Hey all, thanks for all your insightful responses! I really am trying to understand if there is a way to make this more efficient. When I flew out of Dubai last year on my way home, I was prompted to check-in 48 hours before the flight. So I did, but before doing so, I wanted to see which side of the plane to sit on, so I could see the Dubai skyline as i took off.

My plan was rudimentary - I went onto flightradar24, checked the past week's worth of flightpaths for the upcoming flight. I double checked to see if the direction of take off DID in fact line up with the wind direction. I checked Windy for historical wind direction at the airport location, and it was pretty consistent. I then checked on Google Maps to see where the Burj Khalifa would be in relation to the expected flightpath. I determined that for the upcoming flight, with the forecasted wind direction, my best chance of seeing the Burj on take off was to sit on the RHS of the airplane. So I chose my seat, proud of my detailed investigation!

Sadly what I did not account for on the day, was the fog... the entire city was covered in a dense fog and whilst my investigation DID guide me to the correct side of the airplane... I did not see the Burj! :(

Ever since then I've been trying to work on a way to make this more accurate - a bit of a personal project, but I realise now that the variables linked to flightpaths (thank you ATOBTTR for your very detailed comment about variables) is quite complex.

If any one of you is willing to help brainstorm the problem with me a bit further, I'd be grateful! You all seem very experienced in the matter!

skyspye Flying into Tokyo frequently, Mount Fuji eluded me for many years, including much research such as yourself. Mostly, this was cloud related and just routings in the wrong direction. Then, one particular arrival into HND on a bright and sunny day, there she was! Your research will bear fruits, it's just hit and miss sometimes.