Skydex: fly over the real Earth in your browser
Skydex is a free multiplayer flight game that runs in
your browser. Fly an FPV drone or a gull over the real planet at 1:1
scale, find real aircraft and ships that our receiver network hears
right now, and catch them with binoculars into your collection. No
install, and no account needed to take off.
What you can do
- Fly a gull or an FPV drone over photorealistic 3D cities where Google coverage exists, and over an OpenStreetMap world everywhere else. Browser flight simulator
- Catch live aircraft heard by volunteer ADS-B receivers, and live ships from AIS. Each catch keeps its type and rarity. Browse the directory
- Race drone tracks over Kyiv, London, Paris, Berlin and more, with public leaderboards. Drone races
- Visit airports: two minutes low over the field counts as a visit, and repeat days raise your tier.
- Talk in chat or on a walkie-talkie tuned to real airband frequencies, and listen to Skydex Radio together.
- Track ships you care about and get port-arrival history. Ship tracking
- Fly in VR from the Meta Quest or PICO browser, or play on a phone with touch controls.
The receiver network
The aircraft and ships in Skydex come from receivers that people run at
home. Anyone with an ADS-B or AIS receiver can add a station in a few
minutes and see what it hears on the map.
ADS-B network ·
AIS network ·
Station leaderboard ·
Live globe ·
Add your receiver
Where to fly
Every country and major city has its own page with live traffic,
flying weather and a button that takes off right there.
Browse all countries and cities ·
Live map ·
Flying weather ·
Flight videos ·
Flying along the Elbe in Hamburg
Controls
- W A S D: steer. Q / E: roll. Space: climb or flap, Shift: descend.
- X: binoculars. P: catch the target in the sights.
- Enter: arm the drone. R: drone flight mode. V: camera view. G: drop a payload.
- M: map. Esc: pause. Every key can be rebound in Settings; a gamepad or an RC transmitter works too.
Questions
Is Skydex free?
Yes. Skydex runs in your browser on desktop, phone, tablet and VR headset. There is nothing to install and nothing to pay to fly, catch or race.
Do I need an account to play?
No. You can take off as a guest. Sign in with Google to keep your catches, XP, ranks and collection, to talk in chat and on the walkie-talkie, and to keep the photorealistic 3D world on later visits.
Are the aircraft and ships real?
Yes. Aircraft come from the Skydex network of volunteer ADS-B receivers, and ships come from AIS, a public feed plus our own AIS receivers. You see live traffic only where a receiver hears it. Private aircraft are shown without their registration or callsign.
How do I catch an aircraft or a ship?
Fly within range, hold X to raise the binoculars, keep the target in the sights until the ring closes, then press P. Each aircraft and each ship can be caught once per UTC day. The catch goes into your collection with its type and rarity.
Is the Earth in Skydex the real one?
Yes, at 1:1 scale. Where Google coverage exists you fly over photorealistic 3D cities; elsewhere the world is built from OpenStreetMap buildings, roads, water and forests on real elevation data.
What can I fly?
A gull or an FPV drone. Drones come in several frames, including cargo drones that carry and drop payloads, with angle and acro flight modes. A gamepad or an RC transmitter in USB joystick mode works too.
Can I play in VR or on my phone?
Yes. Phones and tablets get touch controls. Meta Quest and PICO headsets enter VR straight from the browser, with flight and spotting on the controllers.
Is it multiplayer?
Yes. Other pilots share the same sky. There is a chat, a walkie-talkie with real airband frequencies, drone races with public leaderboards, daily missions and seasons.
I have an ADS-B or AIS receiver. Can I feed Skydex?
Yes. Register a station on the feed page, add one line to your decoder (readsb, ultrafeeder or AIS-catcher), and your station gets its own page, a place on the station leaderboard and daily rewards.
Which languages does Skydex support?
English, Ukrainian, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Turkish, Japanese and Arabic.
News · X @SkydexOnline
JavaScript is required to fly. Enable JavaScript in
your browser and reload.