Here’s How I Used Free WiFi to Listen to and Watch My Flight Take Off Live!

Beware: the nerd factor in this post may not be suitable for all audiences.

Many Delta planes feature free Wi-Fi — with the outlying aircraft getting retrofits pretty much as we speak.

I enjoy Delta’s free Wi-Fi. Yes, there are some lags here and there. Streaming sporting events at 35,000 feet isn’t quite as seamless as I’d like.

But I recently used the service for something incredibly AvGeek-y: I listened to a live broadcast of one of my flight’s pilots communicating with air traffic control — while I watched a live stream of my flight actually taking off.

It was so cool. (At least, I thought so.)

I’ll share below how I did it. Perhaps you’re interested in doing the same thing. Or maybe you wonder what the heck is wrong with me.

Step One: I Downloaded the LiveATC App to My Phone

LiveATC.net is a website featuring crowd-sourced live (and archived) audio streams of air traffic control scanners worldwide. There’s also a LiveATC app available! You can find it in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

I recommend downloading the app when you’re at home, at your hotel, or somewhere else before you get on the plane. You don’t want to rush the download.

Alternatively, you can stream the broadcast directly from the LiveATC.net website.

Step Two: I Connected My Phone to My Earphones

Don’t be that person who deejays for the entire plane. You’re not flying a low-cost carrier.

Step Three: Logging in to Delta’s Free Wi-Fi

Delta’s Wi-Fi becomes operational on most planes once the doors close and the flight is ready to push back.

Once it’s active, connect to the Delta Wi-Fi on your devices. For this, I enabled it on both my iPad and iPhone.

Then, go to DeltaWiFi.com and enter your SkyMiles information. (Delta’s Wi-Fi is free for SkyMiles members.)

Step Four: I Found the Correct ATC Channel

I opened my LiveATC app.

If you’re at a major airport, this next part might require a little knowledge of its layout and flight operations.

I knew my Delta flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Detroit (DTW) would likely depart from the airport’s north runways.

So, I searched LiveATC for “LAX.” Then I looked for the “KLAX Tower (North) #1” feed. (I listened to the ground broadcast, too, but I’m trying to keep this as simple as possible. 🙂 )

Within a second or two, I heard all the communications between the LAX controllers handling the north runways and the planes with whom they spoke!

Step Five: Finding a YouTube Live Stream of the Airport

This part is hit-or-miss.

Airport live streams on YouTube are becoming more popular and widespread — especially at major airports.

But not all YouTubers stream every day. They may change their shooting locations around the airports.

Maybe you’ll get lucky, though!

I made sure my iPad’s volume was muted. Then, I opened up the YouTube app. I searched for “LAX live stream.”

L.A. FLIGHTS is a very popular YouTube channel broadcasting from various areas around LAX. Unfortunately, they weren’t yet live on the morning I departed. (AIRLINE VIDEOS and Cali Planes are pretty good, too.)

Cali Planes was live that day and broadcasting just north of the runways. I was in luck!

Step Six: Nerding Out

Both the LiveATC and YouTube broadcasts were a few seconds behind. My plane was already starting its takeoff roll when I heard, “Delta 9-0-9, [whatever the wind speed and directions were], cleared for takeoff, runway 2-4 left.” The YouTube stream was maybe a second slower than that.

Oh, well.

A few seconds after the wheels were up in real life, my plane lifted off the ground during the YouTube broadcast. The controllers passed my pilots off to SoCal Departure on LiveATC.net.

I could keep up for a while on LiveATC and figured out the frequencies for the various en route centers. There are (mumble, mumble, mumble) some pilots who (mumble, mumble, mumble) speak very quietly (mumble, mumble, mumble) and can be difficult to understand.

“Shine a Light” and Donating

This next part didn’t work for my flight above because I was in an aisle seat and only learned about this after my trip. But here’s the gist.

L.A. FLIGHTS encourages watchers to let the channel know when they’re flying out of LAX. For example, I would’ve messaged the channel’s hosts that I’d be taking Delta flight 909 on whatever date and sitting in, let’s say, seat 4D. (And window seat on the right side of an A321.)

If they’re broadcasting that day and doing so from an angle capturing the right side of the aircraft, I’d turn on my cell phone’s flashlight and point it out the window. “Shine a Light” is an AvGeek-y way of saying hi to all the L.A. FLIGHTS masses watching. Some pilots even “Shine a Light.” (Lufthansa pilots seem to have the most fun with this.) If their plane faces the L.A. FLIGHTS cameras while taxiing from the apron, they’ll flash their landing lights a few times.

Finally, I read that most of these streamers don’t make much money from YouTube ads. So, if you enjoy their content, please consider donating a few bucks.

Final Approach

I used Delta’s free Wi-Fi to enjoy an ATC broadcast and YouTube live stream of my actual flight taking off pretty much as it happened. I’m eager to do it again, too! (Maybe I’ll have my daughter “Shine a Light” so she can hear her name on YouTube.)

Have you used the Wi-Fi to listen to LiveATC or watch your flight takeoff from (or land) at an airport?