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:
don’t zoom at all.
zoom in on LAX traffic, but only get arrivals & departures for LAX, not overflights.
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.
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.
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.