Key takeaways
- RadarBox and AirNav Radar are the same service: The operator is AirNav Systems, founded in 2001 by André Brandão, headquartered in Tampa (Florida) with a development center in Lisbon. The old name RadarBox stubbornly persists in the community.
- Many data sources, one core: AirNav lists 14 sources, including ground-based ADS-B on 1090 and 978 MHz, satellite ADS-B, MLAT, FAA and EUROCONTROL data. In Europe the map is carried mainly by volunteers’ ground receivers.
- Three plans, one free tier: Spotter, Pilot and Business differ in ads, history, playback, map layers and export. Without a plan you get the live map and basic features with ads.
- Feeding pays off: If you supply ADS-B data, according to the FAQ you are automatically upgraded to a Business account within 24 hours – valid as long as the station transmits.
- One receiver, several networks: RBFeeder attaches to an existing decoder such as dump1090. That way the same antenna also supplies other services in parallel.
Contents
If you spend a while with flight tracking apps, sooner or later you stumble over RadarBox. The name shows up in spotter forums, in guides for Raspberry Pi receivers and in package names like rbfeeder. On the website and in the apps the service is now called AirNav Radar. This article sorts out who is behind the tracker, where its data comes from, how the plans differ, how the feeder program works and what you can best use the service for as a spotter. The step-by-step operation with filters, flight card and alerts is in the guide Using AirNav RadarBox.
From a dot on the map to your own sighting
With Planetrack you post every sighting with photo, aircraft type, registration, airline, airport and spot – and collect them in your hangar. Planetrack is launching soon – join the waitlist and get early access.
The short answer
RadarBox is the former and still common name in the community for AirNav Radar, the public flight tracker from the US company AirNav Systems. The service shows aircraft worldwide live on a map, in the browser and in apps for Android and iOS. It is based mainly on volunteers’ ADS-B receivers, supplemented by satellite, MLAT and government data. If you run a receiver yourself and supply data, you get the otherwise paid Business account for free. For spotters, AirNav Radar is therefore a full-fledged main or secondary service alongside Flightradar24 and FlightAware.
Who is behind RadarBox
AirNav Systems was founded in 2001 by André Brandão, a Portuguese engineer and airline pilot. The roots go back further: already during his computer science studies in the mid-1990s he developed flight tracking software called AirNav Suite. Today the company is based in Tampa, Florida; research and development and the European office are in Lisbon.
The consumer flight tracker is only part of the business. AirNav Systems also sells professional products, such as FlightWatch for operators’ fleet management, AirportWatch as a dashboard for airports, data APIs for companies and ADS-B hardware. Newsrooms such as the Financial Times, The Guardian, Bloomberg and the New York Times have used the service’s flight data for investigations.
Over the years AirNav has gradually replaced the name RadarBox with AirNav Radar. It hasn’t disappeared entirely: the feeder program is still called RBFeeder, the Windows software for the FlightStick runs as a RadarBox application, and many of the operator’s blog posts use both names side by side. So if you read “RadarBox24” or “AirNav RadarBox” in an older guide, the same service is meant.
Where the data comes from
In its own blog post from December 2024, AirNav lists 14 data sources. For everyday spotting in Europe, not all of them are equally important. The most important at a glance:
| Source | What it provides | Relevance for spotters |
|---|---|---|
| ADS-B (ground) | position, altitude, speed and identification via receivers on 1090 MHz, in the US also 978 MHz (UAT) | main source around European airports |
| ADS-B (satellite) | transponder signals picked up by satellites in low orbit | oceans and remote regions |
| MLAT | positioning via time-difference measurements between several ground stations | aircraft without an ADS-B position, such as older types |
| FAA SWIM, EUROCONTROL | radar and flight plan data from authorities | routes, flight plans, supplement to ADS-B |
| ADS-C, HFDL, CPDLC | position reports via data link | long-haul over oceans |
| FLIFO | schedule data from airlines and airports | planned and actual times in the lists |
| ASDE-X | ground movement data at US airports | taxi traffic in the US |
| FLARM | positions of small aircraft and gliders | only on request in real time |
| Merged | combination of all sources, prioritized by accuracy | what you normally see on the map |
Since October 2020, according to the operator, satellite ADS-B data has been visible to all users for free. How the technology behind it works is explained in the articles Flight tracking with ADS-B for spotters, space-based ADS-B and MLAT explained. Which transponder mode sends which data is covered in Transponder Mode A, C and S.
