LiveATC Discussion Forums
Air Traffic Monitoring => Listener Forum => Topic started by: air727 on September 29, 2008, 04:57:36 PM
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Does anybody own a high powered telescope and if so have you ever tried to view any high flying aircraft?
ie- FL300, 35,41 etc
If possible, could you describe your experiences and what you're able to see.
Thanks
A
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I doubt a "high powered telescope" would work, as it would be way out of focus. I'd suspect a lower powered telescope, suitable for viewing the moon, might work if the focus can be pulled that far. Binoculars work quite well though.
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Yes, well I tried to view high altitude traffic using a medium power refractor telescope and tried 2 other low powered telescopes to do the same, net affect is that the traffic moves way to fast to track manually and its almost impossible to track with mechanical tracker simply because its to hard to account for directional variance of the aircraft...all in all its a lost effort in my experience!
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I bought a great pair of binoculars at the start of this summer (Nikon Action 16x50). On a clear day I can easily identify aircraft at cruise altitude. They were a little pricey ($200), but I really like 'em.
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Ive got a pair of 20-40x 80's that works wonders. Airline/plane type very much visible. 325 at the time.