Airspace Explorer

Firstly, in addition to providing information on flights and airports, our app provides information on the airspace itself.  We show the Flight Information Regions (FIRs) that comprise the airspace around the world and the controlled airspace structures that make up the FIRs in UK airspace. Play with the app and learn about the difference between controlled and uncontrolled airspace and the different types of airspace structures that exist.  You can also see the Sectors that we use in the UK to divide up the airspace and allocate Air Traffic Controllers to manage.

Secondly, unlike other flight tracking apps, our app includes some UK radar data for showing aircraft positions. We don’t display all of our radar data, as a number of aircraft, such as most military and police aircraft, are removed.  Even with aircraft removed, the inclusion of radar helps to increase aircraft coverage and the radar often picks up and displays smaller aircraft that other apps don’t track.

Thirdly, we provide a 3D view of the airspace. The 3D views help to provide a sense of the relative altitudes of aircraft and the shapes and sizes of the controlled airspace areas in the UK.  You can pan, zoom and move around the airspace in 3D and view flight paths in and out of airports to gain a sense of the approach and departure routes the aircraft fly.