Aircraft Tracker - Fully configurable airport departure board style display using ADS-B data
Fully Configurable Aircraft Tracker with Airport Departure Board Style Display
A beautiful Python CLI tool that tracks nearby aircraft and displays them in an airport departure board style interface using real-time ADS-B data from the OpenSky Network. Now with comprehensive configuration support for complete customization!
✅ Complete Configuration System - All hardcoded values are now configurable
✅ JSON Configuration Files - Easy-to-edit configuration with example templates
✅ Backwards Compatibility - All existing usage patterns still work
✅ Environment-Specific Configs - Different settings for different use cases
✅ Enhanced Documentation - Comprehensive configuration guides
pip install flight-display
# Clone the repository
git clone <repository-url>
cd flight-display
# Install the package
pip install -e .
# or with uv
uv pip install -e .
# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt
# or with uv
uv pip install -r requirements.txt
# Run directly
python main.py
# Auto-detect location and start tracking
flight-display
# Use specific coordinates (latitude, longitude)
flight-display --lat 40.7128 --lon -74.0060
# Set custom search radius and update interval
flight-display --radius 100 --interval 30
NEW! Flight Display now supports comprehensive JSON-based configuration:
# Create an example configuration file
flight-display --create-config
# Use your custom configuration
cp config_example.json config.json
# Edit config.json to your preferences
flight-display --config config.json
# Auto-detect location and start tracking
flight-display
# Use specific coordinates (latitude, longitude)
flight-display --lat 40.7128 --lon -74.0060
# Set custom search radius (default: from config or 50km)
flight-display --radius 100
# Set update interval (default: from config or 10 seconds)
flight-display --interval 30
# Use custom configuration file
flight-display --config my-config.json
# Skip online airline database for faster startup
flight-display --no-online-db
# Create example configuration file
flight-display --create-config
Flight Display supports comprehensive JSON configuration files. All aspects of the application can be customized without modifying code.
Generate example config:
flight-display --create-config
Copy and customize:
cp config_example.json config.json
# Edit config.json with your preferences
Use your configuration:
flight-display # Automatically uses config.json if present
# OR
flight-display --config my-custom-config.json
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Display | Colors, thresholds, table format, aircraft limit |
| Location | Default coordinates, fallback location, radius |
| Aircraft Types | Type mappings (Boeing 737 → B737), unknown codes |
| Registration | Country patterns (N → US, G- → UK), private aircraft |
| APIs | Endpoints, timeouts, retry behavior |
| Units | Conversion factors, distance calculations |
Change default location:
{
"location": {
"default_latitude": 51.5074,
"default_longitude": -0.1278,
"default_location_name": "London, UK"
}
}
Adjust display settings:
{
"display": {
"max_aircraft_displayed": 20,
"high_altitude_threshold": 35000,
"default_update_interval": 5
}
}
Add custom aircraft types:
{
"aircraft_types": {
"type_mappings": {
"Cessna 172": "C172",
"Piper Cherokee": "PA28"
}
}
}
For complete configuration documentation, see CONFIGURATION.md.
flight-display --no-adaptive --radius 50
flight-display --quiet
flight-display --help
### Legacy Usage (Backward compatible)
```bash
# Auto-detect location
python main.py
# Manual coordinates
python main.py 40.7128 -74.0060
The departure board displays the following information for each aircraft:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| CALLSIGN | Aircraft callsign or registration |
| OPERATOR | Airline or operator name |
| TYPE | Aircraft type (e.g., B737, A320) |
| ALTITUDE | Current altitude with color coding |
| SPEED | Ground speed in knots |
| TRACK | Heading in degrees |
| V/SPEED | Vertical rate with directional arrows |
| DISTANCE | Distance from your location |
# Location Options
--lat, --latitude FLOAT Your latitude coordinate
--lon, --longitude FLOAT Your longitude coordinate
# Display Options
--radius, -r FLOAT Search radius in km (default: 25)
--interval, -i INT Update interval in seconds (default: 15)
--max-radius FLOAT Maximum search radius for adaptive search (default: 200)
# Data Options
--no-online-db Skip fetching online airline database
--no-adaptive Disable adaptive radius search
# Output Options
--quiet, -q Reduce output verbosity
--version, -v Show version information
--help, -h Show help message
The tool includes smart rate limiting handling:
flight-display/
├── src/flight_display/
│ ├── __init__.py # Package initialization
│ ├── tracker.py # Core aircraft tracking logic
│ └── cli.py # Command-line interface
├── main.py # Backward compatibility wrapper
├── main_legacy.py # Legacy implementation
├── pyproject.toml # Package configuration
└── README.md # This file
# Install in development mode
pip install -e .
# Test the CLI
flight-display --help
# Test with specific coordinates
flight-display --lat 51.5074 --lon -0.1278 --radius 50
# Start with auto-detection
flight-display
flight-display --lat 51.4700 --lon -0.4543 --radius 50
flight-display --lat 40.7128 --lon -74.0060 --radius 75 --interval 10
flight-display --no-online-db --radius 30
--radius 100 or higher# Update pip/uv first
pip install --upgrade pip
uv self update
# Clean install
pip uninstall flight-display
pip install -e .
MIT License - See LICENSE file for details.
Contributions welcome! Please feel free to submit issues and pull requests.
Happy flight tracking! ✈️
FAQs
Aircraft Tracker - Fully configurable airport departure board style display using ADS-B data
We found that flight-display demonstrated a healthy version release cadence and project activity because the last version was released less than a year ago. It has 1 open source maintainer collaborating on the project.
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