Aero-Tracker just got better: now super-charged with over-the-air Mode-S and FLARM reception!

Tristan Fily
Aug 21
5 min read

What you need to know:

The Aero Tracker: it's a portable eConspicuity device designed specifically for small aircraft and general aviation.
Maximum interoperability: it combines over-the-air traffic (868 Mhz & 1090 Mhz) with SafeSky traffic over LTE, so every pilot can see and be seen much more.
New radio inputs: Aero-Tracker now receives Mode-S (bearingless) and FLARM over-the-air.
Aligned with EASA standards: It's ADS-L compliant and ADS-L4 Mobile ready with SafeSky.
Interoperable by design: integrated with 30+ traffic sources and streams to popular navigation Apps over Bluetooth and Wifi.

As a pilot, how can I maximise traffic awareness in flight?

Airspace is busy and diverse: gliders, general aviation aircraft, helicopters, paramotors, trikes, paragliders... Each community tends to favour its own electronic conspicuity tools (e.g. FLARM for gliding, ADS-B/Mode-S for general aviation, FANET for paragliders, etc.). Every system has strengths and trade-offs, and none covers all airborne traffic on its own. The result is fragmentation: pockets of visibility and inevitable blind spots, and precisely where risk hides.

In addition, our airspace is now welcoming the rapid growth of UAS/drones, which also favour their own systems with Remote ID and ADS-L. This is increasing the need for interoperable visibility between all pilot classes.

Respecting diversity, connecting communities

Each pilot community has, over time, naturally sought to solve its own electronic conspicuity challenges and often landed with a specific technology. These choices are never arbitrary. They’re the result of years of flying habits, equipment compatibility, cost considerations, and the strong influence of peer communities.

For example:

FLARM is widely adopted in the gliding community because of its low weight, power efficiency, and peer network effect.
ADS-B has become a standard in certified aviation due to regulatory momentum and system integration with avionics.
Mode-S is used extensively in certified and uncertified aviation for ATC surveillance, but wasn’t designed for pilot-to-pilot visibility.
FANET is a lightweight, energy-efficient option tailored for free flight.
Mobile app-based visibility offers maximum flexibility and affordability for recreational, ultralight and general aviation pilots.

Each of these systems comes with existing financial investments for the pilots, and serves a real and justified purpose. So while it might seem idealistic to say, “everyone should just install ADS-B”, the reality is much more nuanced. You can’t reasonably ask a paramotorist or paraglider to invest in a certified transponder just to fly in uncontrolled airspace. It’s neither financially viable nor even technically practical. The same applies to gliders: FLARM is ideally suited to their needs and now equips 95% of gliders in Europe. Different communities have different requirements, aircraft limitations, and flying environments, and the technologies they use today are simply a reflection of those realities.

At SafeSky, we then don’t believe in imposing one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, we value each aviation community’s unique choices and strive to bridge the visibility gap between them, all while respecting the freedom of flight and improve safety.

Our goal has always been to:

Support existing technologies rather than replace them.
Reduce cost and complexity for the pilot, not increase it.
Offer an easy-to-use app that brings together traffic information from a wide spectrum of trusted sources: ADS-B, FLARM, FANET, ADS-L, SafeSky mobile traffic, and more.
Create a composite air picture where all airspace users can be visible to one another, regardless of how their position was transmitted.

Aero-Tracker and SafeSky: over-the-air and LTE traffic, together!

The Aero-Tracker, a direct collaboration between SafeSky and AVIONIX, takes our philosophy a step further by now combining direct radio reception (over-to-air) with internet connectivity (LTE with ADS-L4 Mobile) in the cockpit. So you see more traffic in one single view.

Radio reception gives you immediate local detection, while LTE extends your situational awareness with aggregated traffic from the SafeSky network.

And the Aero-Tracker doesn’t just pick up traffic: it also shares your position too with others. It broadcasts over the most widely used radio protocols, and simultaneously via LTE to the SafeSky network, making you visible across more than 30 connected platforms.

The result is traffic awareness for more visible aircraft in one compact device.

Who will you see when flying?

As a pilot, you will see the most complete traffic situational awareness available today:

General aviation
Gliders
Military
Paramotors
Paragliders
Trikes
Ultra-lights
Helicopters
Drones

How does it work?

