ADS-B Provider Evaluation & Recommendation

Andi Lamprecht ·2026-05-11· 5 min read· Draft

Use Case: Live manned aircraft (planes + helicopters) in demo airspace view alongside drone traffic
Target Demo Area: DFW (or similar multi-jurisdiction metro)

Primary Recommendation: ADS-B Exchange (Enterprise API)

Why ADSBx Wins for This Use Case

ADS-B Exchange is the strongest fit across every evaluation criterion. It is the world’s largest independent, unfiltered ADS-B receiver network — meaning it does not suppress military, FAA block-listed, VIP, or commercially filtered aircraft the way FlightAware and others do. For a demo showcasing live airspace awareness, this gives the most complete picture.

DFW Coverage: ADSBx has extensive community-sourced receivers throughout the DFW metroplex (DFW, DAL, and surrounding GA airports). The network is dense in major US metros. Verify live at globe.adsbexchange.com before committing.

Evaluation Scorecard

ADS-B Exchange: API Details

Endpoint Structure

GET https://adsbexchange.com/api/aircraft/lat/{lat}/lon/{lon}/dist/{nm}/
Header: api-auth: <your-uuid-key>

• Query all aircraft within a radius (max 100 NM) of a lat/lon point — perfect for DFW-centered demo
• Also supports lookup by ICAO hex, callsign

Key Data Fields Returned

Helicopter Classification

The category field value B7 = rotorcraft/helicopter per ADS-B DO-260B spec. The t (short type) field further encodes the airframe — e.g. H1T, H2T, H1P. This gives you equivalent or better classification granularity compared to Airdex.

Classification logic for demo:

function classifyAircraft(ac) {
  if (ac.category === 'B7' || ac.t?.startsWith('H')) return 'helicopter';
  if (['A1','A2','A3','A4','A5'].includes(ac.category)) return 'fixed-wing';
  if (ac.category === 'B6') return 'drone';
  return 'unknown';
}

Pricing

ADSBx explicitly serves UAS, VTOL, ANSP, and government organizations — your use case is a direct fit.

Integration Approach

Step 1 — Request Demo Key

Go to adsbexchange.com/products/enterprise-api and fill out the form. A UUID API key will be issued.

Step 2 — Geo-query for DFW Airspace

// DFW center: 32.8998, -97.0403
const DFW_LAT = 32.8998;
const DFW_LON = -97.0403;
const RADIUS_NM = 30; // Adjust for demo area

async function fetchMannedAircraft() {
  const url = `https://adsbexchange.com/api/aircraft/lat/${DFW_LAT}/lon/${DFW_LON}/dist/${RADIUS_NM}/`;
  const res = await fetch(url, {
    headers: { 'api-auth': 'YOUR-UUID-KEY' }
  });
  const data = await res.json();

  return data.ac
    .filter(ac => ac.category !== 'B6')   // exclude UAV/drone transponders
    .map(ac => ({
      icao: ac.hex,
      registration: ac.r,
      callsign: ac.flight?.trim(),
      type: classifyAircraft(ac),         // 'helicopter' | 'fixed-wing'
      shortType: ac.t,
      lat: ac.lat,
      lon: ac.lon,
      altFt: ac.alt_baro,
      headingDeg: ac.true_heading,
      speedKts: ac.gs,
      lastSeen: ac.seen
    }));
}

Step 3 — Polling Strategy

• Poll every 5–10 seconds for live demo refresh
• Use seen field to age out stale targets (>60 sec = remove from map)
• Enterprise tier supports up to 2 Hz push — negotiate for streaming if needed

Step 4 — Merge with Drone Traffic

The manned aircraft layer from ADSBx sits alongside your drone layer (from your existing UTM/drone provider). Shared map layer keyed on icao hex prevents duplicates if any drones are ADS-B equipped.

Secondary Option: FlightAware AeroAPI

FlightAware is appropriate if your customer already has a FlightAware relationship or prefers a larger enterprise vendor (Collins Aerospace subsidiary). It added helicopter tracking in Oct 2023 via its Global for Helicopters service. Pricing starts at $100/month for commercial use (10,000 API calls). However, it is query-based (not push), filters some aircraft, and the category field is less granular for classification purposes. Use ADSBx first; fall back to AeroAPI if procurement requires it.

What to Do Next

1. Request ADSBx Enterprise demo key → validate DFW coverage in the globe.adsbexchange.com viewer first
2. Prototype the geo-query with the demo key against DFW coordinates
3. Verify helicopter classification — spot-check known helicopter tail numbers (e.g. news helicopters, PHI Medical) in DFW
4. Negotiate Enterprise license — quote will depend on query volume; ADSBx is significantly cheaper than FlightAware for equivalent data
5. Fallback plan: If ADSBx Enterprise pricing is too high for a demo budget, OpenSky Network is free for non-commercial research/demo use — but has no SLA and lower update frequency