Data
Our data
The receivers of the FlyItalyADSB network, all over the world, pick up aircraft radio signals around the clock. We use the data for the live map, the API and the historical archive, and we also used it for wind research (weather32, now complete).
ADS-B: position and speed
Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast. Aircraft with ADS-B broadcast their own position (CPR-encoded), barometric altitude, ground speed and track. The network’s receivers pick up these signals at 1090 MHz and forward them to our servers. An aircraft broadcasts its position about twice a second.
Mode-S EHS: onboard data
With Mode-S Enhanced Surveillance, aircraft also send onboard data: true airspeed (TAS, in BDS50), magnetic heading, indicated airspeed (IAS) and Mach number (BDS60), temperature and wind (BDS44). From these messages we work out the wind: W = V_ground − V_air.
MLAT: multilateration
Aircraft with a Mode-S transponder and no ADS-B don’t broadcast their position. Our MLAT server (mlat-ng) works it out from the differences in the times the signal reaches the receivers: from three receivers or more (four without altitude), or from two using the aircraft’s motion. That is how we also see many military aircraft, and we don’t filter them.
OGN: Open Glider Network
The Open Glider Network receives the positions of gliders, paragliders, drones and ultralights that carry FLARM or FANET. Our flarm-ogn-to-sbs converts them to SBS format so they show up on the map.
Use cases
Real-time map
The aircraft the network receives, all over the world, on map.flyitalyadsb.com, with tracks and a heatmap.
Meteorological research
In weather32, a completed project, we worked out the wind at altitude from Mode-S messages. weather32 project →
Historical archive
Every aircraft’s tracks since 2022 and the coverage: historical archive →
API & AI agents
A REST API and an MCP server to query live-tracked aircraft, even from Claude or ChatGPT. REST API → MCP server →
For researchers
Tracks since 2022 are already self-serve through the API (see the historical archive). On request, for university or institutional research: bulk extractions (many aircraft or long periods).