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Genuinely asking - what's the good reason why flying private aircraft is public info? I believe it's only public by technological accident. A hunter taking his

Genuinely asking - what's the good reason why flying private aircraft is public info? I believe it's only public by technological accident. A hunter taking his Super Cub out in Alaska, for example, won't have his information available to anyone except people who see the plane if it's not equipped with ADS-B out, and very possibly not even then if he doesn't fly in range of a ground station.

vkou 3y ago
If she flies her plane on the Moon (chortle), or some other place without any tracking infrastructure, her plane's location won't be available to anyone, either. Unfortunately for her, she wants to have her plane flown in areas with infrastructure, and congested airspace, where its location and identification needs to be known to everyone for safety reasons. Likewise, she's free to buy a superyacht, and sail it out in the middle of nowhere with her transpounders off, but she can't be pissed if someone starts tracking every time that that yacht causes tens of thousands of cars to stop because the folding bridge on SR-520 has to be raised[1] to let it through... [1] Thankfully, since the bridge was rebuilt with more clearance, this is no longer an issue. But in the years prior, I had absolutely zero sympathy for any of the rich pricks that would stop the movement of tens of thousands of people because they wanted to sail their yacht around the lake. If someone kept a website with a high score of who was the most disruptive Seattle millionaire when it came to that, I'd have been delighted.
- wolverine876 3y ago
  > its location and identification needs to be known to everyone for safety reasons. How do identification of the plane and/or of its owner contribute to safety?
  - vkou 3y ago
    The owner's not identified, the plane is, so that ATC (or, in the case of an incredibly unusual emergency, another plane) knows who to call. She can always operate her plane in VFR mode in airspace where (because of fewer safety concerns for those modes of operation) a transponder doesn't need to be turned on. Airspace is a 'public' space, but it's public space that requires very clear tracking of objects occupying it, because of high risks to human life. It requires permission, and following very particular rules and notification for entering it. Flying is not like taking a stroll down to the corner store. Notice that driving also requires you to broadcast your vehicle's identification, in the form of a license plate. But because the safety concerns in play are different, it's only broadcast in the visible spectrum.
    - univacky 3y ago
      That's not true for many, many planes, and there are very many private planes that are not jets and the owners are not rich. Thousands and thousands are homebuilts. Go to https://www.faa.gov https://www.faa.gov, and on the front page there's a place to enter an airplane registration number and get, along with other info, the name and address of the owner. The vast majority of airspace does not "require very clear tracking of objects", and is less controlled than a highway. It does not require particular permission besides following the "rules of the road", and is free to use with nobody knowing you're there. I must assume you are referring to airspace which is either around busy airports (cities) or very high (airliner territory) - Class A/B/C/D airspaces.

vkou 3y ago

If she flies her plane on the Moon (chortle), or some other place without any tracking infrastructure, her plane's location won't be available to anyone, either. Unfortunately for her, she wants to have her plane flown in areas with infrastructure, and congested airspace, where its location and identification needs to be known to everyone for safety reasons. Likewise, she's free to buy a superyacht, and sail it out in the middle of nowhere with her transpounders off, but she can't be pissed if someone starts tracking every time that that yacht causes tens of thousands of cars to stop because the folding bridge on SR-520 has to be raised[1] to let it through... [1] Thankfully, since the bridge was rebuilt with more clearance, this is no longer an issue. But in the years prior, I had absolutely zero sympathy for any of the rich pricks that would stop the movement of tens of thousands of people because they wanted to sail their yacht around the lake. If someone kept a website with a high score of who was the most disruptive Seattle millionaire when it came to that, I'd have been delighted.

wolverine876 3y ago
> its location and identification needs to be known to everyone for safety reasons. How do identification of the plane and/or of its owner contribute to safety?
- vkou 3y ago
  The owner's not identified, the plane is, so that ATC (or, in the case of an incredibly unusual emergency, another plane) knows who to call. She can always operate her plane in VFR mode in airspace where (because of fewer safety concerns for those modes of operation) a transponder doesn't need to be turned on. Airspace is a 'public' space, but it's public space that requires very clear tracking of objects occupying it, because of high risks to human life. It requires permission, and following very particular rules and notification for entering it. Flying is not like taking a stroll down to the corner store. Notice that driving also requires you to broadcast your vehicle's identification, in the form of a license plate. But because the safety concerns in play are different, it's only broadcast in the visible spectrum.
  - univacky 3y ago
    That's not true for many, many planes, and there are very many private planes that are not jets and the owners are not rich. Thousands and thousands are homebuilts. Go to https://www.faa.gov https://www.faa.gov, and on the front page there's a place to enter an airplane registration number and get, along with other info, the name and address of the owner. The vast majority of airspace does not "require very clear tracking of objects", and is less controlled than a highway. It does not require particular permission besides following the "rules of the road", and is free to use with nobody knowing you're there. I must assume you are referring to airspace which is either around busy airports (cities) or very high (airliner territory) - Class A/B/C/D airspaces.