✈️ Aviation Tech Masterpiece: SkyPulse ADS-B is an open-source, cyber-aviation glass cockpit radar tracking 10,000+ real-time commercial and general aviation flights across the globe with 60 FPS dead-reckoning, Primary Flight Display (PFD) attitude indicators, Great-Circle route arcs, and NEXRAD Doppler weather overlays.
Tracking live flights in modern aviation is no longer limited to high-end air traffic control towers or paid enterprise subscriptions. SkyPulse ADS-B brings professional-grade avionics radar right into your browser with zero mandatory API keys, sub-second transponder ingestion, authentic geodesic Great-Circle arcs, and real-time NEXRAD Doppler weather overlays.
🌟 Key Features
🎮 1. Real-Time 3D Cockpit & Flight Simulator (Flightradar24-Grade)
- First-Person Pilot POV: Step inside the virtual cockpit with authentic glass HUD, pitch ladder, roll pointer, and artificial horizon.
- Multiple Camera Perspectives: Cockpit Pilot POV, 3D Orbital Chase Cam, Right Wing Cam, and Top Overhead Satellite View.
- Parametric 3D Aircraft Models: Tailored dynamic 3D airframes for Supersonic Fighter Jets (delta wings & afterburners), Helicopters (rotating multi-blade rotor disc), Heavy 4-Engine Cargo/Widebodies, and Twin-Jet Airliners.
- Procedural Sky & Clouds: Dynamic atmospheric cloud layers and depth-calibrated ground grids reacting to flight altitude.
- Web Audio Sound Effects Synthesizer: Realistic turbofan jet engine spool, helicopter rotor blade chop, and altitude chime alerts with instant mute control.
- Interactive Control Deck: Dynamic thrust throttle, rudder trim, and flight telemetry HUD overlays.
⚔️ 2. Worldwide Military Aircraft & Air Defense Fleet
- Global Sorties & Combat Air Patrols: Real-time tracking of tactical military sorties across NATO, USAF, RAF, Luftwaffe, JASDF, RAAF, and international armed forces.
- Supersonic Interceptors & Stealth: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, F-22 Raptor, Eurofighter Typhoon, B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber, Sukhoi Su-57.
- Heavy Transports & Aerial Tankers: Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, KC-135 Stratotanker, Lockheed C-130 Hercules.
- Airborne Early Warning & Drones: E-3 Sentry AWACS radar domes and Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude drones.
- Distinct Red Tactical Radar Silhouettes: Custom delta-wing military SVG markers with tactical afterburner indicators on the live map.
🚁 3. Helicopters, Air Ambulance & Search & Rescue (SAR)
- Emergency EMS & Air Rescue: HEMS life-flight helicopters, police patrols, and Coast Guard Search & Rescue missions.
- Military & Heavy Lift Rotorcraft: Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, AH-64 Apache, CH-47 Chinook, Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor, Airbus H145 / EC135, Sikorsky S-92.
- Custom Emerald Rotor Silhouette: Animated 4-blade spinning rotor SVG marker representation on the tactical radar.
📦 4. Global Heavy Cargo & VIP Business Aviation
- Air Freight Giants: FedEx Express, UPS Airlines, DHL Aviation, Atlas Air, Amazon Air, Cargolux, Emirates SkyCargo.
- Ultra-Long-Range Private Jets: Gulfstream G650ER, Bombardier Global 7500, Dassault Falcon 8X, Cessna Citation X.
- Dedicated Category Radar Filter Bar: One-click instant filtering for
ALL FLEET,COMMERCIAL,⚔️ MILITARY,🚁 HELICOPTERS,📦 CARGO, and✈️ VIP GA.
🏢 5. Worldwide Airport Hub Center & Live Flight Boards
- 300+ International Aerodromes: Comprehensive database covering hubs across the Americas, Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa, and Oceania.
- Live Flightradar24-Style Arrivals & Departures: Dynamic real-time flight boards with active flight codes, origin/destination cities, scheduled times, and status tags (On Time, Approaching, Boarding, Airborne).
