Pro tip: Use a flight tracking app to catch rare liveries before they land

I overheard a guy at the spotting deck last Saturday saying he checks Flightradar24 for planes coming in from unusual cities to spot rare airline paint jobs. I gave it a try and caught a one-off Air New Zealand All Blacks livery landing at LAX that I would have missed otherwise. He said he sets alerts for specific tail numbers that get posted in fan groups, so he knows 20 minutes before touchdown. I started doing the same and it's helped me grab photos of a KLM orange pride plane and a retro Delta livery. Do you guys use any specific apps or filters to track down unique aircraft before they hit the runway?

2 comments

2 Comments

coleman.jamie13d ago

Whoa hold up, you're telling me there's a way to filter for "unscheduled" flights on FR24? I've been using that app for like three years and never even noticed that option. That's a game changer honestly. I've just been manually scanning arrival boards like a caveman hoping something interesting pops up. The ADSBexchange tip for custom radius alerts is wild too, I didn't know you could do that without paying. I feel like I've been missing half the game this whole time. And yeah totally agree on the 3 AM thing, the universe definitely has it out for plane spotters.

michael89513d ago

The All Blacks livery is a solid catch dude. I actually run FR24 with the filter for "unscheduled" flights from places like Auckland or Buenos Aires since those hubs get random special paint jobs nobody tracks. The livery groups on Facebook are where I snag tail numbers too, I got a tip on the Etihad "Greenliner" 787 that way last month. For alerts I use ADSBexchange instead of FR24 because it lets me set custom radius alerts without paying premium. I also cross check JetPhotos recent uploads for "special livery" tags to see what's flying near me within 48 hours. The only thing I hate is when a rare bird lands at 3 AM on a weekday, feels like the app trolls me on purpose.