It is highly unlikely a pilot would turn off the transponder, if this is what you mean by responder. This provides information on a radar screen. The four digit code assigned to that particular flight and the altitude or flight level being flown. Valuable information to a controller in crowded airspace.
Other than the lethality of it, the best thing I learned was that the ground crew (mechanics) only trusted those airframes that leaked fluid (there were trays under so many of them). They worried about the ones that did not leak (so did the aircrew)! MoH
I don't know the technical term, but sometimes it seems that whatever broadcasts a signal that gets picked up by the tracking websites either gets turned off or set to "private" and is not publicly tracked. Its not unusual for military to fly over my house without being on flightradar24 or adsbexchange, or sometimes you track an interesting one and it "disappears" for a while. Also some small private planes, but I presume they don't have to have them at all?
The military are hoping to get from A to B as stealthily as possible flying their "weapon delivery system". For such training flights I would imagine they wish to be as invisible as possible. Then again for training flights, and the debriefing afterwards, telemetry is needed. I forget the aircraft weight above which it is mandatory for aircraft to be fitted with a transponder. But yes, up to that weight it is not a requirement. Primary radar is a lot of unintelligible pings on a screen, the display could be showing anything. To avoid overload on a secondary radar screen it is possible with modern day computers to de-clutter the screen. For example an area controller would have no interest in transiting aircraft at high altitude. It could be this causing drop out on the system you use?
I have to say I’m really impressed so far. Timings may be a bit off at the moment, but that’s due to the current situation. Once everything is in place, I’m more than sure timings etc. will improve. I was really impressed with the reasoning he gave the other night for all the goings on and I am 1000% sure he wants us to be a Premier League team.
We hear aircraft at night quite often. The black Chinooks that fly over us in pairs, never appear on flight tracking.
this made me realise I had no idea how it all works, so according to t’internet, the tracking websites are plotting data using Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast technology, through a network of receiving sites & satellites that pick up data from the transponders on the plane. So the info comes directly from the plane not air traffic control and/or radar. So it makes sense that sometimes planes go dark because they either don’t broadcast a signal picked up by civilian systems or the websites are requested not to disclose the information for certain planes.
A group of people who are very special, are based about 25 miles from me. I actually dive at times with one or two lads, who are either still there or retired. They are very good swimmers.
Yes, I was driving north on way back from my parents in Derby, in same area and a transport plane like an Atlas or something similar flew round the corner and straight down the motorway flying right at me, was a special moment, never experienced anything like it.
I've heard people tell of being up in the hills with military jets flying past beneath them. That must be a bit special.