http://flightlite.com<p>Flightlite is a visual flight tracker combining 3D and overhead views and flight information.<p>It is my first launch since I started reading Hacker News and was developed as a side project for the past 6 months or so. I made the final push on it this morning to get it to a semi-launchable state.<p>- The best coverage is US and UK<p>- Sometimes the data I get is a bit crazy (spent a lot of effort to correct/sanitise it but it's not perfect)<p>- Doesn't work in IE 64bit or Linux due to Google Earth not being available<p>I'm now trying to work out how to take this further, if there is anywhere to take it that is! Stuff I'm really interested in:<p>- People with ties in the relevant industries (travel, airlines, flight data) who see potential for this to grow.<p>- A sample of the raw FAA ASDI data so I can compare it's usability with the feed I'm consuming (perhaps someone has had access to it?)<p>- Any ideas on how to make this profitable enough to pay for it's own costs and justify me spending some time on it to improve it in the future.<p>So i'm wondering about the possibility of either co-branding with a sponsor or selling unit space for specific routes (think of Air New Zealand branding on the pages when people are tracking any of their flights for example).<p>(p.s. I posted this earlier and made a mess of it, feel free to delete my previous submission).
I just tried using the site. It seems quite a bit rough around the edges.<p>The search bar looks kind of strange with the black background and the bars between each character. I wasn't even sure where I should start typing as the search bar doesn't really look like a search bar. From <a href="http://sivers.org/quirks" rel="nofollow">http://sivers.org/quirks</a>, "The best design should do what people expect, and should not make them think."<p>Also, I tried searching for my flight today that had been canceled. It was American Airlines flight 5066, but I entered "5066", "AA5066", and "American Airlines" and searching the flights, and could not find it.<p>Finally, how you checked out flightcaster.com? It's a YC startup from 2009. I'm not sure how your site does much different than that website other than the google earth visualization. I was using flightcaster.com and flightstats.com to check the status of my flight today. Perhaps you could just focus on the google earth visualization and import the data from these websites?<p>Sorry to be so critical above, but I hope this helps in some way. Congrats on your first launch!
I really liked the simplicity of the landing page, and especially liked the 'Example' flight-code, so I could search. The page it bought me to wasn't as good in my opinion - you've gone from simple to complex very quickly.<p>Google Earth plugin? I don't have that, do you know what market of people actually do? Perhaps you can use a basic Map API, using the GE Plugin as a an afterthought feature...<p>I didn't really like the usage of the Google Ads either, if you've just launched... surely the ads should be kept out until everything is ironed out?<p>Don't get me wrong, I believe this is awesome. Keep up the good work. :)
Cool.<p>Checked out a random flight and came across a very late flight (just under 41 years?).
DEPARTED 38m ago (359304h 7m late)<p>As far as a growth/monetization idea (unsure if this already exists or can be improved) - add a pay feature that can text/email/call? if a flight is ahead of schedule or delayed. This maybe too much of a tangent, but hope it helps.