Software Engineer's DIY 'Skylight' Projects Real-Time Airplane Flight Paths Onto Living Room Ceiling

SAN BRUNO, California — Aviation fans and tech enthusiasts are marveling at a mesmerizing new open-source system that effectively turns a standard living room ceiling into a real-time, interactive flight tracker. Dubbed "Skylight," the innovative device was created by Cameron Paczek, a veteran software engineer who designed the core mapping system in just a couple of hours to track commercial aircraft as they approach his San Bruno home near San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

The inventive setup relies on a minimal and affordable bill of materials, utilizing a small Raspberry Pi microcomputer, a native 1080p projector pointed upward, and a specialized USB radio antenna. The antenna intercepts public ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast) signals emitted directly from nearby aircraft transponders. The Raspberry Pi then instantly decodes the live telemetry coordinates, rendering smooth graphic icons across the ceiling that display the airplane’s flight identifier, model, trajectory, and destination. The system even maps color-coded altitude cues; for instance, a green airplane graphic explicitly denotes an aircraft traveling between 10,000 and 11,000 feet.

Paczek’s creation has quickly become the ultimate domestic conversation starter, captivating visitors by bridging the gap between indoor simulation and physical reality. Guests can watch a flight glide across the ceiling, hear the physical rumble of the jet engines outside, and step into the front yard to witness the exact plane flying directly overhead. Beyond aviation tracking, the open-source software operates like a digital planetarium, utilizing live data to project the precise local alignment of the sun, moon, constellations, and passing satellites like the International Space Station (ISS).

As the DIY project continues to go viral across developer forums, Paczek has made the comprehensive build instructions and source code freely accessible on GitHub for hobbyists looking to construct their own setups. Recognizing that not everyone possesses the technical background to program hardware from scratch, the creator is currently finalizing plans to launch a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to offer pre-assembled, plug-and-play kits for interested buyers.

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