Community ADSB airframe database

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 I do NOT maintain the community (ADSB) airframe details database - You Do.

Ever since I built version 1 of my ACARS website some seven years ago, I have pretty consistently received messages indicating that one of the ICAO hex, registration, or type details on my site is incorrect.
(One gent about 5 years ago, very memorably sent an extremely angry message reporting how one (obscure) airframe had the wrong details and if it was wrong, then NOTHING on my site could be relied on to be accurate and so I was forcing him to not just stop using my site, but he felt it was his duty to warn every other avgeek he knew away from my site.
The interesting thing for me is that he clearly only wanted to report it (complain about it) he never asked how it could be updated / corrected.
This was my first and only interaction with this chap - I did not reply; he made his point clear, and he was right, the airframe in question was wrong - on mine and every other tar1090 website at that time).

This blog aims to clarify the process for displaying information on my site and how you can help maintain its accuracy, not just on my site but also on many other aircraft-related websites.
I also plan to reply to future requests to fix 'incorrect' data on my site with this blog.

 I do NOT maintain the community (ADSB) airframe details database - You Do.

Every five days, my site 'code' goes out to https://www.mictronics.de/aircraft-database and downloads approximately 600,000 airframes and populates a database that is the core of my website.
A few seconds after that download updates the core database, my users have, over the years, built a list of 562 airframes that have dual hex address (ADSC) and some Iridium registration updates.

Every ACARS message received from any feeder, anywhere in the world, is processed through this core database.
Every site search you perform for a single hex or reg looks up the ACARS, and the airframe details are also displayed under the 'You searched' section.

Example hex search


I do this 'You searched' airframe details because it was a frequently requested feature. It mostly echos the lookup that I linked to on the mictronics site. It's a time saver for you since you are in the flow of looking for data on my site, it's also a sanity check for you to know what airframe details my site found for your search.
It's also (to my knowledge) the only website in the world that will include the dual ADSB/C ICAO hex details AND any Iridium registration details.

 I do NOT maintain the community (ADSB) airframe details database - You Do.

This feature has bitten me more times than I've had 'thanks' for it.
Why?
Because it clearly shows what's in the ADSB community-maintained airframe database, but since it's on my site, it must be my site that's wrong. I mean, I see why folks think that. Folks rarely pause and ask themselves, "I wonder where thebalgeek gets his data from?" (It's much quicker to type an 'angry' message <grin>).

Let's do a search and see what we get....



So here we are. That registration is wrong. It should be 15-46010. (See footnote) My site shows it correctly because it's one of the special 562 that is in my list and thus is updated correctly after the database is updated every 5 days.
 
This one example is deliberately a good bad example (see footnote).... Why? Because you / me and the community should not just have 1 person updating the community database. Each entry, each update should be checked, crosschecked and verified by a few people.

I do NOT maintain the community (ADSB) airframe details database - You Do.

So how do YOU get that master database corrected?
It depends on what ADSB site you like and use.
The ADSB world is rather fractured and strongly opinionated. I don't want to get into why and how and whose site you should or shouldn't use.
Whichever one(s) you use, that's the one to update. Most, not all, most tar1090 based sites use the mictronics database - this is one reason why I use it. It is the largest crowd sourced airframe database.
 

I have reached out to these ADSB websites and asked how should their users work with them on updating the mictronics database. If the site is empty, they have not responded to me. I will update this blog when they do.
Note: I am not going to double-check every sites method and confirm that the sites listed here feed their updates into the mictronics database. The whole point of a community is for it to be a community.
In no particular order:

airplanes.live:
The database most sites use is maintained in the registration-database channel of Discord here:  https://discord.gg/jfVRF2XRwF    

adsbexchange

theAirTraffic

AussieADSB

adsblol

tar1090: https://github.com/wiedehopf/tar1090-db/issues
Sign in with your GitHub (make an account if necessary) and open an issue.

I do NOT maintain your ACARShub database - It's on your local PC - You keep it accurate.

A lot of folks are starting to use acarshub, which is great. To be clear, I have no idea what database they use or who maintains it or how you update it or how accurate it is.

Footnote. Yes, I'm a jerk. I deliberately picked a confusing and contentious hex to make the point of who's right and who's wrong.

On pictures of the tail of the aircraft, it shows as 56010; in ACARS messages, it shows as 96010.
It's a procurement issue. In which year (2015 or 2019) was the money reserved to buy this plane?
Another example is AE5FA8. Some folks have this as 21-46061 as per mictronics, others have it as 19-46061. Who's correct? 
I can't answer that, and depending on who you ask, you will get stern, adamant, different answers. Each person will insist that my site reflect their answer and only their answer.
I'm the meat in the sandwich.

I do NOT maintain the community (ADSB) airframe details database - You can choose to be part of the community and assist in keeping it updated.

Honestly, at this point I am seriously thinking of having both registrations in my site database. Make it one of the special 562.
I have aircraft with ADSB hex and ADSC hex. Why can't I have two registrations for the same hex? As long as I search for both and display both in the 'you searched' section, everyone will be happy. (I mean, I know they won't, but whoever messages me about the 'error' will get this blog sent to them and still be unhappy).
For more information about the KC-46 aircraft: https://www.fightercontrol.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=287&t=196040


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