u/scls

Source: Open Glider Network (OGN) a volunteer network of ground stations that track gliders via FLARM/ADS-B. The day's tracks are pulled from the OGN FlightBook API. Data licensed under ODbL. Huge thanks to the volunteers who run the receivers.

Tools: TypeScript + deck.gl (WebGL) for the 3D, AWS Terrarium elevation tiles + Esri imagery for the terrain, Web Audio API for the variometer sound. It runs entirely in the browser, no backend.

Method note: OGN beacons are sparse, so tracks are smoothed with Catmull-Rom splines, and attitude (bank/pitch) is estimated from the trajectory - there's no IMU in the data, so this is a reconstruction, not telemetry.

Interactive version (try your own field: LFMX, EGHL, KMEV, CN12...): https://s-celles.github.io/ogn-3d-viewer/

Open source (AGPL): https://github.com/s-celles/ogn-3d-viewer

I'm a former glider pilot who doesn't fly much these days, but the bug never really left. So I made a little tool to replay a day of gliding in 3D, right in the browser. You pick an airfield (ICAO code) and a date, and the day's OGN tracks rebuild over the terrain. You can speed up time, follow one glider from the cockpit (with an audible vario), or switch to a top-down or chase camera. Winch, aerotow and self-launch are recognisable from the trace.

A few fields that usually have traffic (links open the current day):

…or just type your home field. Coverage is densest in Europe, where most OGN receivers are; in the US it's patchier, so some well-known sites sadly show nothing.

https://preview.redd.it/k73wwbsw7gah1.png?width=3296&format=png&auto=webp&s=6264e9e0454e72ad029da450f9231bbeef79fdc2

Fair warning: attitude is estimated (there's no IMU in the data), ground speed stands in for airspeed, and OGN only keeps traces for ~24h, so older dates come up empty. It's a replay/teaching tool, not an instrument and it runs entirely on OGN data, so big thanks to the volunteers who keep the receiver network alive.

Demo: https://s-celles.github.io/ogn-3d-viewer/

Free and open source (AGPL): https://github.com/s-celles/ogn-3d-viewer

Feedback, bugs and feature ideas very welcome.

[OC] Glider thermals and cross-country tracks over the Alps, rebuilt in 3D from Open Glider Network data

Rewatch your club's flying day in 3D, straight from OGN data