As mentioned, the Aero-Tracker combines the most widely adopted over-the-air radio traffic systems with SafeSky’s aggregated LTE traffic.

Here’s are the details:

Over air-to-air radio (1090Mhz and 868Mhz):
- ADS-B (reception only)
- Mode-S (bearingless reception only)
- FLARM (reception only)
- ADS-L (reception and transmission)
- OGN-Tracker (reception and transmission)
- FANET (reception and transmission)
Over LTE (ADS-L4 Mobile): traffic from over 30+ sources:
- The SafeSky network (95 000 pilots)
- ADS-B
- Mode-S using MLAT (multi-lateration)
- FLARM
- PilotAware
- MicroTrack
- Flying Neuron
- Drone Remote ID
- Navigation Apps (such as Air Navigation Pro, EasyVFR, SwissNavX...)
- Paragliding and paramotors software (such as XC-Track, Gaggle, CloudDash, eVario, Wing-It, TheFlightVario, XC-Guide...)
- Electronic devices (such as FlyMaster, Syride, SkyTraxx, other Aero-Tracker)
- Drones (from DroneTag, SkeyDrones, HemsWX, DroneSense, DroneMatrix., Aviant, Helicus and many more)

Best of both worlds: combining over-the-air and LTE traffic

How to use your Aero-Tracker in the cockpit?

The Aero-Tracker works either with the SafeSky App, or with your favourite navigation apps, such as SkyDemon, Air Navigation Pro, EasyVFR, ForeFlight, SDVFR Next, so you can see a live traffic layer in the map you already use, and receive traffic alerts when in flight.

Simply connect your existing App to the Aero-Tracker over Bluetooth NMEA or over Wifi with GDL90.

SkyDemon with traffic overlay and embedded radar view

Air Navigation Pro with traffic warnings

EASA Standards, compliance, and recognition

SafeSky and AVIONIX are active members of the ADS-L coalition, and the Aero-Tracker is the first product to fully embrace EASA’s multi-path electronic conspicuity approach.

It is fully compliant with EASA’s ADS-L specification and ready for ADS-L4 Mobile,

This positions the Aero-Tracker as a reference implementation for interoperable and affordable eConspicuity, recognised by the community for turning policy and standards into practical safety gains.

Click to see the EASA Sunny Swift: ADS-L: see and be seen

Upgrading your Aero-Tracker for Mode-S and FLARM reception

Already have an Aero-Tracker? Update the firmware via the SafeSky app to enable the new Mode-S and FLARM radio reception. Just open the app, connect your Aero-Tracker, and follow the prompt. Don’t forget to activate your FLARM reception license (from FLARM Technology via the AVIONIX Webshop) to receive FLARM over-the-air.

Don’t have an Aero-Tracker yet? Order yours now from the AVIONIX Webshop

Heads-up pilots: stay vigilant

Even with Aero-Tracker’s radio and SafeSky LTE fusion, no single technology sees everything!

Some traffic can still be invisible (no radio line-of-sight, no LTE connectivity, aircraft flying without any electronic systems, and many more scenarios)

As pilots, our primary rule is flying VFR: so, keep practicing smart and safe flying:

Open your eyes
Enlist your passenger as a vigilant second pair of eyes.
Listen to radio traffic information
Make yourself electronically visible: equip your aircraft with ADS-B or ADS-L.
Use the SafeSky App, or any cooperative compatible devices.
Educate fellow pilots to be electronicly visible too.
Advocate for a ground stations at your airfield to extend traffic sharing coverage with the community.

Learn more:

EASA — ADS-L, e-conspicuity & the ADS-L Coalition

Preventing mid-air collisions — ADS-L & ¡Conspicuity (EASA): “Be Seen & Be Aware”, why ADS-L matters for GA, and intro to the ADS-L Coalition. EASA
i-Conspicuity project (EASA): research on interoperability of electronic conspicuity systems for GA; context, roadmap and outcomes. EASA
Case studies & deployment roadmap (PDF): practical use-cases and action plan for interoperable solutions. EASA
FAQ — ADS-L & drones: How does ADS-L improve “electronic conspicuity” for drones or unmanned aircraft operating nearby? EASA