Callsign Catch

Open any flight tracker, or look up when you hear one. Pick a plane, type its callsign (BAW117), its registration (G-XLEA) or its hex code, and press Catch it. I check the live feed once. If the plane is in the air right now you get its card, stamped with the time, callsign, operator if known, altitude and speed, like a page in a spotter's logbook.

Rarity comes from the aircraft type. Common cards are worth 10 points, uncommon 25, rare 60 and legendary 150. A type you already own adds XP instead. Each day there is a wanted type worth double on your first catch. Each callsign counts once a day.

Sets: the Airbus family, the Boeing family, Heavies, Military, Display teams and Night owl, which needs catches between midnight and 5am on your clock.

How do I catch a plane?

Find a plane on a flight tracker or spot one overhead, then type its callsign, registration or hex code. If it is flying right now, its card goes in your hangar.

Why didn't it count?

It has to be airborne at that moment. A plane on the ground, one that has gone quiet or one the receivers cannot hear does not count. Try again when it is flying.

Can I catch the same plane twice?

Each callsign counts once per day. Catching another plane of a type you already own adds XP and a tally to that card.

How is rarity decided?

By the aircraft type. Busy airliners like the A320 and 737 are common, big quads like the 747 and A380 are rare, and military aircraft, display teams and one off types are legendary. Types I have not listed yet count as uncommon.

Where does the live data come from?

From adsb.lol, a free, open community network of ADS-B receivers. Each catch makes one lookup, and lookups are spaced out to keep the load light.

Where is my collection kept?

In your browser on this device only. There are no accounts. Use Export to save a file and Import to bring it back or move it to another device.

I'm Arthur. I love watching the big jets go over, so I made a way to collect them. The live data comes from adsb.lol, a community network that shares it openly. Thank you to everyone who feeds it. The facts on each card are my own short notes, kept general. If I've got one wrong, email me.