Nature recording at DVinfo.net

Greg Miller · September 21st, 2020, 09:53 PM

Getting cabin fever here, so I thought I'd try some nature recording. I found a location about five miles from the nearest paved roads, with some intervening hills, so I avoided any vehicular noise.

Got home and listened to the files, and dang if there isn't an almost constant drone of airplanes. This is ~30 miles from the nearest airport, but there must be some flight path(s) that are close enough to be audible. I didn't hear the planes on my headphones while I was recording. But if I go home and listen to the files through a 110-440 Hz bandpass filter, the airplanes become very obvious. Even if the airplanes are in the background, they are still there, so I don't want to use those files. No way to filter them out without also altering the desired audio.

I could record overnight, after most flights are done for the day. But I'd rather find a different location. So now I'm looking for a map that shows where the commercial airline routes are located. Anything to alleviate the boredom ...

Jim Michael · September 22nd, 2020, 05:12 AM

Get a map that shows the routes used for IFR (instrument flight rules). There might still be some VFR traffic but less frequent. Try this site vfrmap.com.

Rick Reineke · September 22nd, 2020, 09:23 AM

https://www.flightradar24.com is another option.
"Flightradar24 is a global flight tracking service that provides you with real-time information about thousands of aircraft around the world. Flightradar24 tracks 180,000+ flights, from 1,200+ airlines, flying to or from 4,000+ airports around the world in real time. Our service is currently available online and for your iOS or Android device"

Jim Michael · September 23rd, 2020, 04:47 AM

Some sites have maps with ADSB reported positions, but latency and completeness may be a factor. FlightAware is one.

Greg Miller · September 23rd, 2020, 09:45 AM

Thanks for the link to vfrmap! It seems to be just what I need. From that I can see that I was pretty close to one established route. I am not so much concerned about real-time tracking, I would rather identify an area away from the normal routes so I can (hopefully) record there any time.

I'll compare vfrmap with a map showing all the state forest land, and I'm optimistic that I'll find some good places to try.

Paul R Johnson · September 24th, 2020, 05:43 AM

I shot a series of ultra boring religious programmes- with snazzy titles like Christianity's Hebrewic Heritage and the presenter was from Australia and they'd hired a wonderful old Manor House with oak panels like Hogwarts to shoot in.

Day one at 9am we discovered the next door property had a runway, and a Spitfire. The damn thing was up and down all day. Day two, I had a radio receiver and an earpiece and knew when they were about to start up, and when they were arriving back. It cut down the wasted takes. It did cheer me up though - a great sound, unlike the material were were shooting which was delivered in a monotone and truly dull!

Greg Miller · September 24th, 2020, 06:12 AM

How nice that you got a lot of extra unscheduled breaks for the cast and crew. Too bad the Spitfire is only a single-seat aircraft. With more seats you could have filmed your presenter in flight and made your series a bit more lively. ;-)

Paul R Johnson · September 24th, 2020, 09:50 AM

We do have a small number of twin seat spitfires - slightly different from the usual ones, and they do a passenger experience - it's about twelve grand (pounds, not dollars). My friend runs the company who fit the cameras into the historic aircraft and then edit it for the paying passengers. He started flying at 18 and now, at 40ish, he's flown some of the most amazing aircraft of the war period.

September 21st, 2020, 09:53 PM	#1
Greg Miller Trustee Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 1,792	Nature recording Getting cabin fever here, so I thought I'd try some nature recording. I found a location about five miles from the nearest paved roads, with some intervening hills, so I avoided any vehicular noise. Got home and listened to the files, and dang if there isn't an almost constant drone of airplanes. This is ~30 miles from the nearest airport, but there must be some flight path(s) that are close enough to be audible. I didn't hear the planes on my headphones while I was recording. But if I go home and listen to the files through a 110-440 Hz bandpass filter, the airplanes become very obvious. Even if the airplanes are in the background, they are still there, so I don't want to use those files. No way to filter them out without also altering the desired audio. I could record overnight, after most flights are done for the day. But I'd rather find a different location. So now I'm looking for a map that shows where the commercial airline routes are located. Anything to alleviate the boredom ... Last edited by Greg Miller; September 21st, 2020 at 10:29 PM.

September 22nd, 2020, 05:12 AM	#2
Jim Michael Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 895	Re: Nature recording Get a map that shows the routes used for IFR (instrument flight rules). There might still be some VFR traffic but less frequent. Try this site vfrmap.com.

September 22nd, 2020, 09:23 AM	#3
Rick Reineke Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: New York Posts: 2,039	Re: Nature recording https://www.flightradar24.com is another option. "Flightradar24 is a global flight tracking service that provides you with real-time information about thousands of aircraft around the world. Flightradar24 tracks 180,000+ flights, from 1,200+ airlines, flying to or from 4,000+ airports around the world in real time. Our service is currently available online and for your iOS or Android device"

September 23rd, 2020, 04:47 AM	#4
Jim Michael Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 895	Re: Nature recording Some sites have maps with ADSB reported positions, but latency and completeness may be a factor. FlightAware is one.

September 23rd, 2020, 09:45 AM	#5
Greg Miller Trustee Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 1,792	Re: Nature recording Thanks for the link to vfrmap! It seems to be just what I need. From that I can see that I was pretty close to one established route. I am not so much concerned about real-time tracking, I would rather identify an area away from the normal routes so I can (hopefully) record there any time. I'll compare vfrmap with a map showing all the state forest land, and I'm optimistic that I'll find some good places to try.

September 24th, 2020, 05:43 AM	#6
Paul R Johnson Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Lowestoft - UK Posts: 4,045	Re: Nature recording I shot a series of ultra boring religious programmes- with snazzy titles like Christianity's Hebrewic Heritage and the presenter was from Australia and they'd hired a wonderful old Manor House with oak panels like Hogwarts to shoot in. Day one at 9am we discovered the next door property had a runway, and a Spitfire. The damn thing was up and down all day. Day two, I had a radio receiver and an earpiece and knew when they were about to start up, and when they were arriving back. It cut down the wasted takes. It did cheer me up though - a great sound, unlike the material were were shooting which was delivered in a monotone and truly dull!

September 24th, 2020, 06:12 AM	#7
Greg Miller Trustee Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 1,792	Re: Nature recording How nice that you got a lot of extra unscheduled breaks for the cast and crew. Too bad the Spitfire is only a single-seat aircraft. With more seats you could have filmed your presenter in flight and made your series a bit more lively. ;-)

September 24th, 2020, 09:50 AM	#8
Paul R Johnson Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Lowestoft - UK Posts: 4,045	Re: Nature recording We do have a small number of twin seat spitfires - slightly different from the usual ones, and they do a passenger experience - it's about twelve grand (pounds, not dollars). My friend runs the company who fit the cameras into the historic aircraft and then edit it for the paying passengers. He started flying at 18 and now, at 40ish, he's flown some of the most amazing aircraft of the war period.