SBS radar tracking.
 

We have heard but we are not 100% sure that next year all civil aircraft including biz and light have to track, also at the airports all vehicles and tugs have to track has well so that their position is known at all times. Does anyone know for sure if this is correct ?

P.S. Will this apply to military aircraft also ?

I dont know the answer to that i only know about military hardware. Currently all vehicles on a military airfield do have trackers and so do the aircraft but they can be switched off with the Flt Ops permission. When flying out of cyprus for example they have them switched off to avoid detection. Its all very complex with the military and often RR aircraft will have theirs turned off, but other aircraft will have them on. It all depends on the situation.

Dont know about civil but i imagine its similair concepts.

Many thanks for the info, I will be glad when all the civil aircraft track because I miss loads of them going over here.

Very much the same here. Recenty i have been getting into civilian aircraft spotting so it would be usefull. Of course there are lots of security issues etc that im sure is whats stopping the use of them. Security is paramount now, when I was shooting at RAF Wittering we had to cease fire every time a harrier came in just incase a bullet somehow travelled a 40 degree angle to te range :confused:

Is the switching within the control of the flight-deck crew? (or is it hard-wired requiring a LAME?)

On the harriers it was located just forward of the cockpit next to the radar and radio equipment. Under a flap with a safety pin in to keep it closed, only the ground crew should alter it with permission. It is then recorded in the aircrafts form 701 and 703 (from memory) and signed off. Over home territory it should be left on though and ATC radar will pick up the aircraft and they have all the info about the aircraft anyway so its no great loss leaving it on. I think its also hooked up to the black box aswell but I dont know much else.

Many thanks, Mendipman.

Hope I answered some of your questions without getting too distracted. Its been a fair while since my last time with a Harrier I shall certainly miss them. Now I spend a lot more time working on vintage aircraft which I find a bit more fun, all mechanical not electrical. No need for trackers on them!

There seems to be a lot more biz jets and light aircraft tracking now on SBS and Airnav. Kinetic Avionics as just brought out SBS 3. One to also watch for free is flightradar24.

Planefinder is another free one Chris.