You didn’t ask for an explanation, but I’m gonna give you one because I really, REALLY, don’t want to do what’s next on my plate for work.
Look at simulated radar view of the region around you, see actual air traffic
Collect virtual trading cards for said aircraft by playing a mini-game that involves taking a clear virtual photo of the aircraft
Point values assigned based on rarity of aircraft, number of times spotted, etc
Additional missions might include getting a specific number of aircraft bound for a target destination, a required number of unique grabs of a specific aircraft type, etc.
Compete with other player for imaginary points based on all of the above.
I suspect that it’s based on their own statistics of how often the plane flies, or is caught. I caught a Boeing Dreamlifter last night. There are only 4 of those ever made, but the rarity is only 8.08.
Can you set alerts for particular aircraft? There’s one I have my eye on, but I suppose that would take some of the challenge out of it.
Somehow I read that as “Beerhawk Companion” which instantly triggered the thought that was the kind of plane you would bring with you to go from airport diner to airport diner getting a beer at each place.
Just the sort of thing parachutists or ultralight pilots might do, those wild and crazy guys & gals!
Not on SkyCards itself, but some players set alerts on FlightRadar24.
Also, the rarity is a calculation of how many of a particular aircraft are still flying, how often they fly, how far… that kind of thing. So you’ll notice that there are 18k or so C172 Skyhawks listed, but they’re rarer than the 5k Boeing 737-800 airliners because they only fly in small areas.
The typical 737-800 spends 8 - 10 hours per day in the air.
Most C172s spend 8-10 hours per year in the air. The busy ones fly 8-10 hours per week.
The total annual fleet hours of the B737s dwarfs that of the C172. And that’s before we convert hours to miles at a roughly 4:1 exchange rate in favor of B737s.
I temporarily expanded my “radar coverage” yesterday evening to capture three L-39s that I saw flying around over Southern Ontario, part of the International Test Pilot School’s fleet based in London, ON. So that was cool. Rarity 7.72.
Edited to add - aaaaand I just saw a Hongdu BT-6 (Chinese acrobatic trainer) flying over Medina, OH otw to Detroit from Akron, which now tops my Rarity list at 8.86.
I saw a Velocity 173 (based on the Rutan Long-EZ) just outside of my reach. Classed as ultra-rare so the rating would be pretty high.
EDIT - I just saw an Avro Lancaster flying around Hamilton, ON. Only two of those in flying condition in the world as well - I spent some coins to temporarily locate to YYZ to catch it - Rarity score 11.76!
I just downloaded it and started playing. Once you get a certain number on the cards for cloud cover and percentage in frame, does it stay at the best value, even if a subsequent photo of the same plane is a little worse? Or does it average out the total numbers you get for all the planes of that type that you’ve caught photos of?
I signed up last night and shared it with my wife, who has lately become a small-time civilian aviation buff since we’re so close to Alliance Airport in north Texas. I’m excited for the military aircraft, but as of late, that’s amounted to a C-130 and a couple of T-38s flying back and forth from Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls.
Fifi does make her way through here on occasion, though, and her engine noise is very distinctive!
This. One of my main nits to pick with this game is that I’d like to see the overall cloud coverage reduced by like 20-25%, but as you catch more planes with 100% framing and 0% clouds, your card’s stats will change.
Similarly, I managed to snag one of NASA’s three WB-57s (a modified Martin B-57 Canberra used for weather research) cruising around the Gulf of Mexico this afternoon. It has a rarity of 12.56 - my rarest yet by far!
I’m trying to catch one of Southwest Airlines’ mundane Boeing 737s out of Dallas Love Field on its way to Houston Hobby airport so I can temporarily relocate there if I feel the need to, but no luck yet today.
