SimpleFly - ADS-B and ADS-IP
As a pilot, I have two primary needs from a flight app:
- Do not get lost.
- Avoid all other aircraft.
The first is easy to do with a GPS based moving map. The second, avoiding other aircraft, is a bit more difficult. I wrote SimpleFly, a simple flight moving map and navigation app. In doing so it became apparent that we all could be doing a better job of using current technology to avoid each other. This page details this need.
But first, if you are interested in the SimpleFly app, the details that can be found here:
https://worktablecnc.us/projects/simplefly.html
ADS-B, Electronic Conspicuity, SimpleFly, and ADS-IP
When I fly I want to know everything that is up there with me. And I would be happy to transmit my location so I can be seen by others. But there is neither a single place to find the current location of all other aircraft, and nowhere to transmit my location. There are so many not-quite connected systems out there to listen to...
Certified ADS-B is the official system. It covers all large commercial aircraft, anything above 10,000 feet, and anything in Class A, B, or C airspace. However, only above 1/3 of the light aircraft have it, and almost no ultralights or paramotors do.
Thousands of volunteers have set up receivers to listen for 1090 MHz transmissions and forward them to aggregators. This is where we get FlightAware, FlightTracker24, adsb.fi, etc. These are unofficial non-certified sources, but generally show most of the ADS-B traffic in real time.
Then there are non-certified ADS-B transmitters, like SkyEcho. And here in the USA it is relegated to the 978 UAT frequency... which, eh, who is listening on that frequency?
Then there are a couple of separate proprietary systems like FLARM or apps like XCTrack, but they do not show up on the ADS-B system.
And radio controlled drones have a FAA required positional system... Does it even work?
However, everybody that flies probably carries a smartphone. This device has a GPS and way to connect with others. You just need an app to both receive traffic and transmit location to everyone else (ADS-B but with a data plan). Even ForeFlight, which tracks almost every aspect of your flight, is just another proprietary and closed data tracking system.
A company called SafeSky has the right idea... they aggregate other aggregators, they have an app which feeds positional reports of the users of the app, they have a few third-party apps which they allow to integrate into their system, and they gather FLARM and whatever other proprietary feeds they can gather. Unfortunately, they do not directly serve outside of Europe (the Google Play Store will not let you download it), and, well, they are a private for-profit company.
What we all really need is an international, works everywhere, open-source, open-data, community-supported aggregator which aggregates everything and shows everything flying to everyone!
So I started one.
ADS-IP
ADS-IP: Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Internet Protocol: OK, I just made that up. I quickly searched the Internet and could not find a result, so I guess this is a new term. An open-data community-based system that facilitates electronic conspicuity, using an Internet connection, centrally aggregated, with data available to all.
I even created a website for the proposed system. The details can be found here:
Follow this link to ADS-IP.NET
Granted, it is not for the certified crowd (those aircraft five miles up with 300 souls on board). But the alternative for light aircraft and ultralights is either expensive, or invisibility. Hopefully this serves the aviation community and promotes safety.