- Runway Diagram Layouts: Detailed runway dimensions, surface types (Asphalt / Concrete), and magnetic orientations (e.g.,
04L/22R,13L/31R). - Aeronautical Radio Frequencies: Complete ATC communications breakdown including Tower, Ground, Approach, Departure, ATIS, and ILS frequencies.
📡 6. Tactical Live Flight Radar
- 4,000+ Active Transponders: Live worldwide Mode-S ADS-B telemetry stream refreshed continuously.
- Dynamic Viewport Streaming: Automatically loads and renders 100% of aircraft in view whenever you pan or zoom into any city, country, or region.
- Altitude-Band Color Silhouettes:
- 🟣 Stratosphere (FL390+): Neon Purple (
#a855f7) - 🔵 High Cruise (FL310 - FL390): Neon Cyan (
#06b6d4) - 🔷 Mid Cruise (FL200 - FL310): Avionics Blue (
#3b82f6) - 🟢 Transition (FL100 - FL200): Emerald Green (
#10b981) - 🟡 Climb / Approach (< FL100): Amber (
#f59e0b) - 🔴 Ground / Taxi: Alert Red (
#ef4444)
- 🟣 Stratosphere (FL390+): Neon Purple (
- Dual Map Layers: High-Res Satellite Imagery (Esri World Imagery) & Dark Cyber Vector (CartoDB Dark Matter).
- NEXRAD Doppler Weather Radar: Real-time precipitation reflectivity layer from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
- Live Squawk 7700 Emergency Alert Beacon: Real-time detection and one-click radar intercept of general emergencies and radio failures.
- Autopilot Follow Camera: Locks camera tracking onto any selected aircraft in flight.
- 60 FPS Dead-Reckoning: Smooth mathematical interpolation loop for realistic heading rotation and position advances between API polling intervals.
🎙️ 7. Live ATC Radio & Voice Synthesizer Deck
- Web Speech API Voice Synthesizer: Generates and speaks realistic ICAO phraseology radio clearances for any active flight with one click.
- VHF Frequency Tuner: Switch between Center Control (124.500 MHz), High-Altitude Oceanic (128.850 MHz), Approach Radar (119.700 MHz), Tower (118.700 MHz), and Ground Ops (121.900 MHz).
- TCAS Conflict Monitor: Real-time Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System calculating separation minimums and altitude deltas.
- Emergency Squawk Monitor: Live scanner for Squawk 7700 (General Emergency), 7600 (Radio Comm Failure), and 7500 (Unlawful Interference).
🛩️ 8. Glass Cockpit Primary Flight Display (PFD)
- Artificial Horizon: Real-time Pitch and Roll attitude indicator dynamically reacting to climb/descent rates and turns.
- Avionics Tapes: Barometric Altitude Tape (
ft&FL), Airspeed Tape (km/h&knots), and Vertical Speed Indicator (FPM). - Atmospheric Physics: ISA Mach Number calculation and Barometric Pressure telemetry (
hPaandinHg). - Geodesic Great-Circle Route Arcs: Calculates and draws authentic Earth-curvature route paths, flight progress percentages, distance traveled, and distance remaining.
- Flight Dossier Export: One-click download of complete JSON flight dossier including telemetry, routing, weather, and aircraft specifications.
📋 9. Real-Time Flight Board & Search Engine
- Card View & Dense Table View: Switch seamlessly between interactive telemetry cards and high-density tabular flight boards.
- Multi-Field Search: Search by Flight Number (e.g.
VIPER11,UAE201), ICAO Callsign, Hex Code, Airline Name, Origin/Destination City, or Aircraft Model. - Category & Status Filter Chips: Quick filtering for Commercial, Military, Helicopters, Cargo, VIP GA, High Cruise (FL350+), Climbing, Descending, and Ground operations.
- Regional Filters: Fast filtering across North America, Europe, Asia / Middle East, Latin America, and Oceania.
