The Random thought thread

[Marty_d]

You do know where the G string goes, don't you OME?

[facthunter]

Yer a Bunch of crusty old Pervs.  Nev

[Marty_d]

Just trying to help the man.  As Peter said - if it gave him a black eye, he's not wearing it right.

[old man emu]

Who said that it was me wearing it?

[red750]

My daughter went to the first day of the F1 GP weekend yesterday. Was initially turned away although she had bought her tickets months ago. The reason? The zoom on her camera is 125x, equivalent to 3000mm. Maximum allowed is 30x. She was directed to another security area where she was waved through. 

 

[onetrack]

We were woken at 1:30AM this morning by a huge heavy aircraft directly overhead, making a vast amount of noise. We're not on a regular RPT aircraft flight path, and only occasionally get a twin piston aircraft overhead, mostly doing training, I'd say. Occasionally, someones private Hawker-Siddeley jet with its screaming little engines will fly overhead on descent into Perth - but that's usually in the early evening. I think it might be Gina's or Twiggy Forrests bizjet.

 

But this flight this morning was a very big aircraft and exceptionally low, and I'm really surprised it was allowed to follow the flight path it did, and so low, at that time of morning. I have no idea what it was, maybe an extraordinary flight for an aircraft leaving the Middle East mess at an odd time, outside normal flight times.

 

I regularly used to watch the Emirates A380 arrive just on sundown every day, over the Northern suburbs, as I came down the highway from the North. It would come in from the West, do a 90° RH bank and fly a direct line to the airport, landing from the N. It would do that like clockwork, but since Iran was bombed, I haven't sighted it since.

 

Edited 19 hours ago by onetrack

[facthunter]

The other runway is too short unless the wind is quite strong  from the appropriate direction.. Nev

[Marty_d]

8 hours ago, onetrack said:

We were woken at 1:30AM this morning by a huge heavy aircraft directly overhead, making a vast amount of noise. We're not on a regular RPT aircraft flight path, and only occasionally get a twin piston aircraft overhead, mostly doing training, I'd say. Occasionally, someones private Hawker-Siddeley jet with its screaming little engines will fly overhead on descent into Perth - but that's usually in the early evening. I think it might be Gina's or Twiggy Forrests bizjet.

 

But this flight this morning was a very big aircraft and exceptionally low, and I'm really surprised it was allowed to follow the flight path it did, and so low, at that time of morning. I have no idea what it was, maybe an extraordinary flight for an aircraft leaving the Middle East mess at an odd time, outside normal flight times.

 

I regularly used to watch the Emirates A380 arrive just on sundown every day, over the Northern suburbs, as I came down the highway from the North. It would come in from the West, do a 90° RH bank and fly a direct line to the airport, landing from the N. It would do that like clockwork, but since Iran was bombed, I haven't sighted it since.

 

FlightRadar24 is your friend.

[rgmwa]

Looks a like a Malaysian Airlines A330 coming in from the west and looping around to the north before landing. 

[onetrack]

Yeah, Marty - but FR24 wants money out of me on a regular basis, just to see what flew overhead. Plus, they hate my adblocker and won't let me see very much at all.

[octave]

Flight Radar 24 is free to use. There is a paid version but I use the free version.

[onetrack]

FR24 tells me I have to register to get free use, for just 7 days, then I have to pay a regular monthly fee??

[rgmwa]

I use the free version which I've had on my phone for years. 

[octave]

6 minutes ago, onetrack said:

FR24 tells me I have to register to get free use, for just 7 days, then I have to pay a regular monthly fee??

Definitely free with no need to register or pay. You can upgrade to the paid version for more features but I have never thought it necessary.  I used to do a bit of aircraft photography near Melbourne airport. Radar 24 is great to see what is coming in. For following a specific aircraft there is another app called Flight Aware also free.

[onetrack]

I can't even register for a free account on the site. I click the "register an account" button and nothing happens - even though I turned my ad blocker off and refreshed the page.

 

I can only register for a "free 7 day trial" involving a subscription. It looks like you guys got in on the ground floor - I get the FR24 concierge who tells me I can't get in, unless I pay!

 

Is it something to do with my looks, or something I said about them somewhere on social media?? Is the TCA running FR24, and checking my Social Australia postings as I type??? 🥹

[rgmwa]

This is what AI said when I asked if the free version was time-limited:

Yes, the free version of Flightradar24 is time-limited. Specifically, the website times out after 30 minutes of continuous use. Additionally, free users are limited to 7 days of historical flight data and only 3 sessions in the 3D view, along with having advertisements displayed throughout the app and website. 

Flightradar24 +1

Key limitations for the free tier include:

• Session Timeout: Website sessions time out after 30 minutes.
• Historical Data: Limited to 7 days of past flight data.
• 3D View: Restricted to 3 sessions.
• Functionality: Ads are present, and access to advanced features like weather layers, ATC boundaries, and detailed airport data is restricted.
• Usage: The free version is intended for personal use only. 
  Flightradar24 +1

To remove these restrictions, users can upgrade to a Silver, Gold, or Business subscription. 

Flightradar24

[onetrack]

But the site hates me! I can't even register! And it continues to warn me in big overlays, that I'm using an ad-blocker - when I've already turned it off!! Even when I try to go to just www.flightradar.com as the URL, it redirects me to FR24 lodged on Perth airport in the URL.

[octave]

5 minutes ago, onetrack said:

I can't even register!

I am not sure why you are trying to register. It is free to use and does not require registration unless you want the paid version. 

[rgmwa]

This is from the website. It doesn't like an Adblocker for the free version, but it is free. The 7 day trial is for the paid versions which makes sense.. 

Edited 8 hours ago by rgmwa

[onetrack]

But no flight tracking website give you historical data without you paying for it, anyway? So it's a waste of time trying to find out what flew overhead last night, as I'd still have to pay, to acquire the info.

 

I can see flights moving on the site, but it's only current information. If I click off the ad-blocker warning overlay, the site defaults to the paid subscription page that rgmwa just gave a screenshot of.

 

Edited 8 hours ago by onetrack

[octave]

If you close the ad I think it takes you to the subscription page. I suspect this is what is happening. The free version is sponsored by an ad. 

 

Here is how I use this app

 

 

[rgmwa]

The free version only limits historical data retrieval to 7 days, which is pretty reasonable. I have an adblocker on the PC so I only use FR24 on my phone.

Edited 8 hours ago by rgmwa

[octave]

6 minutes ago, onetrack said:

I can see flights moving on the site, but it's only current information.

FlightAware allows you to search for past flights for free

[onetrack]

I can't see where to acquire that free search for past flights on FlightAware. I can only find a button that says "buy data" (for big $$$).

 

[octave]

This was my last flight from Adelaide to Melbourne