Practical aviation guides for identifying aircraft, understanding flights and getting more from What Plane?
What Plane Is Flying Over Me? Identify Aircraft Overhead
To identify a plane flying over you, open a nearby-aircraft tracker and match its direction, distance and altitude to the aircraft you can see. You do not need a flight number. What Plane? shows nearby aircraft on iPhone and iPad, with a Home Screen widget for quick checks.
Aircraft Tracker App for iPhone: Find Planes Near You
Looking for an iPhone aircraft tracker to identify the plane overhead? What Plane? starts with aircraft near your location and includes a Home Screen widget. Compare an aircraft's distance and direction with what you see, then check its model, airline, altitude and other available details.
Plane Spotting App for iPhone: Identify Nearby Aircraft
For plane spotting on iPhone, What Plane? helps you identify aircraft near your position and check their model, airline, registration and other available flight details. Its Home Screen widget gives you a quick way to check nearby traffic between sightings.
How to Add a Plane Tracker Widget to Your iPhone Home Screen
Want to see what plane is flying overhead without opening an app? Adding a flight tracking widget to your iPhone Home Screen is the fastest way to identify aircraft in real-time. Here's how to set it up with What Plane? in under a minute.
Why Do Ears Pop on a Plane?
You're climbing through the clouds, the aircraft is accelerating down the runway and then lifting off, and within minutes you feel it — a pressure in your ears, a muffled quality to sound, maybe a slight ache. Then, often with an audible pop or click, your ears "pop" and everything suddenly sounds clear again.
ADS-B Explained: How Flight Trackers See Planes
When you open a flight tracking app and see thousands of planes moving across a map, you might wonder: how does this work? Where does the data come from? And why can't some planes be tracked?
How Fast Do Planes Fly?
You're sitting in your seat as the aircraft accelerates down the runway, and within seconds you're lifting off the ground. Once you're airborne and climbing, you might wonder: how fast is this plane actually going? And the answer is more complicated than you might think.
How Do Planes Land in Fog and Bad Weather?
One of the most common questions people ask about aviation is deceptively simple: how does a plane land when the pilot can't see the runway? Dense fog, low cloud, driving rain, and blizzards all create conditions where visual approaches are impossible. Yet aircraft land safely in these conditions every single day. Here's how.
Planes Over Edinburgh — What Are You Seeing?
Edinburgh Airport (EDI) is Scotland's busiest airport, handling over 2,500 flights per week. If you live in Edinburgh, East Lothian, or the Lothians, you're likely under Edinburgh's flight paths.
Planes Over Manchester — What Are You Seeing?
Manchester Airport (MAN) is the UK's third-busiest airport, handling over 3,500 flights per week. If you live in Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Lancashire, or the Peak District, you're likely under Manchester's flight paths.
What Is a Squawk Code? The Four-Digit Numbers Behind Every Flight
If you've ever looked at a flight tracking app or listened to aviation radio, you may have heard references to "squawking" a code, or seen a four-digit number like 7700 associated with an aircraft. These are transponder codes — known informally as squawk codes — and they're a fundamental part of how aircraft are identified and managed in the sky.
How to Identify a Plane After a Plane Crash or Aviation Incident
When a plane crash or aviation incident appears in the news, one of the first questions people ask is: what aircraft was involved? The answer is rarely as simple as "a Boeing" or "an Airbus." Investigators, journalists, and aviation enthusiasts look at a specific set of details — aircraft type, registration, callsign, operator, route, altitude, and last known position — to piece together a complete picture.
Plane Spotting for Beginners: How to Get Started in 2026
Most hobbies need gear, space, or money to get started. Plane spotting needs almost none of these things. You need a sky. You need some curiosity. And with your phone, you can go from complete beginner to identifying every aircraft type overhead within a single afternoon.
Planes Over Gatwick — What Are You Seeing?
Gatwick Airport (LGW) is the UK's second-busiest airport, handling over 4,000 flights per week. If you live in West Sussex, East Sussex, Surrey, or south London, you're likely under Gatwick's flight paths.
Planes Over Heathrow — What Are You Seeing?
Heathrow Airport (LHR) is the busiest airport in the UK and one of the busiest in the world. If you live in west London, Berkshire, or parts of the Home Counties, you're likely under Heathrow's flight paths — and wondering what all those planes are.
Why Do Planes Fly So High? The Science Behind Cruising Altitude
Commercial jets cruise at altitudes that seem almost impossibly high — 35,000 feet is roughly 10.6 kilometres above the earth's surface, well above where weather happens, above where birds fly, above almost everything familiar. But there are very specific reasons why aircraft operate at these altitudes, and the physics behind it is fascinating.
Aircraft Identification Cheat Sheet: 15 Visual Clues That Actually Work
Aircraft identification becomes much easier when you inspect the airframe in a consistent order. This cheat sheet covers the 15 visual clues that separate common airliners, regional aircraft, turboprops, freighters, military aircraft, helicopters and light aircraft.
