How to find a plane without a flight plan

[iggy]

You could try posting your question at one of these forums:

airlinepilotforums.com

beechtalk.com

pilotsofamerica.com

x-pilot.com

[dworhach]

Have you heard of FlightAware? See below.
D--


Tracking a private plane is not always possible. Not all private flights even have flight plans. However, there are some private flights that can be tracked using a website called FlightAware. In order to track a flight, you will need the tail number of the aircraft. It must be flying within the United States, and it must be on an IFR flight plan.

Read more: How to Track a Private Plane | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4541420_trac...#ixzz1qRrr3i5Z

[emily blake]

Thanks for the suggestions so far, guys. Nothing's the perfect answer, but I can toy around with the ideas. I'll keep thinking about these suggestions.

dworhach, I have heard of Flight Tracker, but this is a flight with no flight plan, so that would not work.

Basically the premise is, there's something on that plane our protagonist desperately needs to get back, something others are trying desperately to keep from him. All he knows is the number on the tail.

Thanks for the links, iggy. I'll check them out.

[Mr Scribble]

Seeing as this is hollywood and all...

Satellite tracking

Commandeer a really powerful telescope and watch it all the way

Get truckers to spot the plane along the way and call it in over the CB network

Follow it from the ground in a really fast car / off-road buggy / speed boat?

Chase it with another plane

Post a message on internet message board (preferably DDP) asking members to stand outside and report any sighting of the plane

Report it to Homeland Security as a potential suicide bomber

Work out how much fuel it has and draw a circle on a map to show the area it must be within and then just get lucky (hey, it works in other movies)

A leaking can of paint in the plane leaves a trail of easy-to-follow bright red blotches across the landscape

Just sit there and confidently proclaim "he'll be back" and sure enough, the plane returns

It was all a dream while the protag was asleep, the plane is actually still on the runway

Visit a fortune teller and simply ask where the plane is

Call the pilot via radio and ask him where he's going

A homing pigeon with a GPS strapped to it's back sneaks aboard just prior to take off.... ahh, now I'm just getting silly...

[ChadStrohl]

Sneak a cell phone on the plane and track IT.

[asjah8]

could he just ask someone? kinda simplistic but i'm thinking that many small plane airports (even private ones occasionally handle flightseeing touristy stuff) have a reception area in the main hangar. basically, a girl at a counter with a computer screen.

[wcmartell]

Do light planes have transponder gizmos? Though, bad guys who don't file flight plans would remove it.

I love all of Mr. Scribble's suggestions - especially "He'll be back."

He left off firing a tracker with a suction cup onto the speeding plane with an air rifle.

But part of drawing that big circle on the map is that your protag sees which direction the plane is flying to... and that can be a major clue whether you use sat photos or trucker CBs.

If this were me - I'd get in my car and try to follow the plane, knowing it's impossible... but that gives you a start with the truckers, right?

- Bill

[Southern_land]

become friendly with an anorak wearing plane spotter and his friends (or at least his web account) and enter of a world of mental pain brought to you who care passionately about things that you don't

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_spotting

http://www.popularmechanics.com/tech...n/news/4261265

http://www.planespotters.net/

http://www.helloflight.com/tools/pla...ius_search.cfm

[Fortean]

Originally Posted by ATB

But with so many flights in progress at any given time, don't they need to be, for lack of a better word... choreographed?

Each pilot needs to know what altitude he should be at and what path to take so that no two flight paths tragically meet.

So how do they take into account the unregistered private flights? Isn't there some protocol to make sure private flight paths and commercial flight paths don't intersect?

Air Traffic Control does that job, but many private aircraft fly under Visual Flight Rules at lower altitudes without transponders.

I'd suggest that, if the private air strip is not looked after by a Flight Service Specialist, (the title in Canada for ATC staff at small airports), I'd have two suggestions. The aircraft needs fuel and possibly bought some. Whoever sold that fuel or fueled the aircraft might have learned where it was going. Also, pilots like to know what weather they'll be flying into. Did the pilot ask about the weather in a particular direction? He might have contacted a nearby airport, or his destination, to find out the weather conditions along his intended route and destination.

Less likely, yet another possible clue for the protag would be the altitude that the aircraft is flying. An incoming flight might also notice this. Aircraft flying in an easterly direction use different altitudes than those flying in a westerly direction. An incoming flight might notice the altitude or general heading of the departing flight.

VFR Pilots flying on a magnetic course (track) of 0 degrees through 179 degrees should fly any odd thousand foot MSL (Mean Sea Level) altitude plus 500 feet. Example VFR Cruising altitudes would be 3,500 feet, 5,500 feet, 7,500 feet etc.

VFR Pilots flying on a magnetic course (track) of 180 degrees through 359 degrees should fly any even thousand foot MSL altitude plus 500 feet. Example VFR Cruising altitudes would be 4,500 feet, 6,500 feet, 8,500 feet etc.

[emily blake]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. This helped. I have something I will try for now, although I am always open to the perfect idea if it comes along.