Research

Scientific research

ADS-B and Mode-S data collected by the FlyItalyADSB network are used for meteorological and aeronautical research. Commercial aircraft in flight are distributed sensors at altitude: they allow wind, temperature and pressure to be measured with a spatiotemporal density impossible to achieve with traditional ground stations.

Main project

Meteorology Ongoing

Upper-troposphere wind measurement from aircraft in flight

Extraction of wind components (u, v) from Mode-S BDS50/BDS60 and ADS-B messages. True Air Speed (TAS) and magnetic heading are subtracted from ground speed (GPS track) to derive local wind. Results are validated against ERA5 reanalysis (ECMWF) and vertical profiles from IASI (MetOp satellite).

Data source
ADS-B + Mode-S BDS50/60
Validation
ERA5 · IASI (MetOp)
RMSE (u)
7.38 m/s vs ERA5

Data access for researchers

Historical ADS-B datasets, MLAT CSV files and raw Mode-S data are not distributed publicly, but are available for university or institutional research upon request. Contact us with a brief description of your project and institution.

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