I’ve been watching the skies near my house for a month now, and I’ve seen all kinds of drones flying around. I live near Norwood Airport, so I know it’s a busy airspace, but is there any way to track what drones are flying overhead? Like, is there an app or website that shows this info? I tried looking, but nothing seems clear. Would love to know if there’s a way to identify them!
There’s no real way to track drones like you can with planes. Planes use ADS-B, which broadcasts their location, but drones don’t use that because it would clog up the system.
Peyton said:
There’s no real way to track drones like you can with planes. Planes use ADS-B, which broadcasts their location, but drones don’t use that because it would clog up the system.
Oh wow, I had no idea. What’s ADS-B?
@Haru
It stands for Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast. Basically, it’s a system that lets planes share their location, altitude, and speed with air traffic control and other aircraft.
If you’re looking for something like FlightRadar24 for drones, it doesn’t really exist yet. The FAA has something called Remote ID, but it’s not public like that.
Tatum said:
If you’re looking for something like FlightRadar24 for drones, it doesn’t really exist yet. The FAA has something called Remote ID, but it’s not public like that.
What’s Remote ID? Does it help track drones at all?
@Haru
Kind of. It’s like a digital license plate for drones. Drones over 250g have to broadcast their location and operator info, but that data isn’t available to the public—only to authorities.
In the future, there might be a way to track drones! The FAA is working on something called UTM (Unmanned Traffic Management), which could let people see drone flight paths in real time.
Reese said:
In the future, there might be a way to track drones! The FAA is working on something called UTM (Unmanned Traffic Management), which could let people see drone flight paths in real time.
That sounds cool! Any idea when that will happen?
@Haru
It’s still in testing, so probably not anytime soon. NASA and the FAA are running trials, but full rollout is gonna take a while.
You can try checking if there’s a FRIA near you. Drones that don’t have Remote ID can only fly in those areas. The FAA has a site where you can look them up.
Terry said:
You can try checking if there’s a FRIA near you. Drones that don’t have Remote ID can only fly in those areas. The FAA has a site where you can look them up.
FRIA? What does that mean?
@Haru
It stands for FAA-Recognized Identification Area. It’s a designated zone where drones without Remote ID are allowed to fly legally. Usually places like model airplane fields.
If you’re worried about drones flying over your house at night, just know that unless they’re doing something sketchy, it’s probably just hobbyists or delivery drones testing routes.
Frances said:
If you’re worried about drones flying over your house at night, just know that unless they’re doing something sketchy, it’s probably just hobbyists or delivery drones testing routes.
That’s fair, I guess. Just wish there was a way to know for sure!