they are typically accurate to within a few tens of meters. How often they refresh depends on receiver coverage: over populated areas updates come every few seconds, while over oceans and remote regions there can be gaps.

Does it work offline?

Live tracking needs an internet connection to receive ADS-B data. Your logbook and your statistics work offline, so you can still browse them without a connection.

Try It Yourself

Log a flight with its aircraft registration and you can follow that plane across the globe. You can add the flight by scanning a boarding pass, by typing its number and date, or by importing it from another app. Download FlightLog and try it on your next flight.