Winds reported under FLIGHT DETAILS in Flightradar Gold

[Stamatis]

I believe that the winds reported under "FLIGHT DETAILS" are wrong. When the wind arrow direction shows a tailwind the GROUND SPEED reported is lower than the TAS and when the wind arrow shows a headwind, the GROUND SPEED reported is higher that the TAS. It should be the other way around, of course. Can it be that you are not reporting the direction from which the wind is blowing but the direction towards it is blowing? In such a case, your arrows point to the opposite direction and may explain the paradox?

In any case, there is something wrong.

[Bomberman]

Hello Stamatis,
The info is not wrong.
Its just that this info (recently included by FR24 and named as "Extended Mode S Data") is only refreshed and/or updated when real ATC/ADS-B ground stations interrogate the aircrafts requesting it. Basic Data as position, groundspeed, calibrated altitude, mode-s code...are sent automatically by the aircraft (each 1/2 second or so) without requesting from ATC ground stations...
The data that you see in screen for "Expanded Data" (speed/direction of wind, Indicated Air speed, Mach, true airspeed, temperature, etc etc.) is the last valid data that aircraft sent and remains stored and visible in FR24 website UNTIL new expaded data is transmitted. This is the reason why seems to be wrong or erratic. What FR24 should do is that this data being visible only for a period of time IF aicrafts are no longer interrogated by ground station, because some confusing and misleading informaton can be available to users...

PD: Not every aircrafts are able to transmit "Expanded Data". In the US this set of parameters (aka Enhanced) are not mandatory by FAA. At moment only aircrafts that conduct ops in Europe are required to be Enhanced.

B.

[Stamatis]

Hello Stamatis,
The info is not wrong.
Its just that this info (recently included by FR24 and named as "Extended Mode S Data") is only refreshed and/or updated when real ATC/ADS-B ground stations interrogate the aircrafts requesting it. Basic Data as position, groundspeed, calibrated altitude, mode-s code...are sent automatically by the aircraft (each 1/2 second or so) without requesting from ATC ground stations...
The data that you see in screen for "Expanded Data" (speed/direction of wind, Indicated Air speed, Mach, true airspeed, temperature, etc etc.) is the last valid data that aircraft sent and remains stored and visible in FR24 website UNTIL new expaded data is transmitted. This is the reason why seems to be wrong or erratic. What FR24 should do is that this data being visible only for a period of time IF aicrafts are no longer interrogated by ground station, because some confusing and misleading informaton can be available to users...

B.

Thank you for the explanation, sounds plausible.
"What FR24 should do is that this data being visible only for a period of time IF aicrafts are no longer interrogated by ground station, because some confusing and misleading informaton can be available to users..."
I fully agree with your suggestion, otherwise it is misleading.

Stamatis

[YG77]

I've been wondering for several months why all the Extendend Mode-S Data in FR24 (Premium Gold) always get stuck when a plane descends below about 10'000 to 5000 feet. On final approach IAS often shows more than 200 Kts and does not update anymore. Sometimes the data even jumps back to cruise data (which are at least 20 minutes old). This can be observed on any airport and any aircraft that supports Extended Mode-S Data, mainly in Europe such as Heathrow, Amsterdam, Zurich but also Dubai (just to name a few). However, after take-off the current IAS, TAS, Mach etc. become available immediately at about 500 to 1000 feet above the airport and in the same area like the descending planes.

First I thought that the planes stop transmitting these data on approach (where IAS is most useful for ATC controllers), but when I compared these flights with planefinder.net side-by-side, I noticed that they always get updated values until touchdown. And their data look very accurate and not extrapolated or calculated.

Is there any explanation why the data availability in FR24 is worse in descents than in climbs? I don't think it ever worked correctly since the Extended Mode-S Data became available in FR24. It's the same on the desktop version (all browsers) and the new iOS mobile app.

YG