ADS-B Statistics Ranking Update

Hello FlightAware Network! 

• ADS-B Statistics Ranking Update
  
• Hosting a FlightFeeder at your FBO
• Featured Host: FlyingGroup

ADS-B Statistics Ranking Update

We made an update to our ADS-B Statistics Leaderboards and how we calculate the rankings for different “Top” categories. Previously, your rank is determined by the number of unique aircraft your receiver tracked and contributed to FlightAware. This includes ADS-B, MLAT, UAT, and “Other” aircraft.

What’s Changing?

We will be officially removing “Other” aircraft as a factor in the rankings. Other aircraft statistics will continue to be displayed, however it will not be a contributing factor to your overall ranking.

What are “Other” Aircraft?

A commonly asked question is what we consider "Other" aircraft.

Other aircraft refers to aircraft that you received Mode-S messages from, but were not tracked via ADS-B or multilateration (MLAT). In other words, the received message did not include position information or were not used in a MLAT calculation to derive its location. These aircraft messages were relevant when ADS-B and MLAT were less widely adopted, so we decided to include all aircraft types towards ADS-B Statistics Rankings at the time.

Why Change It?

With the widespread adoption of ADS-B and MLAT today, "Other" aircraft have become less useful for aircraft tracking. Messages that contribute to “Other” aircraft often include unreliable, low-quality data. We have also observed that certain ADS-B receiver settings can cause receivers to emit more data that we consider "Other" aircraft which skews the leaderboard results. 

For these reasons, we have chosen not to consider them in your overall ranking going forward.

When Did the Change Happen?

Monday, April 7, 2025

Have any questions about this change? Do you have ideas on what would make our ADS-B Statistics more useful to you? Let us know at adsbsupport@flightaware.com!

Did you know?

• You can view how your receiver is performing compared to others contributors around you. Visit the 30-day Site Ranking panel on your “My ADS-B Statistics Page” by logging in to flightaware.com and selecting My ADS-B > Stats at the top of the page. This can often be more useful to you when determining performance capabilities with the airspace conditions in your area.
• We discard position data from aircraft messages if the reported position is unrealistically far from the receiver’s reported location. This causes the messages to be classified as “Other” aircraft. Therefore, it’s important to ensure your receiver’s location is accurately set on your My ADS-B Statistics page!
  

Hosting a FlightFeeder at your FBO

Airplanes constantly broadcast ADS-B signals—automatic messages that include their position, speed, and other data. Our FlightFeeder captures these signals right from your site. By collecting these ADS-B signals, we get critical, real-time data that helps us improve our services to you. Check out the full blog here!

Featured Host Of the Month

FlyingGroup in Antwerp, Belgium

These photos were sent to us by FlyingGroup (FYG002) located in Antwerp, Belgium. They were originally featured in our newsletter 2 years ago, but we felt they were worth featuring again in an FBO-focused newsletter.

They are an operator of a fleet of private jets and host a PiAware at their aircraft hangar at Antwerp International Airport. Pictured below is a photo of their Operations Control Center where they utilize FlightAware TV to help them monitor their fleet of aircraft.

Thank you for sharing and for continuing to be an ADS-B host!

Would you like to be featured as our host of the month?

STAY IN TOUCH

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