West Des Moines, Iowa, United States · live ADS-B

Planes over West Des Moines right now

Updated

No aircraft directly over West Des Moines right now; 3 aircraft within 60 km Within 25 km of the city centre, ADS-B at 21:28 local (03:28 UTC).

Planes over West Des Moines right now

At 21:28 local (03:28 UTC), 3 aircraft were airborne within 60 km of West Des Moines, Iowa, United States, 0 of them within 25 km of the city centre.

By height: 2 cruising at 20,000 ft or more (mostly passing over on the way somewhere else), 0 between 3,000 and 20,000 ft (typically climbing out or descending into a nearby airport) and 1 below 3,000 ft. Most of the traffic above West Des Moines right now is overflying rather than landing nearby.

Every aircraft broadcasting its position over West Des Moines: airliners, helicopters, military and private planes, with how high and which way they are flying.

Aircraft within 25 km
0 airborne, ADS-B
Aircraft within 60 km
3
Helicopters
1 within 60 km
Military
1 flagged military airframes
Low (< 3,000 ft) away from airports
0
Circling or loitering
1 last 20 min

Open on the live map

Helicopters, military and low planes over West Des Moines

1 helicopter is flying within 60 km. The nearest, GC20641 (H60), is 55 km NNW at 1,450 ft and has been circling. Police, air-ambulance, news and tour helicopters often fly low and slow over cities; ADS-B does not say which role a helicopter has, but the registration on the flight page usually tells you the operator.

1 military aircraft is visible nearby: GC20641 (H60) 55 km NNW at 1,450 ft. Many military flights switch their transponders off or hide their identity, so this is a minimum.

Every aircraft below 3,000 ft is close to an airport, which is normal approach or departure traffic.

Is a plane circling over West Des Moines?

GC20641 (H60, helicopter) is 55 km NNW at 1,450 ft. Over the last 12 minutes it has stayed within about 2.5 km of one spot.

Aircraft circle for many ordinary reasons: police or news helicopters watching an incident, holding patterns while waiting to land, aerial survey, flight training or photography.

How busy is the sky over West Des Moines?

West Des Moines is busier than 2 of 4 nearby large cities right now. The busiest nearby sky is over Ames with 3 aircraft within 25 km.

There is no major hub airport within 150 km, so most aircraft here are overflights or regional and private flights.

ISS and bright satellites over West Des Moines tonight

The ISS, Tiangong and Hubble pass over West Des Moines in the next 24 hours, but none of the passes happens while the sky is dark and the station is sunlit, so none will be visible to the eye.

  • ISS (ZARYA) · 22:28 local not visible, peak 27° NNW, 6 min
  • ISS (ZARYA) · 00:06 local not visible, peak 15° N, 4 min
  • ISS (ZARYA) · 01:43 local not visible, peak 21° NNE, 5 min
  • ISS (ZARYA) · 03:20 local not visible, peak 80° W, 7 min
  • ISS (ZARYA) · 04:59 local not visible, peak 10° SW, 1 min
  • CSS (TIANHE) · 12:31 local not visible, peak 31° SSE, 5 min

What plane is flying over me?

This page uses the centre of West Des Moines. For the exact aircraft above your street, open "What's overhead" and share your location: it lists every aircraft near you with the direction and angle to look.

Aircraft broadcast their position by ADS-B and volunteer receivers relay it. Small drones, most military aircraft on missions and some police aircraft do not broadcast, so they never appear on any public tracker. Drone sightings cannot be checked here.

Coverage: ADS-B from volunteer receivers. Within 60 km of a big city coverage is usually good above a few thousand feet; low helicopters can drop out between receivers. Circling detection uses positions sampled once a minute over the last 20 minutes.

Planes over nearby cities

More live data for West Des Moines

Aviation

Guides

Data: ADS-B Exchange community feeders via adsb.lol (ODbL), OurAirports, CelesTrak (satellite orbits).