Boeing vs Airbus Aircraft Identification Guide: How to Tell Them Apart
Learn how to tell Boeing and Airbus aircraft apart using nose shape, cockpit windows, engines, winglets, landing gear, tail shape, and night lights. Most commercial jets come from two manufacturers — this guide shows you how to spot the difference in seconds.
Bringing What Plane to Android — Porting iOS to Material Design
 When we launched What Plane for iPhone, the response was immediate and clear: people love having a home screen widget that tells them exactly what's overhead without opening an app. But the second most common question followed just as quickly: "When is Android coming?"
How High Do Planes Fly?
You're looking out of the window at what seems like an endless expanse of blue sky, and you're wondering: how high is this plane actually flying? Or maybe you're on the ground, watching aircraft overhead, and you're trying to estimate their altitude.
Military Aircraft: A Spotter's Guide to Jets, Helicopters, and Transport Planes
Military aircraft share the skies with commercial traffic every day, but identifying them is a different challenge entirely. They often don't broadcast ADS-B signals, rarely display callsigns on tracking apps, and can look nothing like anything in a civilian fleet. This guide covers the most commonly seen military aircraft types — from RAF fast jets over the UK to US Air Force heavies crossing the Atlantic.
What Are Contrails? Why Planes Leave White Trails in the Sky
You're looking at a clear blue sky when you notice it — a thin white line stretching across the heavens behind a passing aircraft. Sometimes it fades almost instantly. Sometimes it lingers, spreading into a wispy cloud that stays for hours. You've probably wondered: what are contrails, and why do planes leave these white trails in the sky?
What Is That Low Flying Plane? A Complete Guide
You hear a roar overhead. You look up. There's a plane — and it feels uncomfortably close. What is that low flying plane, and why is it so low?
Why Is There So Much Air Traffic Over My House?
If you've ever stepped outside and noticed a near-constant stream of aircraft overhead, you're not imagining it. Certain areas of the UK (and many other countries) sit directly beneath some of the busiest air corridors in the world. Here's why — and how to figure out exactly what's flying over you.
Airplane Quiz: Test Your Aircraft Identification Skills
Can you tell a Boeing 737 from an Airbus A320, recognise a Dreamliner by its engines, or separate an A380 from a 747? This airplane quiz tests the visual clues that work in the real world—not airline paint schemes or obscure trivia.
The Best Airports for Plane Spotting in the UK
Plane spotting is one of aviation's great pleasures — watching aircraft arrive and depart, identifying types, logging registrations, and photographing liveries. The UK has some of the best spotting locations in the world, from purpose-built viewing areas to legendary fence-line spots. Here's where to go.
What Can You Take on a Plane? The Complete 2026 Guide to Hand Luggage Rules
Planning a trip and not sure what you can bring on a plane? You're not alone. Airport security rules can be confusing — especially with different regulations for different airports, airlines, and destinations. This complete guide covers everything you need to know about what you can take on a plane in 2026, from liquids and electronics to food, medicines, and those awkward "what about this?" items.
What Is ADS-B? The Technology Behind Flight Tracking Explained
Every time you open a flight tracking app and see a live aircraft moving across a map, you're looking at ADS-B data. But what exactly is ADS-B, how does it work, and why is it so much better than what came before? This guide breaks it all down.
What Is Turbulence and Why Does It Happen?
You're settled into your seat, the seatbelt sign has just switched off, and then the aircraft gives a sudden jolt. The coffee in your cup ripples. Your stomach drops. You grip the armrest.
What Plane? vs Flightradar24 — Which Is Right For You?
If you're trying to decide between What Plane? and Flightradar24, the answer depends on what you're actually trying to do. Both are excellent apps, but they solve different problems.
Why Did a Plane Fly Low Over My House?
A low plane overhead is almost always routine: landing, taking off, changing runway, or operating as a helicopter or military flight. Here is how to tell what it was and whether it was anything to worry about.
ADS-B Flight Tracking on iPhone: What It Is and How to Use It
If you've ever used a flight tracking app and wondered how it knows where every plane is in real-time, the answer is ADS-B. This technology underpins all consumer aircraft tracking — and understanding it helps you get more out of every app you use.
Every Major Airline and Aircraft Type: The Complete Spotters' Reference
If you've ever looked up and wondered exactly which airline and aircraft is flying over you, this is the reference you need. Below is a comprehensive guide to the world's major airlines, the aircraft types they fly, and the key visual differences between them — so whether you're using an app or just your eyes, you'll know what you're looking at.
How to Identify Aircraft Overhead: Shape, Sound, Engines and Wings
Learn how to identify aircraft flying overhead using engine count, wing shape, sound, altitude, contrails, and live tracking data.
How to Read a Flight Number: What BA247 or EK001 Actually Means
You've seen them on departure boards, on boarding passes, and on flight tracking apps. But what does a flight number like BA247 or EK001 actually tell you? More than you might think.
Planes Over London City Airport — What Are You Seeing?
London City Airport (LCY) is the smallest commercial airport serving London, handling over 1,500 flights per week. If you live in East London, Canary Wharf, the Docklands, or parts of Essex and Kent, you're likely under London City's distinctive flight paths.