Live Flight Tracking

Does this guy get to have a lot more fun than most buzzing my house or does he get dizzy and bored? I wonder if he pretends he's zeroing in on a target even though he actually is.

Looks like fun to me!

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/NVC1 ... /CYYJ/CYYJ

So what is actually going on in the plane and on the ground besides the general definition of calibration and checks?

Maybe he can get a side gig as a crop duster...

These are flights testing and calibrating navaids. I was a passenger on an FAA calibration flight many years ago. It is definitely hard work for the pilots because they have to be very precise when flying approaches.

Um no offense but I'm pretty damn precise on every approach I fly also

I'm not doubting that. I'm pretty sure most pilots try to be very precise on every approach. What I'm saying is that if you are off by a few feet it's not big deal. If the calibrating aircraft is off by a few feet it is a big deal. And most of your approaches are to a definite landing while the calibrating aircraft flies most approaches and then continue flying without touching down.

LOL Am I about to get covered in pilot piss?


It seems that this jet or others like it do this a couple of times a year at yvr. This time it was over two days.

Do the pilots have special instrumentation to maintain that precision? Are they testing several systems and what would they be?

Is there a main brand name that is the defacto standard for the airport side instrumentation used at most airports? (The marine navigator in me is curious.)

What kind of special instrumentation are they carrying on the plane and whats going on at the tower or elsewhere on ground?

Check http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/flight_i ... nspection/ for how the FAA does it.