JWA aircraft tracking system now on-line

By JILL LEACH

The Tustin News

Like to play on the computer? Ever wonder where all those aircraft flying overhead are coming from? Or, more seriously, ever wonder how high they are when they fly over your house?

Last week, Alan Murphy, director of John Wayne Airport, gave a demonstration of a new Internet aircraft tracking system to some 50 members of the Foothill Communities Association. It's a software program that monitors the altitude of in- and out-bound flights 24-hours a day, seven days a week. Log on to www.ocair.com and follow the prompts. The system has two modes, "current" and "replay." The current mode, which has a 10-minute delay for security reasons, tracks not only flights in and out of the Santa Ana Airport (SNA), but also flights in and out of Long Beach and other regional fields as well as aircraft passing through the area at high altitudes.

Simply click on an airplane icon, and the computer will tell you its altitude and the type of aircraft it is. In- and out-bound flights can be monitored as they enter or leave SNA airspace. For more detailed information, wait at least an hour and go to the replay mode. Click on any aircraft icon, and information will pop up about the airline, the departure or destination city and the altitude at that particular time. The system holds data for three months. "This is something we've wanted to offer for a long time," Murphy said. "But the software wasn't available until recently. "When we found out that Los Angeles had it, we jumped right on it."

John Wayne Airport, a nonprofit business, according to Murphy, put AirportMonitor on-line July 1 at a total cost of $94,300 for three years. "This is a system where people can track flights and learn how high or how low they are," he added. There currently are 120 commercial arrivals a day at SNA, and 85 of those plus four cargo flights are noise- monitored. The others, according to Murphy, either meet local noise standards or are quieter, smaller regional jets. But flights are expected to increase to 135 to 150 a day by 2010 to service some 10.8 million passengers a year. "The new tracking system will help us monitor traffic and noise going into John Wayne Airport as aircraft fly over our houses," said Bruce Junor, FCA president.

The FCA has a new website, www.foothillcommunities.org, that contains a histrograph of local noise complaints. Also, there is an airport working group within the FCA that meets with airport officials to help identify ways to reduce noise. The John Wayne Airport Access and Noise office can be reached at (949) 252-5185.

Contact Leach at jleach@ocregister.com or (949) 553-2918