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Live map
Flightradar24
The market leader and a #1 travel app in 150+ countries. A live global map of what's flying right now — the app most spotters open first.
The tracking apps we use
Most serious spotters run two or three apps side by side — one for the live map, one to identify what's overhead, one for status and gate alerts. Here's the trio worth having, and how they pair with your printed logbook.
📸 Those criss-crossing trails above? That's our own back-garden sky — spot a contrail, open Flightradar24, and find out exactly who left it.
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Point & identify
Plane Finder
UK-developed by Pinkfroot. Its point-at-the-sky augmented-reality feature is a favourite for instantly identifying the aircraft passing overhead.
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Status & alerts
FlightAware
Strong on delay, gate and status alerts, with 16M+ Android downloads. The one to check when you're tracking a specific arrival or departure.
Track it live, log it on paper
The apps find them. Your sheets keep them.
A live map is perfect in the moment — but a screenshot isn't a record. Use the apps to spot and identify, then write the catch into your logbook the moment you've got the registration.
Get your logbook sheets →A simple two-step workflow
- Spot it live — open Flightradar24 or Plane Finder to see and identify the aircraft.
- Log it on paper — jot the registration, type and airline onto your printed sheet.
Two or three apps cover the whole workflow: live map, ID, and status alerts.