AirNav gives different figures for the size of the network. In October 2026 the coverage page listed more than 58,000 stations in a total of 194 countries; other pages of the operator give lower numbers for active receivers. Such values are self-reported. More important than the total is how dense coverage is at your home airport – you check that best by zooming in on taxi traffic.
Pro tip: read the data source in the flight card
For every aircraft, the flight card names the source of the current position. If it says ADS-B, the display is usually very accurate. With MLAT or a merely estimated position, the dot can lag behind the real aircraft. If you are waiting at the fence for final approach, in such cases rely on your eyes and ears instead. What the symbols and colors on such maps mean is explained in Flight tracker symbols and colors.
The features at a glance
AirNav Radar covers the typical tasks of a flight tracker and sets a few accents of its own. The most important building blocks:
- Live map with flight card: Flight number, registration, type, origin and destination with scheduled and actual times, altitude, speeds, Mode S address, squawk and data source. What is behind the hex code is covered in ICAO 24-bit address.
- Filters: Numerous criteria, from airline and airport to altitude and aircraft type to data source. Advanced filters depend on the plans.
- Airport view: Arrival and departure lists as well as current weather information for the airport.
- Notifications: Alerts for departure, approach and landing, for example by aircraft, airline or type. How to set this up across services is shown in Setting up notifications.
- Playback and history: Replay past traffic and view an aircraft’s last flights.
- Utilization statistics: Figures on how intensively an individual aircraft is in use.
- Statistics pages and heatmaps: Movement counts of airports and traffic density.
- ATC radio feeds: AirNav Radar also offers aviation radio audio. Whether you may listen to it in Germany is clarified in Listening to aviation radio – the legal situation.
For looking up past flights, the guide Looking up an aircraft’s flight history is also worthwhile.
The plans
AirNav Radar works with a free tier and three plans: Spotter, Pilot and Business. According to the FAQ, new paid plans start with a seven-day trial for which payment details must be stored.
| Plan | Annual price per subscription page (October 2026) |
|---|---|
| Free | – (with ads, basic features) |
| Spotter | $24.50 |
| Pilot | $79.50 |
| Business | $399.50 |
The plans differ in ad-free use, length of history and playback, map layers, weather layers, filters, utilization statistics and export of flight tracks as CSV, GeoJSON or KML. Which feature exactly sits in which tier is occasionally shifted by the provider. Check the current comparison table before signing up. For placing it against the competition, the article on Flightradar24 plans and the overview of free flight trackers help.
The price table shows one thing above all: the Business account is the most expensive tier – and that is exactly what feeders get for free.
An alert when your dream aircraft arrives
Planetrack notifies you when a registration, type, airline or special livery flies to or lands at your airport – matched with the spot map showing the best light. Planetrack is launching soon – join the waitlist and get early access.
The feeder program in detail
Like all big flight tracking services, AirNav Radar lives off volunteers who run ADS-B receivers and share their data. For many spotters this is the entry into the technology behind the map – and a good deal.
What you get
- Business account for free: According to the FAQ, you are automatically upgraded within 24 hours of your first data arriving. If that doesn’t work, support helps. The account is valid as long as your station delivers to AirNav.
- MyStation page: It is created automatically as soon as your receiver sends data for the first time and shows currently received flights, average and maximum range, uptime and your rank in the country.
What you need
AirNav names several routes: its own USB receiver FlightStick, the XRange receiver with an outdoor antenna, a Raspberry Pi with an SDR stick or an existing installation with Plane Plotter. The FlightStick is a small 1090 MHz stick with an integrated filter and preamplifier that, according to the manufacturer, works with any Raspberry Pi and with the RadarBox software on Windows. The matching antenna is available separately. An overview of sticks is in SDR sticks for ADS-B compared, and of ready-made devices in Buying ready-made receivers.
How setup works with RBFeeder
1. Prepare the hardware
Raspberry Pi with a current operating system, SDR stick and 1090 MHz antenna. The antenna belongs as high and clear as possible – tips in Finding the best antenna location.
2. Install RBFeeder
AirNav provides an installation script that you run in the terminal. You will find the commands in the official install guide on AirNav Radar’s Raspberry Pi page.
3. Set the data source
In the configuration file you choose whether RBFeeder uses the stick directly or attaches over the network to an existing decoder such as dump1090. The BEAST and RAW protocols are supported.
