How do I find the registration or serial number for the aircraft I flew on specific trips in the past?

Question

I understand that there are various paid subscription services that allow me to search back up to a year in the past for the IDs of any flight and the histories of any aircraft.

Is there a free (or one-time fee) service or API for identifying the aircraft I've flown on specific dates and flights in the (up to several years) past?

I think FlightAware has historical data, but it is a subscription service. — Ron Beyer, May 19 '17 at 13:30
You linked FlightRadar, I mentioned FlightAware, two different services... — Ron Beyer, May 19 '17 at 14:25
@RonBeyer: "various" and "is there a free (or one-time fee)...". — orome, May 19 '17 at 14:26
It's a one-time fee if you cancel the subscription right away... — Ron Beyer, May 19 '17 at 14:36
For specific dates and flights you might be able to get this question answered on a local aviation forum. At least in the Netherlands I know various examples of people who wanted more information about flights up to twenty years ago and got answered by people who had flight logs or other information for a specific day. — Jordy, Jun 17 '17 at 15:38

score 1 · Answer 1 · 2017-05-19T15:36:56.537

The US (if that's your area of flying) is very kind in publicly releasing stats compared to other territories, but the answer is still you can't without a paid service.

See:

In short: The FAA only keeps broad records that do not contain information such as tail numbers.

Start a personal flight journal for future flights, it's a hobby some enjoy. I did at one time, and when I couldn't catch the registration, I asked the flight crew.

How do I find the registration or serial number for the aircraft I flew on specific trips in the past?

1 Answers1