I was just wondering if there is a way to track medical flights? I am a firefighter/EMT and would like to be able to track them.
Also is there a way to track helicopters in general?
Any help would be great I am new to this so I am still learning
I was just wondering if there is a way to track medical flights? I am a firefighter/EMT and would like to be able to track them.
Also is there a way to track helicopters in general?
Any help would be great I am new to this so I am still learning
Short answer, no. Flight Aware primarily tracks aircraft based on their filed Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flight plans. However almost all helicopter operations are flown as Visual Flight Rule (VFR) flights and wouldn’t normally generate an FAA IFR flight plan or other information available for tracking.
You can track local MedEvac flights by using a scanner if you know the radio frequencies used by them. Many times each local emergency facility will have a designated frequency for their air ops, e.g. Chester-Crozer will have a different frequency than HUP, etc.
No, not normally.
Questions are a good way to learn and are welcome. Also, you might want to read the Questions/Answers available on the Live Tracking page.
For lifeguard and other medical flights, go to the Special Flights. Some helicopter flights may be listed here but, has JHEM says, they mainly file VFR so they wouldn’t show up.
What JHEM and Dami said… and sometimes in busy airspace the controller will apply a label to a vfr helicopter’s track. This is more the exception.
Once in a great while, you might see a helicopter on a long trip away from its local area where they might file IFR, however, it is indeed rare.
Example: N406MA had to punch through the marine layer on their way to the desert, then cancelled IFR once they were clear of the mountains. That was back in July, which appears to be the last time that one flew IFR. However, they probably go up 3 or 4 times a day on average.
Thanks for the Info. It makes sense now