Aviation Desk Clock - Project SkyOrb

SkyOrb — Live Flight Radar & Clock (ESP32)

Watch real aircraft fly overhead in real time, right on your desk.

SkyOrb is a desk gadget built around an ESP32 and two round 1.28" displays. One screen is a live flight radar with an animated sweep that makes nearby aircraft glow as it passes over them; the second screen is a clean digital clock with the day and date. This model is the 3D-printed enclosure that holds it all together — and the firmware is free and flashes straight from your web browser, no coding required.

✨ What it does

• Live flight tracking — shows real aircraft around your location using free ADS-B data (no account, no API key, no subscription).
• Animated radar sweep — planes light up as the sweep passes, just like a real radar scope. Callsigns and altitudes show right on the display.
• Airport markers — nearby airports appear on the radar; the portal can auto-find commercial airports near you.
• Digital clock — the second round display shows the time, day, and date. It auto-detects your time zone (with daylight saving) once you set your location, and supports both 12-hour and 24-hour formats.
• Set up from your phone — a built-in web page lets you set your location, search radius, airports, clock format, and even the portal's accent color. No computer needed after flashing.
• Tap to track — tap any flight in the web portal to open it on FlightRadar24.

🛠️ What you need (electronics)

These are inexpensive, widely available parts:

• ESP32 dev board (30-pin ESP-WROOM-32)
• Two GC9A01 round 1.28" displays (240×240 SPI, 7-pin) — one for the radar, one for the clock
• 30-pin ESP32 GPIO breakout board with screw terminals — lets you wire everything up with no soldering
• A USB cable for power

(Exact links to the parts I used are in the firmware project — see the link at the bottom.)

🖨️ About this print

This model is the SkyOrb enclosure. It's designed to hold the ESP32, the breakout board, and both round displays in a clean desk-friendly housing.

Print settings (suggested):

• Material: PLA
• Layer height: 0.2 mm
• Infill: 15–20%
• Supports: No Supports Needed
• No brim needed 

Print orientation and any part-specific notes are shown in the preview images. The display bezels are sized for standard GC9A01 round modules.

⚡ Flashing the firmware (no coding!)

The firmware installs straight from your web browser using ESP Web Tools — there's nothing to download or compile.

1. Wire up the two displays to the ESP32 using the breakout board (wiring diagram is included on the install page).
2. Open the SkyOrb installer page in Chrome or Edge on a computer, plug in your ESP32, and click Install.
3. After flashing, connect your phone to the SKYORB-Setup WiFi hotspot, pick your home network, and enter your password.
4. Switch your phone back to your home WiFi, then open skyorb.local in a browser to set your location. Done — planes appear within seconds.

The radar display even shows the setup address on screen at startup, so you never need a serial monitor or any developer tools.

💡 Why I built it

I wanted something that made the invisible traffic in the sky above me feel real and tangible — a little window into what's flying overhead at any moment. SkyOrb turns live flight data into a calm, glanceable desk object, and pairing it with a clock made it something I actually keep next to my monitor all day. The whole thing is open and free so anyone can build their own.

📦 What's included

• 3D-printable enclosure files (this model)
• Link to the free firmware + browser-based installer
• Full wiring guide and step-by-step setup instructions

🔗 Firmware & full build guide

The firmware, browser installer, wiring tables, and parts list are all free and open source here:

https://gulfcoastmaker.github.io/SkyOrb/

Licensed under the MIT License — free to build, modify, and share.

Flight data by airplanes.live · Airport & address lookup by OpenStreetMap · Browser flashing by ESP Web Tools.

Built it? I'd love to see your SkyOrb — post a Make and share a photo!