Contrail – flight tracking app for iOS and Android, looking for spotter feedback

[Contrail]

Hi everyone,

I'm Jacob, an independent developer and aviation enthusiast from Norway. I've built a flight-tracking app called Contrail and would like to introduce it and hear what experienced spotters think.

The core tracker is free, with no ads or account required. You can follow aircraft on the map, search by registration or callsign, and view aircraft details and flight information where available.

A few features that may be useful for spotting:

• Registration search — find a particular airframe, including one with a special livery, using its registration.

• Watchlists and alerts — with the optional Contrail Pro subscription, you can save specific registrations and receive a notification the first time each aircraft is detected airborne that day. You can then check its position to see whether it might be heading your way.

• Military and notable aircraft discovery — also part of Pro, for finding interesting aircraft in the available tracking data.

• "Watch the Sky" widgets on iPhone — see nearby aircraft, their distance and which direction to look, directly from your home or lock screen.

Coverage and alerts depend on the tracking data available. Not every aircraft or movement will appear, particularly military traffic, and an airborne detection alert is not a guaranteed notification of every take-off.

I develop the app myself, so feedback on practical spotting use is particularly welcome. What would make it more useful when you're out with a camera or keeping an eye on a favourite aircraft?

If you try it and notice missing or incorrect information, a registration, approximate time and location would help me investigate.

iPhone:
https://apps.apple.com/app/contrail-flight-tracker/id6760384533

Android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.contrail.flight

Thanks,
Jacob

[Anmer]

Welcome and thanks for sharing your app.

I have a couple of questions.

• Whose live flight data are you using?
• Are you maintaining your own aircraft database - type, registration, owner etc?
• How do you generate revenue for your app development?