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- Jack Sweeney, a student in jet-tracking, has created his own database to monitor aircrafts.
- Sweeney said to Insider that he created an alternative to ADSB Exchange. It was eventually sold last month.
- Sweeney has access to data about private jets belonging to celebrities like Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
Jack Sweeney is a 20-year old college student who was famous for following Elon Musk's private plane on social media. He now has his own website to track jets.
Sweeney explained to Insider that he created the web-based public data base after JetNet, an aviation data company, announced last month that they had acquired ADS-B Exchange. This free website tracks thousands of commercial aircraft worldwide. Sweeney started using the ADS-B Exchange website in 2020 to keep track of private-jet data.
The site then announced that it was being sold. Sweeney expressed concern that JetNet, the data provider, might allow celebrities to request their personal-jet information be removed from its website.
Insider reached out to JetNet but a spokesperson did not respond. In a previous statement, Dan Streufert, founder of ADS-B Exchange, stated that the acquisition would speed up the site's growth.
The new website of Sweeney, theairtraffic.com looks very similar to ADS/B Exchange. The same open-source code was used in the creation of ADS-B Exchange was used in its construction. Sweeney stated that he hopes to make the website interactive and more user-friendly than the competitor.
ADS-B Exchange was established in 2016 and uses over 9,000 volunteer-run radios (or "feeders") to transmit data from ADSB-equipped aircraft. ADS-B, a surveillance technology, broadcasts information such as GPS location and altitude to ground stations and aircraft.
Sweeney also uses ADS-B feeders for his website. Insider reported that he has already started receiving data from over 160 feeders, and expects to add more once he announces the project via social media. Data is also pulled from ADS-B Hub, ADS-B Exchange and other networks.
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Sweeney stated that his social media accounts that track jets and have attracted celebrity ire, will still pull data from ADS-B Exchange sites. His site is now competing with them. Sweeney stated that his accounts, such as @ElonJetNextDay will pull data from his site. This will allow him to diversify his data sources and reduce his dependence on ADS-B Exchange.
Sweeney, who was upset by JetNet's announcement of its acquisition of the database, called for feeders not to use the platform. Sweeney stated that the sale had undermined the purpose of creating the database and asked whether JetNet would close the site or remove private jet data from select users. JetNet has not yet announced plans to modify the site.
Sweeney stated that he had based his entire work and all these bots on ADS-B data. If I don't have any control or say in it, I don't know how I would be able keep these bots going. Sweeney stated that he hopes to make theairtraffic.com a collaborative effort that will allow it to be "always open and unfiltered".
According to Sweney, a sophomore college student at University of Central Florida, it took many servers and many hours over the past few week to put up the site. He's still not done. Sweeney stated that he has plans to create an app that allows people to search for flights. He also plans to create another website to centralize all his celebrity and billionaire flight tracking data, including that of Taylor Swift and Donald Trump.
This isn't the first time a college student has had to make pivots in his efforts to keep his jet-tracking accounts running. Musk offered Musk $5,000 to stop sharing flight information. But the teenager demanded $50,000. Musk never followed up, Sweeney said.
His accounts, including @ElonJet & @ZuccJet were later suspended by Musk in December. Musk claimed that the jet-tracking accounts were a "physical safety violation."
Twitter even updated its privacy policy to prohibit users from sharing live locations. Sweeney began posting flight data after a 24-hour wait period. This is to ensure that the site's policies are followed.
The FAA states that sharing public information is legal. However, there are federal programs that can block the tracker. The FAA acknowledges that these programs are not "silver bullets" and can be tripped via ADS-B Exchange.
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By: gkay@insider.com (Grace Kay,Taylor Rains)
Title: The college student who tracks Elon Musk’s private jet is launching his own flight-tracking website
Sourced From: www.businessinsider.com/student-who-tracks-elon-musk-jet-launching-own-website-2023-2
Published Date: Tue, 07 Feb 2023 22:11:49 +0000
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