• MONITORING
  • ANALYSIS
  • ALERTS
  • HUMAN

How to track real time aircraft positions with your AI

Connect OpenSky to your AI client to access live flight telemetry. Once connected, you can query specific planes or monitor airspaces using natural language.

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Short answer

How can I track live aircraft with my AI?

Your AI uses the OpenSky MCP to pull live state vectors for any plane in range. You get immediate access to current altitude, velocity, and coordinates. This allows you to monitor specific flights or watch a geographic area through natural language queries.

The results

Where the data lands

The AI processes live telemetry into these specific outcomes.

MONITORING

Live flight tracking

The AI pulls current state vectors to show you exactly where a plane is right now. You get real-time updates on position and movement.

ANALYSIS

Flight pattern checks

Your agent compares current speed and altitude against expected values. It identifies deviations in flight paths instantly.

ALERTS

Geographic monitoring

The AI watches specific coordinates or airspaces. It flags when certain aircraft enter or exit your defined area.

HUMAN

Manual flight decisions

The AI provides the raw telemetry and summaries. You remain responsible for making any operational or safety decisions based on that data.

The workflow

What your AI does when the data arrives.

The AI acts as a bridge between live ADS-B data and your chat interface.

  1. Fetch live telemetry

    The AI requests the most recent state vectors from the OpenSky network. This provides the raw coordinates and movement data.

    get_states

  2. Filter by aircraft

    The AI narrows down the massive stream of data to find the specific tail number or flight you asked about.

    get_states

  3. Calculate flight metrics

    The agent processes the raw vectors to interpret speed, heading, and altitude changes.

    get_states

  4. Summarize airspace

    The AI aggregates data from multiple planes to give you a high-level view of a specific geographic bounding box.

    get_states

Try it

Copy these to start.

Use these prompts to begin tracking flights immediately.

Starting points

Replace the bracketed text with the specific flight numbers or coordinates you want to watch.

OpenSky Network Connector

You're all set. Choose your MCP client and follow the setup instructions.

Connector linkhttps://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_06jPGtCeqMkv5y46PBcRgqIxJlKlwSSqyHVhp52Y/mcp

Claude Desktop

Follow the steps below to connect in seconds.

  1. 1In Claude Desktop, open Settings → Connectors.
  2. 2Click “Add custom connector” and paste the connector link above as the remote MCP server URL.
  3. 3Click Add and start a new chat — OpenSky Network capabilities are ready to use.
Configuration · claude_desktop_config.jsonCopy
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "opensky-mcp": {
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_06jPGtCeqMkv5y46PBcRgqIxJlKlwSSqyHVhp52Y/mcp"
    }
  }
}
Copy into chat04

  • Get the current position and altitude for flight [Tail Number].

  • Show me all aircraft currently within these coordinates: [Latitude, Longitude].

  • What is the current ground speed of the plane with callsign [Callsign]?

  • List all planes currently flying over [City or Airport] and their altitudes.

  • Claude
  • ChatGPT
  • Cursor
  • VS Code
  • Windsurf
  • Claude Code
  • JetBrains
  • Cline

Start here

Connect OpenSky once, then ask.

Click the link to connect the MCP to your client. Your credentials stay encrypted, and you can start querying flight data immediately.

Connect OpenSky to your AI

FAQ

How this task behaves

  • 01

    Can the AI change the flight path of an aircraft?

    No. The AI only reads live state vectors. It has no capability to send commands to aircraft or air traffic control.

  • 02

    How often does the position data update?

    The AI pulls the most recent state vectors available from the OpenSky network at the moment you ask your question.

  • 03

    Can the AI delete flight history?

    No. The AI only accesses live state data through the provided tools. It cannot modify or delete any data in the OpenSky system.

  • 04

    Does the AI track every plane in the world?

    The AI can only track planes that are currently reporting state vectors through the OpenSky network.

  • 05

    Can I use this to predict future flight paths?

    The AI uses current speed and heading to describe where a plane is going, but it does not provide official flight planning or predictive modeling.

  • More questions about OpenSky? The Connector page answers them. See everything the OpenSky Connector can do

Connect OpenSky Network to Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT & more