A flight tracker for your TV

WingWatch shows the planes over your home, live, on a screen you leave on: one big card for the plane overhead, where it's going, and a map of everything nearby. It runs in a web browser, so there's no box to buy and nothing to install.

What you need

A screen with a web browser, or a device that can show one, and an internet connection. Once WingWatch opens, you open its link, pick your spot and go full screen. While the page is open it asks the screen to stay awake.

Smart TV (Samsung, LG and others)

Most smart TVs come with a web browser: Samsung's is called Internet, LG's is called Web Browser. Open it, type the link, and use the TV's full-screen option. Browsers on older TVs can be slow, so if yours struggles, one of the options below will run it better.

Fire TV

Install Amazon Silk Browser from the Fire TV app store, open the link and go full screen.

Apple TV

Apple TV has no web browser, so WingWatch can't run on it directly. Open the link on an iPhone, iPad or Mac and use Screen Mirroring to show it on the TV. An old iPad propped by the TV, below, does the same job without tying up your phone.

Google TV, Android TV and Chromecast

Most of these have no web browser built in. From a computer, open the link in Chrome, then use Cast from Chrome's menu and pick your TV. You can also install a browser from the Play Store if your TV offers one.

An old iPad or tablet

The easiest screen to leave on. Open the link in Safari or Chrome, add it to your home screen so it opens full screen, and keep it plugged in. On an iPad, set Settings → Display & Brightness → Auto-Lock to Never, so it stays on even if the page can't keep it awake.

A spare monitor

Any computer can drive a monitor: a laptop with the lid open, a mini PC or a Raspberry Pi. Open the link in a browser and press F11, or use the browser's full-screen view.

How it differs from a flight tracking app

Apps like Flightradar24 are made to be searched on a phone. WingWatch is made to be glanced at from across the room: it picks the plane overhead for you, shows a route only when it fits where the plane is and where it's heading, and cuts to a flight you follow when it takes off and lands.