I built another Mac app: Overhead

Ever hear a plane go over and wonder what it is? Overhead shows you every aircraft near your location, live on a map, with desktop widgets so you can see the sky at a glance.

Click any plane, and you get a photo of that actual aircraft, its type and operator, where it’s flying from and to, and which way to look (“Look WSW, 38° up”). It’ll even give you a heads-up right before something passes overhead — and play live ATC tower audio while you watch, using any feed from liveatc.net.

Free, native macOS, no account, no tracking. Data comes from volunteer-run ADS-B receivers, the same community networks that make this hobby possible.

I designed it and built it with Claude’s help, which was a genuinely fun way to work, from a blank folder to a notarized, self-updating app in a couple of days.

https://seeoverhead.app

Requires macOS 14 or later. Works on Apple silicon and Intel.

Author: Bruce Elgort

You’ll find this technology professor – an award-winning instructor at Clark College – working hard to inspire and challenge his students with meaningful web development and programming experiences. With a skinny vanilla latte (no foam) in hand, Bruce loves to tinker and test the boundaries of existing and emerging technologies, to then guide hungry minds through memorable, educational journeys to showcase with passion the ever-evolving innovations of society. An industry leader, Bruce is known for co-developing Elguji’s IdeaJam software, and is recognized by IBM as an ‘IBM Champion’ for being an innovative thought leader in cloud technologies.

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