Hey there!

Last month, the spotlight was on PiAware 10: a major release that brings smoother performance, better mobile usability, and updated FAA charts to SkyAware. We’ve also got a great data viz to share of our Monaco F1 special events flight tracking dashboard (because who isn’t a little obsessed with cars that are basically upside down airplanes?), and we’ve got our featured host of the month as well.

Let’s get into it 👇

🚀 PiAware 10 Is Here!

We’ve just rolled out PiAware 10 and it comes with a lot of improvements. Here are the big changes:

🧠 New SD Card Image (Bookworm-Based)

The PiAware 10 SD card image is based on the latest Raspberry Pi OS (Debian 12 Bookworm). To get this update, you’ll need to re-image your PiAware. Refer to our PiAware Upgrade Instructions for assistance.

This new image works on:

• Raspberry Pi 3, 4, and 5

• Raspberry Pi Zero family

📱 SkyAware Mobile Display Improvements

We’ve made a change to the SkyAware layout to improve the mobile experience. The SkyAware aircraft map now appears above the aircraft list, making it easier to see what’s flying overhead from your phone. Perfect for those quick “what is flying above me” check-ins from your backyard.

🗺️ New VFR and IFR Aeronautical Charts

Out with the old, broken ChartBundle U.S. sectional and terminal area charts… in with the new FAA-sourced VFR and IFR aeronautical charts. They work and look great.

🛠️ Notable Bug Fixes & Improvements

• Updated aircraft database in SkyAware (2025-05-14)

• Allow PiAware to start up without needing a MAC address which addresses an edge case where no interface is present at the time of PiAware startup

• Minor bug fixes and improvements to the dump1090-fa decoder

• For the curious, the full changelog is on GitHub

🏎️ Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix

All eyes are on Monaco as Formula 1 gears up for one of its most iconic races. We won’t be trackside this weekend, but we will be tracking the jets flying in for the big event. Our public dashboard gives you a live look at the air traffic in and out of the area leading up to—and during—race weekend.

Check it out along with our other special events dashboards here.

We at FlightAware are big F1 fans… or at least the person writing this newsletter is (the rest of the team humors me).

🌲 Featured ADS-B Host of the Month

Our featured host this month is ka6fub who managed to connect their 1090MHz antenna directly to their ProStick Plus using an N to SMA adapter. This was done so they could reduce any possible interference from a connecting cable, but it makes for nice and tidy packaging as well! They’re also using a step down converter to feed a steady 5V of power to their Pi Zero W, and they’re doing it all outdoors in a weather-resistant enclosure.

Is this technically a cordless antenna? 🤔

Thank you for sharing and for continuing to be an ADS-B host!

Would you like to be featured as our host of the month?

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!