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Flight Tracker
Welcome to San Diego International Airport 's aircraft flight tracking system, AirportMonitor™. This system allows you to follow the movement of flights within the San Diego region.
If this is your first time using the flight tracker, we recommend that you first read the material on this page to familiarize yourself with how it works. If you choose to bypass this page, you can always return to this page by clicking the "Help" button on the AirportMonitor screen.
Note: Please review the minimum computer system requirements necessary for product operation found at the end of this document.
Using AirportMonitor
AirportMonitor shows the flight tracks of aircraft arriving and departing to and from SDIA, and from other airports throughout the region. It also shows aircraft transiting through our airspace. Note: All military flights are excluded due to security reasons post September 11, 2001.
- Green aircraft icons represent departures from SDIA
- Blue aircraft icons represent arrivals to SDIA
- 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 to view information about a specific aircraft by clicking on it with your computer mouse
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.”
 ZOOM and PAN
Just to the right of the map you will notice 5 buttons with corresponding settings ranging from 5 miles to 85 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 at 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 settings (2 pans in any direction) and the 21 mile setting (1 pan in any direction). There is no panning for the 42 and 85 mile maps.
Remember: First select the zoom level, then pan.
General Aviation Identification
“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 a radio frequency code “1200” with altitude; and it will not contain aircraft type, origin or destination (this limited information on some GA aircraft is due to the way flight plans are filed).
If a GA aircraft is flying “IFR”, AirportMonitor will usually have all of the same information fields available as depicted 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
The default view for AirportMonitor is “Current,” which displays the near
real time flight activity around San Diego International 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
• Internal track ID (this is an ID code you can use to identify a plane to San Diego International Airport before its full identification is made available one hour later)
“Pause” Mode
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, click “Current”). Pause and Resume work in both Current and Replay modes.
 “My Home Locator”
AirportMonitor allows you to view aircraft flight paths in relation to an address (such as your home).
Enter an address, separated by comas, and click on “Locate”.
For example, 3413 Browning Street , San Diego , CA , 92107 . The map view will zoom to the closest range to locate your home. If you can not see the airport, zoom out by selecting a greater range and you will be able to view both the “My Home Locator” icon and the airport.
Use the “Clear” button to remove the “My Home Locator” icon.
Help Tip: If your address does not appear, enter a nearby address.
“Replay Mode”
AirportMonitor makes all flight available for up to three months in the past in “replay mode” 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 first appears 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 bar. To end the replay and return to the 10-minute delay mode press the “Current” bar.
“Replay Mode Speed”
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 of interest without waiting for it to appear normally.
First choose the date and time of replay; then select the replay speed you desire; then click on "Start 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)
- Using Replay Speed (fast forward) in replay mode lets you choose faster replay speeds to view the flight you want more quickly
Understanding Airline and Aircraft codes
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:
- Aircraft
Type
- Airline
Code
- Airport
Identifier
A Word about Radar
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. You may also notice aircraft icons sometimes “dropping off” and/or suddenly doing unusual things. These “ghost” aircraft are due to radar waves being reflected from other objects, and possibly from terrain and meteorological conditions.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS/INFORMATION
• 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
LIABILITY STATEMENT
THIS WEB PAGE AND THE FLIGHT TRACKING INFORMATION IS A PUBLIC RESOURCE OF GENERAL INFORMATION. THE USE OF THIS SITE IS FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES ONLY. SDCRAA MAKES NO WARRANTY, REPRESENTATION OR GUARANTEE AS TO THE CONTENT, SEQUENCE, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY OF THE DATABASE INFORMATION PROVIDED HEREIN. THE USER OF THIS SITE SHOULD NOT RELY ON THE DATA PROVIDED HEREIN FOR ANY REASON. SDCRAA EXPLICITLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. SDCRAA SHALL ASSUME NO LIABILITY FOR:
• ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR INACCURACIES IN THE INFORMATION PROVIDED REGARDLESS OF HOW CAUSED; OR
• ANY DECISION MADE OR ACTION TAKEN OR NOT TAKEN BY THE USER OF THIS SITE IN RELIANCE UPON THE INFORMATION OR DATA FURNISHED
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