4. Save the sharing key and claim the station
On first connection, RBFeeder automatically generates a sharing key. With this key you link the station to your AirNav account via the claim page. Every installation needs its own key.
5. Enable MLAT
Optional but recommended: with the additional mlat-client, your station contributes to locating aircraft without an ADS-B position.
The complete DIY build from antenna to software is described in Building your own ADS-B receiver. If you would rather first clarify whether receiving and sharing the data is allowed, read Receiving ADS-B data – the legal situation.
Free receivers for thinly covered regions
AirNav also ships receivers for free on application. The conditions according to the FAQ: a location with previously weak coverage, an unobstructed all-round view where possible, commissioning within a week of delivery and round-the-clock operation. If you can no longer operate the station, AirNav organizes the return. Around big German hubs like Frankfurt Airport coverage is already dense – chances there are lower than in rural areas.
Several networks with one antenna
Because RBFeeder can attach to an existing decoder, you don’t have to decide on one service. Many stations supply Flightradar24, FlightAware, AirNav Radar and community networks in parallel. How that runs cleanly in containers is shown in Feeding several networks at once. What the individual services offer in return is compared in What feeders get in return, and the programs themselves are compared in Feeder programs compared.
What AirNav Radar doesn’t show
No commercial tracker shows everything, and AirNav is open about that. According to the FAQ, certain military aircraft and private jets are blocked or their data removed entirely; private owners can have that done on request. Operators with a Business account can also have individual registrations blocked for a fee. Such aircraft then appear as “BLOCKED” without flight data.
For spotters of government aircraft, business jets or military, that means: AirNav Radar is not the best source here. Unfiltered alternatives are described in ADS-B Exchange explained and Community trackers compared. Tips on military traffic are in Tracking military aircraft online.
Strengths
- many filter criteria, even down to the data source
- utilization statistics for individual aircraft
- export of flight tracks with a plan
- generous feeder account with MyStation page
Weaknesses
- blocked military and private aircraft
- ads and limited features without a plan
- inconsistent names and self-reported network size
- less widespread in Europe than Flightradar24
How to use AirNav Radar when spotting
At the spot, speed counts. Three uses have proven themselves:
- Early warning system: With an airport and altitude filter, only traffic near the ground stays on the map. At the Munich Airport visitors’ hill or the Zeppelinheim viewing platform you can see at a glance what’s coming next.
- Daily planning: In the morning, check your airport’s arrivals list, for example at Munich Airport, for anything special and set an alert for rare visitors. How reliable the displayed times are is explained in ETA forecasts on flight tracking sites. You can find special liveries with the guide Finding special liveries.
- Follow-up: In the evening, match the registration and flight number of your photos against history and playback. How to do it systematically is shown in Matching sightings with ADS-B, and for the logbook itself there is Documenting sightings.
When in doubt, a second tracker is worthwhile. The differences between the big services are shown in Flightradar24 step by step, Using FlightAware, Plane Finder explained and the overall overview Flight tracking apps compared.
AirNav Radar fits if …
- you like working with fine filters
- you are interested in the history and utilization of individual aircraft
- you run a receiver and want to take the Business account along
Makes sense as a second service if …
- you already use Flightradar24 or FlightAware
- you want to cross-check coverage gaps
Rather not the first choice if …
- you specifically look for military or blocked business jets
- you only want to occasionally see what’s flying over you
Ready for RadarBox?
- I know that RadarBox and AirNav Radar are the same service.
- I check in the flight card which source the position comes from.
- I know the plans and know what I really need.
- I know that feeders get a Business account for free.
- I have a second tracker handy for unclear cases.
The tracker shows it – Planetrack captures it
Collect your sightings in the hangar, keep a wish list, plan with the spot map and sun position planner and talk with the community. Planetrack is launching soon – join the waitlist and get early access.
Conclusion
RadarBox, now AirNav Radar, is one of the big flight tracking services and more than a Flightradar24 clone. The company behind it looks back on more than two decades of flight tracking, and the map pools ground receivers, satellites, MLAT and government data. For spotters the service scores with fine filters, statistics on individual aircraft and above all the feeder program: if you already have an ADS-B antenna on the roof, you get the most expensive plan for free on top. With blocked military and private aircraft, AirNav Radar reaches its limits like other commercial trackers.
In short
Use AirNav Radar as a main or secondary service, watch the data source in the flight card and attach RBFeeder to your receiver if you already run one – the Business account is then free.
