# My current obsession: SkyCards! Anyone else play? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 11, 2026, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-current-obsession-skycards-anyone-else-play/1030818 "2026-06-11T07:05:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 23
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-current-obsession-skycards-anyone-else-play/1030818/441 "2026-09-17T16:21:08Z")
Thanks! > **[N859NA · Lockheed Martin X-59 Quesst](https://skycards.app/flight/X59/1102367739)** > > 🇺🇸  EDW · Edwards    →    🇺🇸  EDW · Edwards ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-current-obsession-skycards-anyone-else-play/1030818/442 "2026-09-17T16:21:25Z")
As @blue_infinity suggests, random everywhere is the usual case for large airlines. Some outfit w 10 planes and 6 destinations will of course be more repetitive. An exception is special purpose subfleets. Some airlines that go to e.g. Hawaii only have a few of the fleet configured for Pacific ETOPS. Likewise some airlines have a few planes configured extra luxo & they’re pretty well restricted to just a handful of routes frequented by the ruling class. E.g LAX or SFO to/from JFK or BOS. ---
**Author:** ![blue\_infinity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_infinity/32/2817_2.png) [@blue\_infinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blue_infinity)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-current-obsession-skycards-anyone-else-play/1030818/443 "2026-09-17T16:22:33Z")
> [@Raza](#): > > I just picked up an X-59 at Edwards AFB, NNE of Los Angeles. Got it too. It was doing 700 kt. 3rd rarest catch for me. ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-current-obsession-skycards-anyone-else-play/1030818/444 "2026-09-17T17:42:01Z")
Good news on the tail numbers then - I live in a flyover state, so decent chance they’ll come through my air space at some point. Thanks @CaveMike for the link to the flight, I was able to snag it as well. ---
**Author:** ![blue\_infinity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_infinity/32/2817_2.png) [@blue\_infinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blue_infinity)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-current-obsession-skycards-anyone-else-play/1030818/445 "2026-09-17T20:58:23Z")
PSA: There’s a flight heading to Wake Island right now. Just west of Honolulu. A ‘green’ Boeing 757. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-current-obsession-skycards-anyone-else-play/1030818/446 "2026-09-17T21:32:07Z")
Thanks again! I had just been at Honolulu and not sure how I missed it. > **[N754CX · Boeing 757-200](https://skycards.app/flight/B752/1102435121)** > > 🇺🇸  HNL · Honolulu    →    🇺🇲  AWK · Wake Island ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2026, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-current-obsession-skycards-anyone-else-play/1030818/447 "2026-09-18T12:53:10Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > The name was truncated to “U.S. Immig…” and I extrapolated incorrectly. I think it might be part of DHS/CBP nowadays. Sorry to belabor this point, but I consider this thread to be a safe space for us nerds. 😉 FlightRadar24 has the TARS correctly labeled as “United States - US Customs and Border Protection”, but SkyCards has the Cudjoe Key one labelled as “United States - US Immigration and Customs Enforcement” while the Yuma one is unlabeled. FlightRadar24 shows 214 aircraft registered to ICE while SkyCards shows 126 (and we know at least one of those is incorrect). I had assumed that SkyCards was working directly from the FlightRadar24 database, but I guess not. ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2026, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-current-obsession-skycards-anyone-else-play/1030818/448 "2026-09-19T16:55:39Z")
What I’ve seen on Reddit, etc. all says that it does pull directly from FlightRadar24, but perhaps there is some sort of bug or delay? Which my app has been really buggy this week. It briefly showed West Palm Beach airport as a “new” one - which is ridiculous, I’ve caught easily a dozen planes going in there this week alone. And then the app will sometimes crash after I’ve caught a plane and it just closes. But Miami has been perfect for unlocking the Caribbean and S. America! I now have both the Eagle and Llama trophies, and only used Catch Anywhere for Saint Pierre and Miquelon and Montserrat. I could have caught Montserrat but I was able to use the Monaco method and I was lazy. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-current-obsession-skycards-anyone-else-play/1030818/449 "2026-09-20T12:14:54Z")
> [@liirogue](#): > > I now have both the Eagle and Llama trophies, and only used Catch Anywhere for Saint Pierre and Miquelon and Montserrat. That’s awesome. I ended up using quite a few Catch Anywheres; maybe I was impatient. I had built up a large supply that I probably should have saved for Africa. I still need: - Montserrat for Eagle - Monaco and Ukraine for Trans-Europe - And 3 Islands for Southern Cross The app hasn’t been crashing for me, but it does get pretty sluggish. I’m on Android and I clear the app from memory when it does. I’ve also been toggling off the airplanes when I move between regions to avoid loading in extra traffic. > [@liirogue](#): > > What I’ve seen on Reddit, etc. all says that it does pull directly from FlightRadar24, but perhaps there is some sort of bug or delay? SkyCards might take a snapshot of the “static” data (e.g. tail numbers, airlines, aircraft types) and cache that in the app to limit database traffic. I agree the dynamic data must be from FlightRadar24. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-current-obsession-skycards-anyone-else-play/1030818/450 "2026-09-20T18:39:11Z")
I caught the St. Helena flight this week; it was right on time. Only three countries left. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-current-obsession-skycards-anyone-else-play/1030818/451 "2026-09-21T02:34:39Z")
