Local Flight by Beacon Tools

Flight boards for local screens and home cockpits.

Local Flight is a self-hosted FIDS for Windows, macOS, Raspberry Pi, LAN browsers, mobile devices, radar/history dashboards, and HUB75 LED matrix panels.

Download releases Source on GitHub Privacy

Current beta target: 0.2.7. Flight, radar, weather, and surface data are informational display aids only and are not for navigation, dispatch, operational control, or safety decisions.

Install paths

Choose the screen first.

The same Local Flight server can drive a native app, LAN browser, mobile app, Matrix board, or Pi display mode.

Desktop

Use the packaged Windows or macOS app for the native Qt shell, local server, browser access, mobile pairing, and Matrix support from one install.

Raspberry Pi

Run as a headless server, native Qt HDMI kiosk, or Chromium kiosk. The Pi source bundle is made for small always-on display boxes.

Mobile

The Expo mobile app supports LAN Companion mode for a paired server and Standalone mode through the hosted Beacon Tools relay.

Feature set

Built around a real board workflow.

  • Guided setup for Local Flight Relay, bring-your-own provider keys, or VATSIM-only virtual traffic.
  • Real-world schedule boards using cached shared snapshots, AeroDataBox primary schedule data, AviationStack sparse fill/fallback compatibility, and stale-safe serving.
  • Passenger-style FIDS boards with airport-local time, city/country headers, status and gate chips, codeshare grouping, pinned flights, and Classic/PAX/VATSIM/Nerd styles.
  • VATSIM display mode with callsign-first rows, filed plan, aircraft, altitude/speed, XPDR, source freshness, and suppression of pilot/controller personal identifiers.
  • Radar with real or virtual traffic, METAR weather, range controls, runway/surface/map/terrain context, and richer aircraft/status detail.
  • Deduped History analytics, Matrix preview/config/script generation, local logs, local settings, and consent-based diagnostics.
Screens

Display modes

Local Flight FIDS preview

Native desktop

Windows and macOS shell with Classic, PAX, VATSIM, and Nerd FIDS styles.

LAN browser

Remote screens, tablets, headless installs, and compact Raspberry Pi layouts.

Mobile

LAN Companion and Standalone modes for phone-sized board, radar, history, and reporting workflows.

Matrix

Preview and generated MicroPython client for Interstate 75 W / HUB75 panels.

Hosted relay

Shared data without shipping provider keys.

Local Flight can run with your own provider keys, VATSIM-only virtual data, or the hosted Beacon Tools relay.

Public relay

https://relay.beacontools.cc

What it does

The relay protects provider keys, caches shared airport snapshots, applies rate limits, and keeps the hobbyist path usable without every install needing paid API credentials.

Privacy

Local first by default.

No accounts, no advertising SDKs, no data brokers, and no cross-app/site tracking.

Local data

Config, API keys, snapshots, history, logs, mobile appearance, and Matrix settings stay local unless you choose a relay-backed feature or send a report.