Split-Flap Departures Board Screensaver
The Departures Board screensaver is a Solari-style split-flap board that clatters through live flights around an airport, each row flipping to show a callsign, country and status. It's fed by the same live OpenSky data as the Flight Radar saver. It's free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.
How the Departures Board screensaver works
The board reads the same live aircraft data the Flight Radar uses — a snapshot of planes near your chosen airport, fetched from the OpenSky Network by the background pipeline.
Each row is a flight, and every character is a little split-flap tile. When the data changes and a tile needs a new letter, it flips forward through the alphabet one step at a time — the classic Solari mechanical cascade — until it reaches the right character.
Columns show the flight callsign, the aircraft's country, its flight level (or GND for aircraft on the ground), and a status of EN ROUTE or ON GROUND.
As the snapshot refreshes, rows reshuffle to the current flights and the whole board clatters over to the new arrivals and departures.
A worked example
Set the airport to London Heathrow and the board fills with rows like BAW117 UNITED KINGDOM FL360 EN ROUTE, the tiles riffling as new flights replace old ones each refresh. Aircraft still taxiing show GND · ON GROUND. Turn up the flap speed for a faster, busier clatter.
Settings & tips
- Airport chooses which field's traffic fills the board — the same eight hubs as Flight Radar.
- Flap speed sets how quickly the tiles riffle to their new characters.
- Header color recolours the column titles for a different board style.
Frequently asked questions
- Are the flights real?
- Yes. The board uses the same live OpenSky aircraft data as the Flight Radar saver, refreshed on a schedule, so the flights shown are really near that airport.
- Why does it pair with the Flight Radar?
- Both read the same live aircraft file. The radar shows the planes on a scope; this board lists them with the satisfying clatter of a split-flap display.
- Does it show real departure times and gates?
- No — the free flight data doesn't include schedules or gates. It shows each aircraft's callsign, country, altitude and whether it's airborne or on the ground.
- Does it need an internet connection?
- It reads a live data file that the pipeline updates online. Offline it shows a short notice instead of the board.
- Is the departures board screensaver free?
- Yes, free and browser-based with no key or download. Run it fullscreen and press ESC to exit.