There are three main services to track helicopters flying in Melbourne including FlightRadar24, Radar Box, and ADSB Exchange. Let’s take a closer look at each one of these services and systems, and find out how they allow you to track helicopters, and what exactly they allow you to track.
Table of Contents
- FlightRadar24.com
- RadarBox.com
- ADSBExchange.com
- Final Thoughts on Tracking Helicopter Flights in Melbourne
FlightRadar24.com
The first way to track helicopters flying in the Melbourne area is to use Flightradar24.com. This is a flight tracking service that operates around the globe, and it can provide you with information about thousands of aircrafts and their routes from around the world.
FlightRadar24.com utilises data from air traffic control to provide real-time tracking of aircraft, including helicopters.
This is a service available to everyone to use and is often used by the general public to monitor flights, by professionals, and by aviation enthusiasts. It’s also often used to monitor helicopter operations.
The fact that it features both web-based platforms and mobile applications makes it easily accessible for virtually anybody.
Main Features and Flight Details
Let’s take a look at some of the main features that FlightRadar24.com comes with.
- FlightRadar24 provides you with real-time data on aircraft movement and flight status, including helicopters. This data is updated every few seconds. On an interactive map, users can view the aircraft’s current speed, position, altitude, and more.
- Thanks to the 20,000+ ADS-B receivers, air navigation service provider data, and satellites, FlightRadar24 is able to provide comprehensive coverage of fixed wing and Rotary aircraft flights, even in the most remote of areas.
- What many people enjoy about this service is that it allows users to access very detailed information about each flight, including high-resolution photos of the actual aircraft, registration, route, estimated time of arrival, and the type of aircraft.
- The fact that this service comes with an interactive map so you can see live movements, and where you can filter aircraft in their paths by various criteria, makes FlightRadar24.com one of the most widely used services. The interactive map also offers a 3D feature that allows for a much more immersive experience.
- Users can also access detailed weather conditions at various airports, enhancing the overall tracking experience.
- What you may also appreciate is being able to set up custom alerts for specific routes, aircraft, and flights, and these notifications can come to you via SMS or e-mail.
How It Works
The primary way in which FlightRadar24.com is able to provide such detailed and accurate information is through the use of a combination of 20,000+ ADS-B receivers, an extensive network of satellites for areas that do not have this coverage, as well as data from air navigation service providers. Aircraft equipped with ADS-B transponders transmit positional data, which is received by a global network of ground stations and satellites. In areas that are not suitable for other types of coverage, MLAT or multilateration may be used.
Tracking Helicopters with FlightRadar24.com
This is one of the best services that you can use for tracking helicopter flights. Using FlightRadar24.com, you can track a variety of helicopter flights including emergency services, VIP and corporate flights, tour flights, scenic flights, and even filming and media flights.
RadarBox.com
RadarBox.com, officially known as AirNav RadarBox, is a flight tracking company that provides you with flight information and aircraft information in a real time scenario on a map. It provides users with a myriad of flight data, such as speeds, headings, altitudes, flight numbers, destinations, aircraft types, and more.
RadarBox.com provides users with comprehensive flight details, including routes, estimated time of arrival, actual departure time, aircraft type, speed, and altitude. The R&D center is located in Europe, although the company is based in Tampa, Florida. Data is taken from 14 different sources to provide accurate readings.
Main Features
There are several main features of RadarBox worth looking into.
- RadarBox.com provides widespread coverage of flights and aircraft, including 80% of US airspace and 80% of European airspace. Over the last several years, Australia has also seen significant coverage increases from this system.
- Tracking flights is made easy using a simple map where you can see all of the information required, including speed, flight's altitude, flight data, and so much more. This map is updated every few seconds, and it provides you information such as speed, altitude, flight data, and so much more.
- Each flight card provides you with detailed aircraft details, including the flight number, registration, origin, destination, altitude, latitude, longitude, ground speed, vertical speed, squawk, data source, route, and cockpit view.
