Flight Tracking App Released into Beta

A new flight tracking app, Flying, has released into Beta.

I’ve been watching this app closely because it has promised to visualize your previous flight paths.  And using this visualization, you can literally print your flight paths.

loci – 3D Printed Sculptures From Your Flights from Andrew Spitz on Vimeo.

But for now, this flight tracking app is in beta, which means your options are limited.

It currently works a lot like FlightTrackerPro/TripIt.  The pro-version of both of these flight tracking apps offer alerts for gate changes, delays, cancellations and airline flight status.  So there isn’t that much difference in what you can track.

What sets Flying apart as a flight tracking app is that it also offers a social component.  You can earn stamps in your e-passport as you travel and share them with friends.   You can also see if you are going to cross flight paths with a friend.   This is pretty similar to FourSquare, including a competition for the person who earns the most points.  Except with Foursquare, you can tell if you are currently at the same airport as a friend.  It seems with Flying, I’ll be able to tell ahead of time if I’m going to cross paths with a friend.

Foursquare offeres badges for hiting certain milestones
My Foursquare Badges. Should I be proud?
Flight tracking app gives you passport  stamps for your travels
Flying Flight Tracking App gives you slightly classier looking stamps than Foursquare

In addition to visualizing your flights, Flying will keep track of how far you’ve traveled in the world.  How close are you to the moon in miles flown?

That’s really interesting, but I couldn’t see myself switching to  new app to keep track of my flights.  The good news is Flying is trying to work with TripIt to automatically import your previous and future flights into the app.  This would make the social aspect easier, and if you’ve kept track of all your previous flights in TripIt, you can get a pretty cool visualization of your flights.

Flight Tracking App 3D prints your flights-- flights tracking

 

Months ago, I read they were interested in connecting with FourSquare.  That’s where I keep track of everywhere I’ve been, so I would love it if  this happened.  I doubt Foursquare would want to work with them though.  The service is too similar, and many people use Foursquare to show off their travels–not just where they land, but the places they eat.  So this wouldn’t be giving Foursquare a complementary customer base, it would be going after Foursquare’s current customer base.  It offers the social aspects, PLUS flight tracking.  I think if they were offering just the flight tracking aspect to tie to Foursquare (and even auto-check them into Foursquare when they land), there would be more room for partnership.

 

About Jeanne Marie Hoffman

Former bartender, still a geek. One equal part each cookies, liberty, football, music, travel, libations. Stir vigorously. +Jeanne Marie Hoffman Jeanne on Twitter

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3 comments

  1. So, from the video, in order to use the app, I need the app downloaded, a 3D printer, what appears to be some new form of a pasta maker, a convection oven and perhaps some PAS Easter Egg dye.

    • Jeanne Marie Hoffman

      You need the app, then some way of 3D printing. I heard they are teaming up with a place where you can order your item 3D printed to save the hassle of getting the 3D printed, pasta maker, convection oven, and the Easter Egg dye.

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