NearestPlane

NearestPlane: a live flight tracker for the shelf

NearestPlane is a British maker of a compact LED display that identifies the aircraft flying overhead in real time. The device connects to a home WiFi network and, without an app or account, shows the airline in its own brand colour along with the route, altitude and speed. The company describes the product as handmade in the UK and reports that more than 3,000 units have been sold across over 50 countries.

What the display shows

The core function is to name the nearest aircraft and present its details on a scrolling LED screen. According to the manufacturer, the device updates every 30 seconds and draws on a database of around 6,000 airlines, each rendered in its official colour. Beyond commercial flights, it recognises military, police, coastguard and air ambulance aircraft, as well as general aviation, and can name state, government and royal flights instead of showing only a callsign. When an aircraft squawks the 7700 emergency code, the display turns red by default.

Users can configure the screen from their phone. Options include choosing between airport codes and full city names for routes, selecting units for altitude (feet or metres), speed (knots, mph or km/h) and distance (miles or kilometres), and deciding which lines appear for each flight: flight number, route, aircraft type, altitude, speed, distance, time to landing, heading, bearing or registration. Aircraft categories can be filtered, and a scan radius can be set to 25 miles around the home.

Flight tracking and additional features

A tracking mode allows the display to follow any specific flight worldwide. The user enters a flight number on the NearestPlane website and the device switches to that flight within a minute, showing a progress bar, miles remaining, altitude, speed and estimated arrival time. When the flight lands, the display returns to its normal scanning mode automatically.

Free over-the-air updates have added several features since launch. These include a countdown to touchdown for aircraft on approach, a clock and local weather display when no aircraft are overhead, the option to show ticket flight numbers instead of ATC callsigns, a secondary screen listing the next three closest aircraft, five brightness levels, adjustable scroll speed, night mode with local-time scheduling, an altitude filter to ignore low-flying aircraft, the ability to name each display, and a map-based location picker.

Setup and hardware

The device is powered by a USB-C wall plug (5V 3A) and is described as about the size of a hardback book, suitable for a windowsill, desk or bookshelf. Setup involves connecting to the display's own WiFi hotspot, opening a local address (192.168.4.1) and entering the home WiFi credentials and location. The first aircraft typically appears within 30 seconds. No subscription is required; the company states that flight data is paid for and updates are free for the life of the device.

Market presence and pricing

At the time of writing, the NearestPlane website listed the display at £124.99, reduced from £139.99, with free UK delivery and shipping to Europe and worldwide. The company reports a 4.92 out of 5 rating from 239 reviews and notes that its displays have collectively shown over 92 million aircraft. Support is provided personally by Harry, the founder, via WhatsApp.