Summary
- AirNav Radar (formerly RadarBox) is the public flight tracker from AirNav Systems; the company also offers professional products such as FlightWatch, AirportWatch and data APIs.
- The map combines volunteer receivers, satellite ADS-B, MLAT and government data. The data source is shown in the flight card and tells you how accurate a position is.
- According to the subscription page, the Business plan costs just under $400 a year (as of October 2026) – feeders get it for free.
- For spotters, filters, airport lists, notifications and the utilization statistics of individual aircraft are the most practical tools.
- As with all commercial trackers, some military and private aircraft are missing because operators have them blocked.
Frequently asked questions
Is RadarBox the same as AirNav Radar?
Yes. Both refer to the flight tracker from AirNav Systems. The operator now uses the name AirNav Radar, but RadarBox still turns up in forums, videos, file names like rbfeeder and older guides. Features, accounts and feeder stations are the same.
Is AirNav Radar free?
You can use the basic features – live map, flight search, flight card and airport lists – for free, but with ads and limited scope. Longer history, more playback, additional map layers, weather layers and export come with the Spotter, Pilot and Business plans. According to the FAQ, new paid plans start with a seven-day trial.
What do I get as a feeder with AirNav Radar?
According to the FAQ, you are automatically upgraded to a Business account within 24 hours of the first data received. It is valid as long as your station delivers data. You also get a MyStation page with currently received flights, average and maximum range, uptime and a country leaderboard.
What hardware do I need for feeding?
In the simplest case, a Raspberry Pi, an SDR stick for 1090 MHz and a suitable antenna. AirNav lists options including its own FlightStick, the XRange receiver, a Raspberry Pi or Plane Plotter. The RBFeeder software can talk to an RTL stick directly or attach to an existing decoder such as dump1090.
Can I also supply Flightradar24 and FlightAware with one receiver?
Yes, that is standard for many spotters. A decoder such as dump1090 or readsb provides the data, and several feeder programs access it in parallel. That way you get the premium accounts of several services with a single antenna. A convenient way to do it is described in our article on the Ultrafeeder.
Why don’t I see some aircraft on AirNav Radar?
According to the FAQ, AirNav blocks certain military aircraft and private jets or removes their data entirely. Operators can also have registrations blocked for a fee; such aircraft then appear as “BLOCKED”. On top of that there are coverage gaps near the ground. You are more likely to find unfiltered data on community trackers.
What is MLAT on AirNav Radar?
MLAT stands for multilateration: several receivers at known locations measure the time at which a transponder signal arrives. From the time differences the server calculates the position. That way you can also locate aircraft that don’t transmit an ADS-B position. As a feeder you take part in MLAT if you additionally install the mlat-client.
Read more in App comparisons
- Photo editing on your smartphone: Lightroom Mobile, Snapseed and more for aircraft photos
- ADS-B feeder programs compared: fr24feed, PiAware, RBFeeder, pfclient and more
- Flightradar24 Silver, Gold and Business: what the subscription tiers offer
- Flightradar24 vs. FlightAware: data sources, features and subscriptions compared
- Aviation radio apps and web streams: LiveATC and alternatives compared
- Official airport apps: what arrival and departure data does for spotters
Related airports & manufacturers
Airports, manufacturers, airline groups and alliances – who is behind them and what you should know as a spotter.
Frankfurt Airport
Germany’s largest airport and Lufthansa’s home hub: four runways, two passenger terminals and a traffic mix from regional jets to widebody freighters.
AirportMunich Airport
Germany’s second-largest airport and Lufthansa’s second hub: two parallel 4,000-meter runways in the Erdinger Moos, a Terminal 2 just for Lufthansa and Star Alliance – and, with the visitors’ park, one of the most convenient spotting places in the country.
Related spotting locations
Specific vantage points with the runway configuration, light times, coordinates and an honest take on whether the trip is worth it.
Munich Airport visitors’ hill (Besucherhügel)
The best-known vantage point at Lufthansa’s Munich hub: from the visitors’ hill in the Besucherpark you look out over the airport grounds from above – with its own S-Bahn stop right next door.
Spotting hillZeppelinheim viewing platform at Frankfurt Airport
The classic among Frankfurt’s spotting spots: from the platform at the motorway bridge near Zeppelinheim, most landings in a west wind glide in onto the south runway – free, public and a quick S-Bahn ride from Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof.
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