{"id":136723,"date":"2026-04-03T16:00:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T16:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer.apple.com\/news\/?id=cmd9p4g7"},"modified":"2026-04-03T16:00:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T16:00:01","slug":"qa-how-plane-finder-set-itself-up-for-the-long-haul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2026\/04\/03\/qa-how-plane-finder-set-itself-up-for-the-long-haul\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&amp;A: How Plane Finder set itself up for the long haul"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"inline-article-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/qa-how-plane-finder-set-itself-up-for-the-long-haul.jpg\" data-img-dark=\"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/qa-how-plane-finder-set-itself-up-for-the-long-haul.jpg\" data-hires=\"false\" alt=\"Two iPhone screenshots of the app Plane Finder. The screenshot on the left shows a map of the San Francisco area and information about a flight from JFK to SFO. The screenshot on the right show a map of all plane traffic activity over Europe. \"><\/div>\n<p><em>Plane Finder<\/em> is a sparkling example of what happens when a small team grows with a platform.<\/p>\n<p>Launched in 2009, <em>Plane Finder<\/em> didn\u2019t scale over the years by adding headcount, vendors, or complexity. Instead, founders Jodie and Lee Armstrong made a long-term bet on Apple\u2019s ecosystem \u2014 staying native, sticking close to first-party tools, and reading platform signals early. And over time, an app that began as \u201cplanes on a map\u201d evolved into a full end-to-end flight-tracking business \u2014 one that includes a global network of physical hardware \u2014 built and operated by a team of just eight people.<\/p>\n<p>We talked to the married founders about their early days, the new design and Liquid Glass, and the challenges of running a global flight tracking network.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h3>Plane Finder<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Available on:<\/strong> iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch<\/li>\n<li><strong>Team size:<\/strong> 8<\/li>\n<li><strong>Based in:<\/strong> UK<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/plane-finder-flight-tracker\/id361273585\">Download Plane Finder from the App Store &gt;<\/a><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><strong>Take us back to 2009. What sparked the idea for <em>Plane Finder<\/em>, and what were those early days like?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Lee:<\/strong> We\u2019ve been on the App Store since about a year after it opened. It feels like a lifetime. But the real spark was seeing the unveiling of the iPhone itself in 2007. We were actually in the United States when it came out, so we picked one up, not really knowing what we\u2019d do with it. There was no App Store yet, and I couldn\u2019t even use it as a phone in the UK. It was literally just to hold and swipe back and forth. But that moment became such a huge part of our journey. We still have that iPhone on display.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In those early days, did you have aspirations of becoming an end-to-end flight tracking platform?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Jodie:<\/strong> Not at all. We started with just the app. Today, we collect our own positional information directly from aircraft, put it inside apps, and sell our data commercially.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You\u2019re a small team of eight people. What\u2019s that like?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Lee:<\/strong> I don\u2019t think we could have done it without Apple technologies. We\u2019re a small team, and we wouldn\u2019t have the platform or methods to market on a global scale without the App Store \u2014 credit cards, StoreKit, localization. We really value the App Store as a platform.<\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-article-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/qa-how-plane-finder-set-itself-up-for-the-long-haul-1.jpg\" data-img-dark=\"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/qa-how-plane-finder-set-itself-up-for-the-long-haul-1.jpg\" data-hires=\"false\" alt><\/div>\n<p><strong><em>Plane Finder<\/em> is known for adopting Apple technologies and features \u2014 like ARKit, MapKit, and Liquid Glass \u2014 early. Which tools have made the biggest difference?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Lee:<\/strong> It all goes back to MapKit. We flippantly say the app is \u201cplanes on a map,\u201d and MapKit is core to that. We\u2019re also big users of Metal for our 3D globe view. And we just wouldn\u2019t be able to handle subscriptions and monetization with promotional offers without StoreKit 2. We don\u2019t use any third parties or cross-platform frameworks. We\u2019re all in on Apple technologies because they provide everything we need.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What made you willing to be such early adopters?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Jodie:<\/strong> I steer the company from the mindset of a quote I heard years ago: \u201cWhen new technologies come along, you can either be part of the steamroller or part of the road.\u201d We always want to be part of the steamroller. We\u2019re quick to evaluate new technology, and if we can lean into it in a way that makes sense for our products, we go for it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Can you talk about the process of adopting Liquid Glass?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Jodie:<\/strong> We were on board with the concept straight away. From a leadership perspective, we said, \u201cThis is the future. We\u2019ve got to make it make sense for what we do.\u201d The design and engineering teams worked incredibly hard bringing those two things together \u2014 staying current and leaning into the tech while making it make sense for our world.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What does the developer community mean to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Lee:<\/strong> It\u2019s the reinforcement piece. When you\u2019re working in silos, the community gives you confidence that you\u2019re applying technologies correctly. It\u2019s all well and good seeing WWDC sessions with slides and sample code, but that\u2019s very specific. Seeing how it works in the real world is invaluable.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jodie:<\/strong> Everyone I speak to within Apple has passion and opinions about our app. They\u2019re very engaged, and every piece of feedback is valuable. We\u2019ve been asked questions over the years like \u201cWhy do you do this with your toolbar?\u201d All that conversation is helpful.<\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-article-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/qa-how-plane-finder-set-itself-up-for-the-long-haul-2.jpg\" data-img-dark=\"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/qa-how-plane-finder-set-itself-up-for-the-long-haul-2.jpg\" data-hires=\"false\" alt=\"A photo of six members of the Plane Finder team, all standing outside in a courtyard next to an office building.\"><\/div>\n<p><strong><em>Plane Finder<\/em> isn\u2019t just an app. You\u2019ve deployed thousands of flight tracking devices worldwide. How has Apple\u2019s ecosystem enabled that?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Jodie:<\/strong> There\u2019s a symbiotic relationship between people enjoying the app and wanting to get involved by hosting receivers where we need coverage.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lee:<\/strong> When we first started, we had one receiver covering the south of the UK. People downloaded the app and said, \u201cThis is great, but I live in Scotland and can\u2019t see any planes.\u201d So we\u2019d send them a receiver. Before long, we heard that from Sweden, the United States, Africa, and Asia.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jodie:<\/strong> Today, we use the app to find people in locations where we want to improve coverage. We\u2019re leveraging the power of the audience to grow the network even further.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s next?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Jodie:<\/strong> We haven\u2019t finished our Liquid Glass journey. We\u2019re working on an internal project code-named \u201cPlane Finder Double Glazed\u201d \u2014 the next iteration with wider UI changes that we held back initially. We\u2019re also looking at how we can leverage machine learning and foundation models.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s one thing people don\u2019t realize about running a global flight tracking network?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Lee:<\/strong> We own and operate the network of receivers that power it. A lot of people think we buy that data like other companies do.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jodie:<\/strong> We\u2019ve designed and manufactured receivers and antennas. There\u2019s more to us than just being an app!<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h3>Keep reading<\/h3>\n<p>Developer stories explore best practices and philosophies from some of the most inventive developers in the Apple community. In each story, we go behind the screens with developers, designers, and engineers to find out how they brought their remarkable creations to life.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/developer.apple.com\/developer-stories\/\">Browse all developer stories &gt;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Plane Finder is a sparkling example of what happens when a small team grows with a platform. Launched in 2009, Plane Finder didn\u2019t scale over the years by adding headcount, vendors, or complexity. Instead, founders Jodie and Lee Armstrong made a long-term bet on Apple\u2019s ecosystem \u2014 staying native, sticking close to first-party tools, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":136724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-apple-developer-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}