See the latest from the  FlightAware ADS-B Network, a community of aviation enthusiasts hosting a network of over 34,000 receivers in almost 200 countries and on all seven continents. If you're interested in joining or adding to our network, you can learn more about hosting a receiver here, or use the link below to check out our PiAware kits, which make it easy to get started.

FlightFeeders at Airports 

FlightAware is always looking to grow our community and enhance coverage on or near airports. This month we are prioritizing free FlightFeeders for people that live near the following airports:

• Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (KBHM)

• George Bush Intercontinental Airport (KIAH)

• Pueblo Memorial Airport, Pueblo, CO, United States (KPUB)

• Portland International Jetport (KPWM)

If you reside or have a business within 5 miles of any of these airports, or know someone that would enjoy hosting a FlightFeeder in close proximity to another airport, we will send you a FlightFeeder for free!
You can request a FlightFeeder and mention the monthly newsletter in the notes, or feel free to contact [email protected] directly.

Featured Sites for August

bryaneschbach44 submitted this photo of his on-the-go PiAware overlooking the Las Vegas skyline. He hosts one PiAware at his home base in Ohio and takes this PiAware on the road. Using SkyAware Anywhere, he’s able to see a combined aircraft picture from both receivers and uses the LCD screen purely for connecting to Wi-Fi and troubleshooting. A very creative way to track flights on the go!

larbaek recently joined the FlightAware network in June and proudly hosts a FlightFeeder in Dragor, Denmark. His antenna you see in the distance receives messages over 250 miles in all directions, allowing him to pick up over 1 million positions per day. Great reception Lars!

SkyAware - Behind the Scenes

We’re going to start the series off by talking about what happens behind the scenes of SkyAware - how it consumes the real-time flight data to display the aircraft on the map and aircraft table.

The dump1090-fa program that decodes aircraft signals outputs the processed data into a variety of formats. One of those formats is JSON (JavaScript Object Notation), a standard text-based format commonly used to exchange data between web applications.

Aircraft.json
This is one of the files that dump1090-fa produces. It contains a list of recently seen aircraft and the current state of each one. Take a look at the data below and see if you can decipher any of it.

You can view your PiAware or FlightFeeder’s current aircraft.json file by visiting this URL in a web browser: http://<local IP address of receiver>:8080/data/aircraft.json

As new messages from an aircraft are received, dump1090-fa will update the current state for that aircraft in this list. As your receiver picks up new aircraft, dump1090-fa will add to this list. This JSON data is what SkyAware uses to display everything you see in the web interface.

We hope this provides you with a better idea of where SkyAware consumes the aircraft data from. Next month, we’ll break down some of the elements in the web interface and share some hidden features you might not know existed!

Do you have any cool features or ideas you’d be interested in seeing in SkyAware? Let us know by emailing [email protected]

Help increase our coverage! 

Our ADS-B network spans across 194 countries on all 7 continents thanks to you all. Our goal is to expand our terrestrial ADS-B coverage across the entire world, especially around airports to improve our surface coverage. If you or someone you know has connections to airports and FBO’s or live in areas where we lack coverage, we’d love to send you a FlightFeeder! You can apply for one here. If we already have coverage in your area, you can still contribute to FlightAware by building your own PiAware. It’s a fun little weekend project!

STAY IN TOUCH

Click the link below to visit the ADS-B Flight Tracking discussion forum on our website, or follow us on social media to stay up to date with the latest news!