- What many people appreciate about this service is that there is a customisation bar that allows users to choose from different maps, choose filters for flights, and even listen to live ATC radio. Simply apply the filters you want, and all of the corresponding flights will be shown to you.
- This system also comes with a so-called airport view, which provides you with information about inbound and outbound flights. There is also a fleet tracker view that allows aircraft fleet owners to track their aircraft fleet using a dedicated page.
How it Works with Air Traffic Control
RadarBox works in much the same way as FlightRadar. RadarBox.com uses data from air traffic management systems to compile real-time and accurate information about the flights and flight paths of various aerial vehicles. It uses a combination of ADS-B technology, satellite based tracking, multilateration, and air navigation service providers to compile real time and accurate information about the flights and flight paths of various aerial vehicles, such as fixed wing aircraft and helicopters.
Tracking Helicopters with RadarBox.com
Tracking flights using RadarBox it's very simple, because there is both a web-based platform as well as applications for both iOS and Android. All you have to do is enter details into the customisation bar, choose the filters you want, and enter either the flight number or simply click on an aircraft on the screen to see valuable information about it.
ADSBExchange.com
ADS-B Exchange was started in 2016 by a dedicated IT professional and aviation enthusiast, Dan Streufert. It uses crowdsourced data and the radio signals transmitted from aircraft provide you with real time insights about both fixed wing and rotary aircraft.
ADSBExchange.com also allows users to access historical data and watch playback of past flights, providing a comprehensive view of flight activity.
What stands out about this website is that it is a collaborative community of people who host signal receivers in their local areas, which capture the radio waves that come from nearby aircraft. This data is then transmitted to the ADS-B Exchange which aggregates it and displays it using an interactive global map.
Generally speaking, we’ve been able to track more aircraft than FlightRadar24 and RadarBox, as ADS-B exchange tends to also display aircraft that have their details withheld, so you get a more complete picture of who’s flying in your local airspace.
Main Features
ADS-B Exchange has some notable features worth talking about.
- ADS-B Exchange features fairly comprehensive coverage of flights in North America and Europe, India, Southeast Asia, and on the western and eastern coasts of Australia.
- All information is displayed on an interactive and live map that provides you with real time flight data on various aircraft in a given area.
- The interactive map also displays the pathways flights follow, providing users with detailed visual representations of flight trajectories.
- The system is currently able to track over 15,000 aircraft at any given time.
- Users can set a number of filters to view specific aircraft. Filters include call sign, altitude range, squawk type, and type description. Using various codes, users can easily search for specific aircraft, such as helicopters.
- Users can tap on an airport icon to access comprehensive information related to flights and airport operations.
How it Works and Flight History
As the name implies, ADS-B Exchange relies solely on the ADS-B technology that aircraft use to broadcast information, such as velocity, altitude, and current position. Aircraft equipped with ADS-B transponders transmit positional data, which is received by a global network of ground stations and satellites.
This information travels on radio waves, and all that is needed is the onboard GPS navigation systems on the aircraft. The data that is broadcasted by the aircraft can then be received by ADS-B receivers.
ADS-B features a wide collection of receivers that are owned by aviation enthusiasts, institutions, and individuals alike. Information is then aggregated and displayed on a live map.
Tracking Helicopters Using ADS-B Exchange
Tracking helicopters using ADS-B Exchange is easy. All you have to do is to use the web application or the mobile applications, click on one of the aircraft on the screen or enter the call sign or aircraft type, And you'll be provided with specific information.
Final Thoughts on the Best Flight Tracking Experience in Melbourne
Tracking helicopter flights in Melbourne is easy with any of the three applications that we’ve discussed above, which offer all the above features to provide accurate and comprehensive flight information. They’re all super easy to use, they provide you with accurate information, and they should be able to provide you with direct visibility to all helicopter flights taking place in and around Melbourne.
