AirportMonitor Help Subjects

Here is what's new
Aircraft identification in AirportMonitor
Specific Flight Information
Important Notes
Zoom and PAN  (AirportMonitor 2.0 Gold version only)
General Aviation identification
“Current” Mode
“Pause” Mode
“Replay” Mode
“Replay” Mode Speed
Understanding Airline and Aircraft codes
A Word about Radar
System Requirements/Information
Frequently Asked Questions

Here’s what’s new! Back to Top

• Pause/Resume: You can now pause the flight activity, click on flights in pause mode to see who they are, then resume where you left off, (works in both live and replay mode) – useful for taking the time to find the flight you want at your own pace
• Fast Forward in replay mode lets you choose faster replay speeds, to view the flight you want quicker
• Color-coding for alternate airports – a new color for flights from nearby airports local helps clarify and sort traffic
• Helicopter identification – some helicopters, depending on their speed and flight behavior, will be identified by a black helicopter icon (helicopters that are flying like airplanes may still be identified by a black airplane icon).

Online help page – frequently asked questions and topics are now conveniently located right on the application

Aircraft Identification in AirportMonitor Back to Top

AirportMonitor shows the flight tracks of aircraft arriving and departing to and from your airport, and from other airports throughout the region. It also shows aircraft transiting through our airspace.

·         Green aircraft icons represent departures from your airport

·         Blue aircraft icons represent arrivals to your airport

·         Black aircraft icons represent aircraft operating to or from another airport in the region, general aviation aircraft, or aircraft that are transiting through the region at high altitudes

·         Red indicates that you have selected a specific aircraft by clicking on it with your computer mouse

·         Yellow aircraft icons represent aircraft operating to or from nearby airports

The size of the airplane icons is the same regardless of which type of aircraft it represents. At closer zoom levels, the size of the plane icon is larger than at wider zoom levels, to make the screen easier to view, and to simulate the effect of a changing “bird’s eye view.”

Specific Flight Information Back to Top

AirportMonitor gives you the following information about certain flights:

• Airline/flight number (for scheduled passenger airlines and some General Aviation flights)
• Aircraft registration number (“N-number”) for General Aviation flights flying under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) (see “General Aviation Flights”)
• Altitude
• Aircraft type
• Airport of origin and destination

Important Notes: Back to Top

• In “current mode,” only altitude and aircraft type are viewable, for security reasons. All other information fields become available for many flights one hour later, in replay mode
• Flights flying under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) will often not have any other identification except General Avaiation.
• Certain other flights deemed to be sensitive for security reasons are filtered out of AirportMonitor completely e.g. Military Operations.

Zoom and PAN  (AirportMonitor 2.0 Gold version only) Back to Top Just to the right of the map you will notice 5 buttons with corresponding zoom settings ranging from 5 miles to 80 miles. In order to change the preset zoom level, just click the button corresponding to the zoom level you desire. Then using the compass (shown on your left) click the direction you desire.  The middle button will bring you back to starting center point. The panning function works for the 5 mile and 10 mile (2 pans in any direction) and the 20 mile (1 pan in any direction). There is no panning for the 40 and 80 mile maps.

                                                Remember: First select the zoom level, then pan.

General Aviation Identification Back to Top

“General Aviation” (GA) is a term that covers both small, private planes as well as corporate jets. One way these are divided is into “VFR” (“Visual Flight Rules,” generally the smaller, private propeller aircraft) and “IFR” (“Instrument Flight Rules,” generally the larger private or corporate jets).

If a GA aircraft is flying “VFR,” it will often be identified by the software as “General Aviation” with altitude; and it will not contain aircraft type, origin or destination (this limited information on some GA aircraft is due to the nature of the data transmitted by their transponders).

If a GA aircraft is flying “IFR”, AirportMonitor will usually have all of the same information fields available as for scheduled airline flights.

Helicopters are usually represented by black helicopter icons, although they may also show as a black airplane icon instead.

“Current” Mode Back to Top

The default view for AirportMonitor is “Current,” which is the actual flight activity around your airport, with a 10-minute delay for security.
When you click on a flight in “current” mode, it will display SOME of that flight’s identification (limited in current mode for security):

·  Aircraft type

·  Altitude

“Pause” Mode Back to Top

When you click on “Pause”, it will pause the display for viewing. You can click on any plane icon while in pause, and it will display the available flight information. Clicking “Restart” will pick up the flight tracking where you left off (to get back to the current time, hit “Current”). Pause and Resume work in both Current and Replay modes.

“Replay” Mode Back to Top

AirportMonitor makes all flights available in “replay mode” and makes them available up to three months for past flight activity to be played back at any time. This makes it easy to review flight activity at your leisure.

Flight numbers become active for a given flight one hour after it has first appeared on AirportMonitor. When you click on a plane in replay mode,  “Airline/Flight number” and “Origin and Destination” airports are added to the other information available in current mode (“aircraft type” and “altitude”).

To operate the replay, use the pull-down menus at the top of the page and enter the corresponding date and time you wish (using the 24-hour clock system), and then press the Start Replay button. To end the replay and return to the 10-minute delay mode press the “Current” button.

“Replay” Mode Speed Back to Top

 In Replay Mode you have the option to choose the speed of the aircraft on your screen. This is useful for "fast-forwarding" to a flight or track of interest without waiting for it to appear in real-time. First choose the date and time of replay; then select the playback speed you desire; then click on "replay".  You can also adjust the speed of playback after you are already in replay mode.

