Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

1 Answers

Tracking a plane – non aviators

Asked by: 5244 views General Aviation, Private Pilot

I traveled 180nm to visit my parents (uneventfully since I was with my CFII) But the question came up, what would I (my parents) do if you didn't show up? I asked my husband a Instrument rated and he said he'd try my cell phone first (obviously) and then would call flight services.  What sort of information should I give to someone if I'm traveling to them?  

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

1 Answers



  1. Paul Tocknell on Nov 19, 2010

    Have you ever tried Flight Aware?  

    http://www.flightaware.com

    You can use this site to track both airline flights and specific tail numbers of general aviation aircraft.  My wife was able to use it at my former employer to track when I landed and made it to my destination safely.   All she had to do was put in my tail number.  You could give your parents that site and your N-number.  Although it works better with flights that have filed IFR flight plans, it will even sometimes track VFR flights if you are receiving flight following and are squawking a unique beacon code (something other than 1200).

    Another popular product is SPOT – Satellite Personal Tracker:

    http://www.mypilotstore.com/mypilotstore/sep/6636

    This line of products is designed EXACTLY for what you require and works for any flight – IFR / VFR as long as you are carrying your SPOT GPS receiver on board.  They have loads of features that will notify your love ones via email or SMS when you’ve landed.  I haven’t used it, but I know lots of pilots who have and like the peace of mind that comes with it.  You can read more features about the SPOT Satellite Personal Tracker here at MyPilotStore.com: http://www.mypilotstore.com/mypilotstore/sep/6636

    +4 Votes Thumb up 4 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.