Daniel Hruska Whenever I look in the App Store in the paid apps section to see if there are any on sale, I see Flightradar24 Pro in the first places. I've been using Flightradar24 since I bought my first iPhone and it's a must-have. We are first review they brought already in 2010, but over the years the application has undergone significant changes.
Like any other boy, I was interested in technology - cars, trains, planes... but you know it. In addition, we had an ordinary binocular at home, which I used to watch the planes. I still like technology, but more so the electronic one. And it was thanks to her that I was able to return to watching planes again. Back then, I didn't have a smartphone, or even a computer, and no internet at all. Where the plane was going I could only guess, as well as its type. From a layman's point of view, I was only able to recognize a Boeing 747 thanks to its four engines and specific shape, nothing more. All other secrets and other details can be shown by Flightradar24.
The basic purpose of the application is simple – you click on the plane on the map and detailed flight information such as speed, altitude, type of aircraft, flight number, airline, departure and destination destinations and flight time data will be displayed. After displaying all the details (+ button), a photo of the given aircraft in the colors of the given company will also be shown (if the photo is available). In addition, information such as direction, latitude and longitude, vertical speed or SQUAWK (secondary radar transponder code) will be added. If the plane is taking off, the plane symbol at the departure airport flashes. The same is true for the landing phase. Sometimes it is possible that some information is missing (see screenshots below).
If you click on the plane, a blue line will also appear showing the recorded flight path. The line in front of the plane is then the expected route to the destination, which can change according to needs during the flight. The connector button in the lower left corner is used to display the entire route. The map zooms out so that it can be seen just in one piece. This comes in handy when we need to clarify the relative location of the two airports in question on a smaller scale.
If it seems to you that there are many planes on the map at one time, Flightradar24 has filters. There are five in total, namely airlines, aircraft type, altitude, take-off/landing and speed. These filters can be combined, so it is not a problem to display only Czech Airlines Airbus A320s, for example. Or if you want to see where the new Boeing 787s ("B78" filter) or the giant Airbus A380 ("A38" filter) are currently flying. For some reason filtering by "B787" or "A380" doesn't work. I guarantee you that with Flightradar24 you can win for tens of minutes, if not for hours. You can use the magnifying glass in the upper right corner for a quick search without using a filter.
When you tap on the plane, a 3D button will appear in addition to the above. Thanks to it, you switch to the cockpit of an airplane and you can see what the pilots can see. However, this view has its flaws. When viewing satellite images, the horizon and the surface of the Earth can be seen nicely, but it is very out of focus and looks like a greenish-brown jumble of spots. When displaying the standard map, the horizon is not visible and the view is directed downwards. Interesting feature though, why not.
I like the different function all the more. You could say that I consider her to be one of the most important. There is an unobtrusive AR button in the top bar. The term "augmented reality" is hidden under this abbreviation. This is what makes today's smartphones such great devices. The camera starts up and you can drive your iPhone anywhere in the sky, search for planes and immediately see their basic information. In the settings, you can select the distance (10-100 km) to which the planes will be displayed. As you can see from the screenshot, you cannot always expect the description of the aircraft in its exact position. However, the closer the aircraft is to you, the more accurately it will be located.
not on SQUAWK 7600 (loss or failure of communication) or 7700 (emergency). If you turn on notifications and an aircraft starts broadcasting these two codes, a notification will appear on the iOS device's display. To notify other SQUAWKs, this functionality must be purchased via in-app purchases. Other additional purchases include arrival boards and model airplanes. I highly recommend the latter, as instead of a single plane outline, you get twenty real model planes. You can immediately distinguish, for example, a B747 or an A380 from other aircraft.
The last feature I will mention is the ability to bookmark any area. This makes navigation easier if you often follow specific areas, cities or airports directly. In the settings, you can turn on the display of airports on the map, select aircraft labels and other details. We Czech and Slovak users will appreciate the option to switch to the metric system of units, because they are clearer for us and we do not have to recalculate them.
I have to say for myself that Flightradar24 Pro definitely belongs to the must-have applications. In addition, the application is universal, so we can also enjoy it on our iPads.
[app url=”https://itunes.apple.com/cz/app/flightradar24-pro/id382069612?mt=8”]
Great app, just a shame about the map backgrounds, the 3D mode on google maps (android) :( it's fantastic.
It's an addictive app :-) but what I miss is better information about the TTD of the given aircraft or type. In the link to the aircraft, only how many and which engines it has, or the configuration number, will appear. It would be very "nice" to have an extension of dimensions, weights, ranges, etc.