Interesting email received from FBOWeb

FlightAware General
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Paragraph snipped from email received.

Behind the scenes, we've been quietly re-writing the way fboweb.com processes the FAA data we receive. This new method, in conjunction with a re-design of some of the key features of the site, has allowed us to come up with some amazing new services not found anywhere else!

Here are some of the cool new features available with this special QuickTrack BETA:

Use your mouse to drag a box around an area on the map for complete custom zoom
Running “ATC Log” shows an ongoing list of ATC clearances; see route changes, altitude changes, and more
Integration with LiveATC.net for suggested real-time live audio feeds of ATC frequencies - hear the pilots!
View the entire track or just a portion
Overlay with Google Maps, or use the standard map for weather & terrain
List the 10 most recent flights the aircraft has flown
Uses AJAX “Web 2.0” technologies for a faster experience and a clean, automatically updating display

Sooo, I test drove this website using my tail number as they have opened the beta website to the public.

The good…

I did like one tab that shows the liveatc feed sites I may have flown through. I didn’t realize Louisville had a feed, which was nice to see.

Another tab showed the flight plan and also ATC log, but both were empty, probably because I sit on the ground or it may be a beta issue.

The bad…

My track was prematurely terminated where as here they were fully tracked here. This doesn’t appear to be a beta related issue as the flights were in the past.

You cannot click on past history flights. This may be a beta related issue or something one has to pay for, it wasn’t clear.

The ugly…

The track indicated on the map had my flight from KBWG to 2G2. I have flown since then back home. So, again, maybe beta related since the flights were captured. The ugly part is the track is way off my flight path and was not completed.

None of the features listed in the email worked. This could be because active content is disabled on my work computer, I don’t know.

I probably could go on more on what didn’t work, but the word BETA does come front and center :open_mouth:

Allen

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They never have worked and probably never will either. Before finding this site I used to use (read: pay for) FBOweb’s flight tracking and I must’ve gone through approximately 3 forests-worth of paper writing to them with various support issues - the primary question always being “when are you going to upgrade the 56k dial-up connection that your servers are connected to?”. Just trying the site now I see nothing has changed and you’ve still got time to click a page, go and put the kettle on, let it boil, make a brew and return to the PC before the page you clicked 10 minutes ago has loaded. :unamused:

And the incredible part is that they expect people to pay $24.95 per month for this “(dis)service”. :open_mouth: Unreal.

I’ll never complain about flightaware again! :smiley: :laughing: :laughing:

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In all fairness as I started this thread and I am sharing my experiences, this is not my current experience.

I have had no past experiences to go back on so I won’t dispute your past experiences.

I got an email from the support folks that acknowledge my concerns in this thread. Considering the timing of my post and getting the email response, I did find remarkably quick since I am not a paying customer. I honesty wasn’t expecting anything in a response.

I did provide detailed feedback not germaine to this website, and will see how responsive the site is for their customer feedback. I did see some changes implemented from my post above, so I know I made a small impact in an evolving world.

Again, coming from a non paying customer view working on a Beta site, I cannot dispute your experiences, only share what I have experience. Response time on the Beta site was fine, no delays encountered.

My intent of this thread is NOT to say which website is better, as like everything else in life, certain things have better attributes then a comparable product. My post, I am hoping is to be “unbiased” with my experiences and thoughts and not looking for this thread to degenerate into a bashing competition.

I equate this to weather related websites. For the longest time, Accuweather was a paid subscription site. Then came along weather.com, intellicast.com and weather.gov that provided the very same information for free. Accuweather saw the light, and started providing free products. FBOWeb as I see it would be like Accuweather.

What will be interesting to see, as I did not ask questions regarding future, is that **Flight Aware has set a precedent **where others now want want a bite of the pie, and that is provide a FREE flight tracking website (ad based for revenues) for the aviation enthusiest.

Time will tell…

Allen