You also have the option to "Pause" in Replay Mode – it works exactly the same way as it does in “Current” mode. (see above)

“Understanding Airline and Aircraft codes Back to Top

The information contained in some of the data fields is encoded to conform to standard FAA contractions (or shorthand). If you wish to decode the information in the Flight ID, Aircraft Type, and Origin and Destination fields please click on the following links:

To decode the AIRCRAFT TYPE click on the following link, which will take you to the FAA’s website: http://www.faa.gov/ATPUBS/CNT/5-2.HTM. Then click on the letter corresponding to the first letter of the aircraft designator code and scroll through the list until you find the aircraft you are looking for.

To decode the AIRLINE in the FLIGHT ID field click on the following link, which will take you to the FAA’s website: http://www.faa.gov/ATPUBS/CNT/3-3.htm. Use “Section 3 by 3-Letter Identifier,” click on the letter corresponding to the first letter of the airline code and scroll through the list until you find the airline you are looking for.  

To decode the ORIGIN and DESTINATION field(s) for foreign airports click on the following link, which will take you to the following website that will allow you to decode this field: http://www.wajb.freeserve.co.uk/codes.htm. Use the appropriate pulldown menu (3 or 4 letter codes) in the airport codes section and scroll down to the code you are looking for.

“A Word about Radar Back to Top

Aircraft tracking radar, and the software that supports it, while highly reliable, is also complex. Sometimes circumstances can interfere with the signal, causing temporary distortions. For example, you will probably notice that an aircraft flying directly over YOUR AIRPORT may temporarily disappear from the screen and then reappear away from the airport. This is due to the aircraft passing directly over the radar antenna and the temporary loss of signal. You may also notice aircraft icons sometimes “dropping off” and/or suddenly doing unusual things. This is especially true in the area immediately around YOUR AIRPORT, but could also occur away from the airport as well. These “ghost” aircraft are due to radar reflections from the high-rise buildings around the airport, and possibly from terrain and meteorological conditions farther away from YOUR AIRPORT.

“System Requirements/Information Back to Top

·  AirportMonitor is designed to run on any computer that supports Java Applets and JavaScript.

·    A reasonable amount of memory is necessary.  A minimum 64 MB of RAM is recommended.

·  AirportMonitor runs best in Netscape or Internet Explorer version 3.0 and higher. JavaScript and Java must be enabled in your browser.

·   AirportMonitor may take some time to load and begin playing, depending on the speed of your communication link and computer processor. The performance of AirportMonitor will be adversely affected by slow or intermittent Internet connections.

·    AirportMonitor is a resource intensive application that is best run without any other applications open at the same time.

·    The optimal screen resolution for viewing this site is 1024 x 768

“Frequently Asked Questions Back to Top

My browser shows only the top banner and a large gray box. Why?

 AirportMonitor is designed to run on any computer that runs Java Applets and JavaScript.  In your Internet Explorer check to make sure that you have Java® enabled.  To check click [Tools] on your menu bar then click [Internet Options]. You will see tabs across the top – click on the [Advanced Tab] and scroll down to make sure that there is a check in the white box next to Java.  If it is not checked please check box and apply.  This will solve your problem.

My browser shows AirportMonitor and does not show airplanes. Why?

There are some browsers and software that prevent pop-ups, which affects the part of the AirportMonitor software that shows the planes.  In order to view AirportMonitor you must disable your pop-up screening software (you will not see any pop-ups while you are viewing AirportMonitor). Once you are finished viewing you can enable your pop-up software again.

If I click on a plane it doesn't turn red. Why?

The "Hot Spot" of each plane is small compared to the size of the plane.  You must be over the center of the plane to highlight it. Try clicking on different spots on the plane until it activates.

I don't see the entire screen.  Can I adjust the size to fit my monitor?

The AirportMonitor application is designed to be optimized at a screen resolution of 1024x768. First make sure you are in that resolution by going to [control panel] in your Windows Start Menu.

If you are using Internet Explorer you can also adjust the way AirportMonitor is displaying by hitting the F11 key (located directly above the backspace key) – that will chage the view to full screen.  Hit the F11 key again to return to normal view. 

I don't see Flight ID, Origin, and Destination for the flight I selected.  Did I do something wrong?

While in "CURRENT Mode" I don't see Flight ID, Origin, and Destination for the flight I selected. Why?

Under “current” mode, security reasons, the Flight ID, Origin and Destination are not displayed.  This information becomes available in "REPLAY Mode," one hour later.  Also if you have selected a flight that is designated as "General Aviation" under the "Aircraft Type" then this aircraft is flying under "Visual Flight Rules" and is not required by the FAA to make this information available.

Are there any other AirportMonitor™ sites available?

There are several operational sites currently available.  You can visit our website at www.passur.com to find the airports that are currently subscribed to AirportMonitor™ and have made it available to the public. Go to the “Links to AirportMonitor Sites” page at http://www.passur.com/sites.htm

When I access my  AirportMonitor™  it runs slowly.  What can I do?

AirportMonitor is data intensive and is best-viewed using broadband or high speed internet access. If you are using a dial-up modem, the site will be slow to load.  AirportMonitor is best run without too many other applications open at the same time.