Up in the sky, it's Planefinder!

Whenever I hear or see an airplane outracing its sound in the sky, I wonder where it's headed, where it's been.   Aren't you a bit curious about why the plane is headed to Dallas, Las Vegas or Los Angeles? How are the passengers going to spend their time once they arrive? There is SO much to do...

Or conversely, why would you purposely fly to Topeka?


Welcome to my world, where my new toy is Planefinder, a nifty little site that shows all the planes overhead, their departure points and destinations and altititude. Have it on both the home desktop and the Iphone, and it'll take me anywhere I want to go.

At night, it's especially interesting. In the sky, we see a plane's blinking lights. Point the camera toward the lights, and Planefinder will show the pertinent information. Because we're so close to major international airports -- JFK and Dulles for example-- planes from all over the world cross York County. Last night, a plane full of folks was heading to Japan and another to Australia. And Los Angeles, San Fransisco, Dallas and Seattle.

Most of us won't have the opportunity to fly around the world for fun or adventure. Many won't leave the eastern U.S.  Thanks to the internet, I can check Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow (UUEE), or Dusseldorf (EDDL) in Germany or Charles de Gaulle Airport (LFPG) in France or wherever and be there before the plane arrives. 

And from there, use your imagination to explore the sights (websites), and dream about the scenery, the food, the people and the adventures.

It's not the same, of course. But it's a kick to dream about destinations we'll never see in person.