New User - Very Basic Question

So, I look up in the sky and there is a 4-engine aircraft well above 30,000 ft. making this beautiful crisp contrail.

I live near a major airport (LAX) but it was obviously overflying SoCal and heading somewhere else.

So, I go to FlightAware thinking I could zoom in on SoCal and look for any high-altitude 4-engine jets moving in that general direction.

And I’m presented with these options:

  1. don’t zoom at all.
  2. zoom in on LAX traffic, but only get arrivals & departures for LAX, not overflights.
  3. try and find the flight by selecting its aircraft-type (747 or 340, I presume).

The question is - is there a way zoom in on a specific area of the U.S. (like right over my own house) and see all traffic overhead - even if I don’t know the origin/destination or the a/c type?

Be kind … I am a n00b. I’ve been on FlightAware for exactly 22 minutes - ever.

KvnDiam

Best thing to do is puruse the questions/answers link at the top right. That will answer many of your questions.

You may also wish to look through the forum postings.

Zoomable maps are in the works.

On local LAX map, blue airplane icons are arr/dep. Green icons are planes overflying your specific area. You should also click on the map on the top right of the initial LAX screen. This will open up a new window an you may better find the plane you are looking for.

If there is a lot of local traffic, FA will not display all plane identifiers ( eg. ACA28 A340 / 350 560. Let the screen refresh a few times an you will see your flight as long as it is not blocked or military.

Hope this helps a little.

…and as Dami said.

Indeed it does help. Thank you!

Also try looking up the nearby airports. Sometimes I can find a plane 100nm from me on my map but not on the map for the airport right under the plane.

Here are some sites that may be of interest to you;

LAX Live Tracking and Home Page ,

Live ATC site,

Flight Info , very complex site, click thru the links at top for more info.

But, hey, congratulations.

You got Damirossed only 27 minutes in.

AND - I thought you were Brad Pitt (nice pic)!!! :stuck_out_tongue: