Same airframe twice

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I've started to take a closer look at the custom ADSC and Iridium registration list of airframes I've been building over the past 5ish years.

563 airframes.
206 of which are tagged as military.



Here is my question....
If you look at my blog about the database structure I was proposing, I was going to have the one database entry per airframe and load up all the new columns with the different ways that airframe can be identified by ACARS from its avionics.
This would mean that my code has to search all the columns to see if there is a match anywhere for both the new incoming ACARS message and for any site searches that the users might do.

After looking at the list, I'm now rethinking this idea....

I'm now thinking that each ID option should have its own entry in the database.
The clearest way to show a 'for example' is with the ADSB vs ADSC hex.

AE2925;162782;E6;10;Boeing E-6B Mercury;AE040D;;

So here the ADSC hex has been added by me in the 'year' field of the master ADSB community mictronics airframe database.
I was proposing that I make a new column in the db and add the ADSC hex there.
BUT. I am now thinking that we simply should have it in my web site twice:

AE2925;162782;E6;10;Boeing E-6B Mercury;;;
AE040D;162782;E6;10;Boeing E-6B Mercury;;;

Same would go for any Iridium registrations.

AE68AD;97-3091;D328;10;Dornier C-146A Wolfhound;;USAF;
AE68AD;73091;D328;10;Dornier C-146A Wolfhound;;USAF;

I think you get the idea.
Of course, invisible and deep in my website code, the hyphen still has to live to die.

The one downside to this is that I cant tell if its an ADSC hex or an ADSB hex.
Since its the first field in the database, its just an ICAO Hex. That's all I know.
If it was a unique field in the database, I would know if its ADSB or ADSC.
Why might this matter?
I can better explain the 'You Searched' result on the site search page. If I go with same airframe twice, I can't tell if you searched ADSB or ADSC hex.

Can you see any downside to this?
Any 'gotcha' that I have not thought of?

Side note. I've not yet seen any airframes that have both ADSB and ADSC transponders with weird Iridium registration (Keep in mind that ADSC is Inmarsat and Iridium is, well, Iridium - ie two different (competing) satcom companies. It would be really odd for a single aircraft owner to want to pay for two different antenna systems to be installed and pay two monthly fees for two satellite data services).

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 19, 2025 at 12:00 PM

    Re:
    AE2925;162782;E6;10;Boeing E-6B Mercury;;;
    AE040D;162782;E6;10;Boeing E-6B Mercury;;;

    This is what I do in my personal database, It doesn't matter to me if the code is ADSB or ADSC - I just need a match to get the other aircraft type and operator.

    I also have a separate column for Iridium tail codes (I use an SQLite db)

    Regarding the last paragraph, the RAF RC135's use both Inmarsat and Iridium - yesterday the same message appeared on both feeds within a few seconds of each other - I've no idea why they use both.

    BTW, I can only post as Anonymous, I cant select any other option (they're greyed out), not that it matters

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. tbgMarch 21, 2025 at 5:31 AM

      Thanks for the extra sanity check.
      Sounds like we are both on the same page. It does not matter what hex makes the match; the match is the key. (In my case, I will need to tweak the 'you searched' section a bit as a LOT of people use that information as an airframe lookup - not just as a text search).
      I guess that the USAF decided to not remove the Inmarsat equipment. It sort of makes sense.

      Regarding the comment, I'm guessing that you were not signed into a Google account in the browser you used to make the comment. It seems to only pick up accounts via logged-in Gmail sessions.
      Like you say, the comment is the key and thanks for stopping by and sharing your workflow.

      Delete

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