I have flight radar 24 on my phone, it shows me the tail numbers. How/where can I look to find out who is flying a P-51d around my property. Today it was a swept wing Corsair jet. I've also watched an Albatros. A famous actor owns an airstrip a mile away, but gossip has it that he doesn't own all the planes there,lets his buddy's park there.

With the tail number you can find the registration. Just google the tail number, eg "N7238M", and it should quickly show the legal owner.

Be aware, though, that the wealthy typically have a corporation own the aircraft. It provides privacy as well as a legal firewall against lawsuits. So you might have to then dig into who owns the corporation by searching the state database.

No pictures?

Tom Cruise immediately comes to mind.

Quite a few of the flight tracking services allow for people to "opt out" of tracking their planes. The government is apparently setting up a way for this to happen even more, although I'm not sure how they will implement it as most of the tracking systems are home-based receivers reporting the incoming data.

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin1069:
Tom Cruise immediately comes to mind.

Cruise owned two P-51's (I think he sold one of them) and a Gulfstream IV, kept then in a hanger at Santa Barbara airport, next to Michael Jackson and Oprah's hangers.

I'd say grab a lawn chair, a brew and enjoy the show!

one of the things that baffles me is,,, why would someone that can afford a plane like that only fly it around in circles over his house???? akin to owning a motorcycle and only riding it in yer driveway.

^^^ Could be doing touch and go’s to practice landings, or simply monitoring newly installed equipment, repairs or maintenance items without straying too far from the runway in the event of an emergency.

quote:

Originally posted by phxtoad:

Could be <snip> simply monitoring newly installed equipment, repairs or maintenance items without straying too far from the runway in the event of an emergency.

During the 30+ years that I owned the V-Tail, I put enough hours on it to go through a few engines. With each newly installed overhauled engine, I spent at least an hour flying at various power settings, per break-in instructions from the engine manufacturer, all the while remaining within gliding distance from the airport in case a piston departed at a high rate of velocity through the side of the cowling .

quote:

Originally posted by roarindan:
one of the things that baffles me is,,, why would someone that can afford a plane like that only fly it around in circles over his house???? akin to owning a motorcycle and only riding it in yer driveway.

quote:

Originally posted by pxhtoad:
...
Could be doing touch and go’s to practice landings, or simply monitoring newly installed equipment, repairs or maintenance items without straying too far from the runway in the event of an emergency.
...

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail;

...
With each newly installed overhauled engine, I spent at least an hour flying at various power settings, per break-in instructions from the engine manufacturer, all the while remaining within gliding distance from the airport in case a piston departed at a high rate of velocit through the side of the cowling.
,..

In addition to these correct points, it could be a pilot performing mandatory recurrency training.

Another thing to keep in mind is that maintenance/ AV gas/ insurance have greatly increased in cost and, for some pilots, have become restrictively so. Just can't afford to fly as much... so, you do short hops just to maintain currency and proficiency.

One of the most common reasons to stay near an airport is simply for training. Obviously airspace/ congestion/ traffic dependent, but many airports have designated training areas near them.

One of my brothers owns a plane that sat in his hangar for the better part of 2 + years because the plane required an inspection and repairs that required parts. As with so many other things, COVID lockdowns disrupted scheduled maintenance and also disrupted the parts supply chain. His A&P was booked solid and the parts needed for the repairs weren't available... which means he was losing his currency/ proficiency (for this particular plane) while it sat in the hangar. You can bet your backside he stayed near his home airport when he finally got it back from service. I've rebuilt airplanes from the frame up and when it was finally completed you better believe the pilot that took that first test flight was wearing a parachute and stayed in the airport pattern or nearby for that first test flight.

Commercial ride hopping flights stay near airports for efficiency and to reduce costs.

Lastly, keep in mind that these older warbirds aren't in production any longer. In some cases there are newer aftermarket alternatives, but generally speaking parts are getting harder to find and more expensive. Many warbirds aren't comfortable for long flights and expensive to operate, insure, and maintain...so why not just stay local while still enjoying your plane, and maybe give a friend a quick sight-seeing flight?

Sometimes a pilot just want to go up for 20- 30 or 60 minutes, just to watch a sunset, just to enjoy flying, and you don't need to go cross country to do that.

Not all flights are about going from point A to point B and require a purpose... sometimes a guy just wants to meander a little while enjoying the experience of flight .