Live ADS-B radar for Windows
RadarDesk transforms live aircraft data into a focused, ATC-inspired desktop console—with animated weather radar, airport activity, themes, runways, airspace, and aircraft intelligence in one view.
Center the scope on an airport, follow a target, inspect a route, check the weather, or explore the airspace around you. RadarDesk keeps the tools close and the radar front and center.
Actual RadarDesk runtime
This is RadarDesk running against live Airplanes.live data—not a mockup. Watch the scope update, follow a target, and move from the radar picture into detailed operational information.
A real RadarDesk session showing the scope, live targets, airport context, and detail workflows.
Built into the console
RadarDesk combines real-time tracking with the airport, weather, map, and reference information that makes every return meaningful.
Follow nearby traffic on a responsive circular scope with smooth zoom, drag panning, range sorting, target trails, projected vectors, and track-follow mode.
Overlay smoothed NOAA/NWS radar reflectivity, follow it as it refreshes, or animate recent frames in a loop. A complete intensity legend, adjustable opacity, and current METAR/TAF keep the weather picture readable.
Add runways, taxiways, airport surfaces, map landmarks, FAA airspace classes, and active TFR boundaries without losing sight of the traffic.
Open a dedicated activity window for any selected airport. Follow airborne and on-ground aircraft across runways, taxiways, and aprons while RadarDesk tracks observed arrivals, departures, runway use, and touch-and-go activity.
Open an aircraft to review live tracking data, registration records, aircraft specifications, airline details, route links, and the raw provider response.
Search locally stored FAA airport, runway, aircraft registration, aircraft type, and airline reference records directly from the app.
21 visual themes
Choose from 21 complete visual themes, beginning with Classic Green, without changing how RadarDesk works. Each coordinates the scope, controls, typography, and data accents as one complete system. Three examples from the collection are shown below.
Product tour
Set any ICAO-listed airport as your center, adjust the range, and scan live aircraft alongside runways, weather, map vectors, and airspace.
See every layer
Eight views. One tightly connected desktop workflow. Select any screen for a closer look.
Scope-first workflow
Enter an airport code, pick a favorite, or return to a recent location. RadarDesk loads the surrounding context around your scope.
Set your range, filter traffic, and toggle the ground, map, runway, airport, airspace, TFR, and sweep layers you want to see.
Select a target from the scope or range-sorted list, track it, and open its aircraft, airline, registration, route, and live data details.
Made for the desktop
RadarDesk is designed as a focused desktop instrument with persistent preferences, local reference databases, runtime diagnostics, and a resizable console built around the radar scope.
Good to know
RadarDesk is a themeable Windows desktop ADS-B radar console. It presents live nearby aircraft on an ATC-inspired scope and adds animated NOAA/NWS weather radar, a dedicated Airport Activity view, runways, maps, airspace, TFRs, and local FAA reference data.
RadarDesk supports multiple live ADS-B sources, including Airplanes.live, ADSB.fi, and OpenSky. Provider availability, coverage, delay, and completeness can vary by location and service.
You can select airports from RadarDesk’s reference data by code or search, save favorites, and quickly return to recent locations. The Airport Activity view can then show the field layout and organize ground, arriving, departing, and inbound traffic around that airport. Available detail varies by source.
RadarDesk can overlay animated NOAA/NWS base-reflectivity radar frames on the scope, with a color legend and playback controls. Weather availability and freshness depend on NOAA/NWS services and your internet connection.
The dedicated Airport Activity view combines the airport diagram with aircraft on the ground, arrivals, departures, and inbound traffic so you can follow activity around the field in one place.
Local reference databases and saved preferences remain on your computer, but live aircraft, weather, map, geocoding, and refreshed FAA data require an internet connection.
No. RadarDesk is for informational and entertainment use only. It must not be used for navigation, collision avoidance, operational ATC, dispatch, emergency response, or any safety-critical aviation decision.
RadarDesk for Windows
Live traffic. Animated weather. Airport activity.
One focused console.