Flight to North Korea: [B-5297 · Boeing 737-700 - Skycards](https://skycards.app/flight/B737/1103250119) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-current-obsession-skycards-anyone-else-play/1030818/452 "2026-09-21T02:58:11Z")
I see a flight from Beijing to Pyongyang on flightaware, but not in the game. It may have already landed; I’ve noticed that one of those is slightly behind the other. There are scheduled flights to Pyongyang, just not very many. You can catch one, but you may have to plan to be in the game on a certain day and time. I happened to look at the Pyongyang airport just now, and it’s rather an odd layout. There are two runways, not quite parallel, laid out end-to-end on opposite sides of a river. From the terminal to the end of the far runway looks like about a three-mile taxi. I’ve no idea what the topography is like; it’s possible that the river valley is the only flat land in the area. Why they need two runways at an airport that gets three flights per week is another question. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-current-obsession-skycards-anyone-else-play/1030818/453 "2026-09-21T03:28:55Z")
It looked like it was about a half hour out when I caught it. Agree that it probably had landed. I just missed 3 tries at Northern Mariana Islands. The flights stopped updating and then disappeared before landing. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-current-obsession-skycards-anyone-else-play/1030818/454 "2026-09-21T12:38:15Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I happened to look at the Pyongyang airport just now, and it’s rather an odd layout. The “river” seems more like a channelized overgrown drainage ditch, but yeah, that layout is weird. Thanks for that find. One thing’s for sure: commercial logic had nothing to do with the decision-making. Here’s another fairly odd layout: https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d50222.383399116574!2d-68.38094091767965!3d18.563865361985588!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x8ea892172ce48f89%3A0x957aa624da170f8c!2sPunta%20Cana%20International%20Airport!5e1!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1789993976269!5m2!1sen!2sus Only the northern runway of the two is used. The other just sits unused. And given the prevailing winds, flights arrive and depart to the east about 95% of the time. As best I can piece together the history, the original runway is the south one, and that’s how the terminal is arranged. Then somebody with a lot of political power built the beachfront golf course resort off the end of the one runway. Oops, we don’t like that much jet noise. So somehow the government found the money to build a second runway aimed differently so departures don’t overfly the golf course. Which (for now at least) also moves the arrival path farther south of the built-up areas inland. ---
**Author:** ![BomTek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bomtek/32/21364_2.png) [@BomTek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BomTek)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2026, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-current-obsession-skycards-anyone-else-play/1030818/455 "2026-09-22T07:23:01Z")
It makes my heart so happy to see that this thread is still going strong! I burned myself out a bit on this game over the course of Oshkosh week, and I’m just picking it back up, really. Last week I unlocked Honolulu and Jeju, so I’m nearing completion of the Boeing 717-200 registrations (88% completed; 6/101 remaining) and I’m about halfway done with the Korean Air fleet. Just now I unlocked Muscat for the week, so I’m gonna be keeping an eye out for one specific plane, an Embraer E175 Long Wing operated by the Royal Oman Police, which will get me closer to completing all of those tail numbers (95% completed; 34/651 remaining). On a personal note, I recently learned that I’m going to be the new club sponsor for the Aerospace & Aviation Club at my local high school! I haven’t started yet, as I’m still waiting on the wheels of bureaucracy, but maybe this week 🤞🏼 It’s a big school, so I’ll have 75-100+ students attending on any given week, but I’m excited to get going. I plan on introducing them to SkyCards… ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2026, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-current-obsession-skycards-anyone-else-play/1030818/456 "2026-09-22T11:07:34Z")
> [@BomTek](#): > > I plan on introducing them to SkyCards… I’m sure their parents and teachers will be thrilled. Be sure to wear your pitchfork-proof underoos to the next PTA meeting. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-current-obsession-skycards-anyone-else-play/1030818/457 "2026-09-24T03:46:43Z")
Flight to Ukraine, a bit south of Cairo. Should be in the air for a couple more hours. > **[UR-CAJ · Antonov AN-12](https://skycards.app/flight/AN12/1104052652)** > > 🇪🇬  HRG · Hurghada    →    🇺🇦  CWC · Chernivtsi ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-current-obsession-skycards-anyone-else-play/1030818/458 "2026-09-24T11:07:12Z")
Caught it; thanks for the heads up. When I finally catch a flight to Antarctica, it’s possible I could complete three trophies at once. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-current-obsession-skycards-anyone-else-play/1030818/459 "2026-09-24T13:17:03Z")
I still have about half of Africa left (as well as Monaco and Antarctica). I’ve completed a few trophies this week, but only Dragon showed a pop-up; so that’s still buggy. I’m almost halfway done with Bullseye too. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-current-obsession-skycards-anyone-else-play/1030818/460 "2026-09-24T17:35:56Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > When I finally catch a flight to Antarctica, Lots more activity going that way in Antarctic summer than winter. So your opportunities should be increasing soon as we slide into northern winter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-current-obsession-skycards-anyone-else-play/1030818.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-current-obsession-skycards-anyone-else-play/1030818.md?page=24)