Ok i'm new, why track flights?

[Adventurer]

Hi, it's probably a daft question, but what are the reasons for tracking someone's flight?

I was seriously considering taking my laptop with me and if i could see your posts that would be fascinating to watch the progress of my flight.....

However, there's no internet connection when flying is there? (sorry to be thick, i've hardly flown in my whole life)

Once down on the ground i'd probably want to talk to people that i'd shared my fear with on here......but i wouldn't need to see my flight.....or would i?

So interested in your reasons for tracking flights? Am i missing something? :D

[kari]

Hi,

Sometimes people feel better knowing that there are others on the ground tracking their flight and "looking out for them" along the way :)

It can be quite interesting to see your flight path on your return, especially if you've flown over land and wanted to know where that place was.

[MathFox]

Some of the people just track for fun... sometimes in combination with listening to Air Traffic Control (streamed to their computers or on their scanner). It can be a challenge to find flight info for flights outside the US.

For some fearful flyers tracking helps to make them realise that the flight they'll be on does land safely 100.0% (rounded) of the time and 85-90% of those landings are on time.

And yet others add the flight tracking information to their logbooks...

[Barb-SAN]

Well, as one of the long-time trackers here...I started out doing it to support other members here who were looking for reassurance, and that sense that someone would be "watching over" their flight.

I've learned a LOT while tracking, and it's given me a sense of flying to many different destinations, even though it's been all "virtual". :D If you track your own flight (in real time) it will give you a sense of how long the flight will last too. Surprisingly, I've found myself later flying to some of the same destinations that I'd tracked here... like the tracking was providing subconscious travel suggestions. The mind is a curious thing....

Some of the most interesting flights I've tracked were the ones when something unusual happened, and the person on that flight provided a good trip report giving their perspective of what was happening. This is one that comes to mind...(the return flight to Seattle that was diverted to Spokane due to weather) http://www.takingflight.us/forums/showthread.php?t=8601

Adventurer...have you read through some of the threads on the tracking forum? That will give you an idea...

[Lynda]

When my fear was at it's height I gained great comfort from knowing someone was watching my flight for me, they knew where I was, what height I was flying at etc, it did make a big difference. I understand that it is not logical but as Barb said the mind is a strange thing.

[Rebecca]

Our fears are often amorphous, and sometimes they seem to make the whole flight seem so as well. Tracking (or plotting the whole thing out ahead of time on a sectional, for us Cessna types :angel:) helps to make the flight a tangible thing, with a beginning, middle and end, so that we can comprehend it as a whole, not as just something we are helplessly enduring.

Enduring, yes. Just not as helplessly. :cool:

[aerobat]

Hi, Adventurer!

Tracking your own flight's number and route during the days before you fly can help you build familiarity and positive expectations. A fear of the unknown and negative expectations usually underlie a fear of flying, so tracking is one of various strategies we can use to dismantle FoF. It helps especially during the anticipatory anxiety. And as others have said, people like knowing their flight is being tracked; it helps them feel connected to things and people on the ground.

Hope that helps! :) Are you flying soon?