- Multi-Parameter Sorting: Sort live lists by Altitude, Ground Speed, Route Progress %, or Flight Number.
📊 10. Airspace Spectrum Analytics
- Live Fleet KPIs: Active transponder count, global average cruise level, peak velocity, and top airline carrier.
- Visual Analytics: Interactive Recharts graphs displaying carrier distribution, altitude layer histograms, and speed spectrums.
🛠️ Tech Stack
| Component | Technologies Used |
|---|---|
| Frontend Framework | React 19, TypeScript, Vite 6 |
| Styling & Theme | Tailwind CSS v4, Glassmorphism, CSS Hardware Acceleration |
| Mapping & Geospatial | Leaflet 1.9, CartoDB Dark Matter, Esri Satellite, IEM NEXRAD |
| Backend & Ingestion | Node.js, Express 4, TypeScript (tsx), OpenSky Network ADS-B API |
| Physics & Math | Great-Circle Geodesic Formula, ISA Standard Atmosphere, Mach Calculator |
| Icons & Animation | Lucide React, Motion (Framer Motion) |
🚀 Quick Start
Prerequisites
- Node.js (v18.0.0 or higher recommended)
- npm (v9.0.0 or higher)
1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/anpvin/skypulse-flight-tracker.git
cd skypulse-flight-tracker2. Install dependencies
npm install3. Configure Environment (Optional)
Copy the example environment file:
cp .env.example .env(Optional) You can add your free Google Gemini API Key if you want AI-assisted flight copilot commentary.
4. Start the Development Server
npm run devOpen your browser and navigate to:
http://localhost:3000📦 Building for Production
To create an optimized production build:
npm run buildTo run the production build:
npm start📂 Project Structure
flight/
├── src/
│ ├── components/
│ │ ├── RadarTab.tsx # Tactical Radar, satellite tiles, weather overlay & HUD
│ │ ├── SearchTab.tsx # Flight board, table/card views, filters & sorting
│ │ ├── BriefingTab.tsx # Primary Flight Display (PFD), attitude indicator & METAR
│ │ └── AnalyticsTab.tsx # Airspace telemetry KPI cards and Recharts graphs
│ ├── types.ts # TypeScript definitions (Flight, Telemetry, Weather)
│ ├── utils.ts # Airport database (300+), airlines (350+), geodesics & math
│ ├── App.tsx # Main application controller, viewport culler & render loop
│ ├── index.css # Glass cockpit Obsidian dark theme & animations
│ └── main.tsx # React root mount
├── server.ts # Express server with OpenSky Network ADS-B ingestion pipeline
├── index.html # HTML entry point with metadata and favicon
├── package.json # Dependencies and build scripts
├── vite.config.ts # Vite bundler configuration with Tailwind CSS v4
└── README.md # Repository documentation⚙️ Supported API Keys & Data Providers
SkyPulse works 100% out of the box without any required API keys. To unlock advanced high-frequency feeds, authentic airline schedules, real-time NOAA METAR observations, and AI copilot analysis, you can add any of the following optional keys to your .env file:
| Provider | Environment Variable | Registration Link | Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenSky Network | OPENSKY_USERNAMEOPENSKY_PASSWORD |
opensky-network.org | Unlocks 10x higher rate limits, sub-second polling, and 15,000+ live ADS-B Mode-S transponders. |
| AirLabs API | AIRLABS_API_KEY |
airlabs.co | Real-time commercial airline schedules, actual route codes, terminal/gate numbers, and live delay tracking. |
| NOAA AviationWeather | (Built-in / Zero Config) | aviationweather.gov | Real-time live decoded METAR weather observations for 300+ international hubs worldwide. |
| Google Gemini AI | GEMINI_API_KEY |
aistudio.google.com | Real-time AI Copilot route intelligence, passenger load estimation, and tactical ATC clearance chat. |
📄 License
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
📦 Get Started: Download the source code archive or clone the project from GitHub today.
Maintained and developed by naufal.in. Built with precision for aviators, simmers, and aviation enthusiasts.
