🌍 Language: English · Deutsch · Français · Español · Polski
SkyCheck — Drone Flight Check (DE · FR · AT · CH · ES · DK · IE · NL · PT · LU · NO · EE · SE · BE)
SkyCheck is a free single-page web app for quickly pre-checking drone flights. It aggregates real-time data from several official sources and provides an immediate flight recommendation. Our use cases: surveying, inspection, image films, TV & film productions, and A2/STS drone licence training at www.multikopterschule.de.
🔒 Privacy-first · runs in the browser · nothing to install.
SkyCheck collects no data, sets no tracking, and needs no account or sign-up — it can't spy on you because there is no backend that stores anything. Everything runs directly in your browser; the data you see is fetched live and gone the moment you close the tab. There's nothing to install either: "adding it to your home screen" (as a PWA) simply creates a shortcut that opens this web page — essentially a bookmark with an icon. No app package is downloaded, no permissions are granted, no background process runs.
Weather, air traffic, METAR/TAF, Kp-index and geocoding are identical everywhere; only the geo-zone source is country-specific and selected automatically from the hostname.
🌐 Live sites
All fourteen are the same deployment of skycheck.html from this repo, each served on its own Netlify site. Country detection: hostname (skycheck-<xx>.netlify.app) or the URL parameter ?country=de|fr|at|ch|es|dk|ie|nl|pt|lu|no|ee|se|be. Default: de. Each country variant also presets the UI language, a capital-landmark search hint, and country-scoped address search.
📦 Current version: v26.10.118.1
Version format: vYY.MM.major.subversion, matching PointCloud Manager. The
existing sequential SkyCheck release is the major component; feature
releases start at subversion 0, while local fixes and hotfixes increment only
the final component. The complete version is visible in the browser tab and
the app header.
Features
| Area | Details |
|---|
| Flight recommendation | Traffic-light system (Go / Warn / No-Go) based on wind, gusts, precipitation and Kp-index |
| Weather | Wind gusts, wind speed, wind direction, temperature, dew point, visibility, cloud cover, precipitation — data from DWD via BrightSky |
| METAR / TAF | Real-time aviation weather from nearby airports (NOAA Aviation Weather Center), including flight-category light VFR / MVFR / IFR / LIFR |
| Wind profile | Extrapolation of wind speed by altitude (10 / 60 / 120 / 150 m AGL) via power law |
| Kp-index | Current Kp from NOAA + GFZ Potsdam Hp30 bar chart (last 4 × 30 min + forecast) |
| Air traffic | ADS-B real-time flight movements in the surroundings with altitude colours and radar icons (Airplanes.live) |
| Aircraft alarm view | Full-screen map with audible aircraft alarm: announces approaching aircraft within an adjustable radius |
| Airspace map | Country-specific drone geo-zones (DE: DiPUL · FR/AT: ED-269 · CH: geo.admin.ch · ES: ENAIRE · DK/IE: ArcGIS) — no-fly zones, control zones, nature reserves; search radius switchable between 5 m and 100 m |
| 48 h forecast | Hourly weather forecast over 2 days (scrollable, drone-flight light per hour) |
| 5-day overview | Daily overview with min/max temperature, wind and traffic-light rating |
| Hints & warnings | Contextual warnings (GPS interference at high Kp, increased air traffic, no-fly reasoning) |
| 5 languages | German, English, French, Spanish, Polish — switchable on the landing page |
| PWA | Installable as a web app (install banner with 30-day cooldown), works offline for static content |
Technology
- Single-file HTML/JS/CSS — no build tools, no dependencies, no framework
- Leaflet.js for the interactive map
- Service Worker (
sw.js) + Web App Manifest (manifest.json) for PWA support
- Netlify for hosting + serverless functions (CORS proxies)
Data sources
Architecture
skycheck.html ← entire app (HTML + CSS + JS, ~9.4k lines)
coordinates.html ← GPS2UTM coordinate page: GPS → ETRS89/UTM, Gauss-Krüger, DHHN2016
coordinate-tools.js ← coordinate maths for that page (UTM, Gauss-Krüger approximation, GCG2016 geoid)
ctr-hoehenregeln.html ← info page: DFS/DAS control-zone height rules (NfL 2026-1-3960/-3981), cross-section graphic and airport gallery
img/ ← WebP images for that page (height-grid guide + airport gallery)
manifest.json ← PWA web app manifest
sw.js ← service worker (caching)
icon-192x192.png ← app icon (small)
icon-512x512.png ← app icon (large)
skycheck-icon.svg ← source icon (vector)
netlify.toml ← Netlify config (function bundle includes + root URL rewrite)
netlify/
functions/
awc.js ← NOAA AWC proxy for METAR/TAF (CORS workaround)
gfz.js ← GFZ Potsdam proxy for Kp-index/Hp30
zones-fr.js ← France UAS zones (reads spatial 2° tiles, bbox-filtered)
zones-at.js ← Austria UAS zones (reads data/uas-zones-at.json; ?all=1 = full overlay)
zones-ed269.js ← LU/NO/EE/SE/BE UAS zones (reads data/uas-zones-<cc>.json; exact area test; ?all=1 = full overlay)
notam-no.js ← Norway: live proxy for temporary NOTAM restriction areas (dronesoner.no, on click only)
notam-se.js ← Sweden: live proxy for NOTAM and AIP SUP restriction areas (LFV, on click only)
notam-be.js ← Belgium: live proxy for NOTAM zones and temporary no-fly zones (Droneguide, on click only)
data/
uas-zones-fr.json ← ED-269 France UAS zones (monthly snapshot, replaceable)
fr-zones-tiles/ ← generated spatial index for the Netlify function
context/fr/ ← bundled viewport tiles for the four France context layers
uas-zones-at.json ← ED-269 Austria UAS zones (about 290 zones, auto-updated)
uas-zones-at.version ← marker of the last imported Austro Control release (idempotency)
uas-zones-{lu,no,ee,se,be}.json ← ED-269 Luxembourg / Norway / Estonia / Sweden / Belgium UAS zones (weekly snapshots)
uas-zones-{lu,no,ee,se,be}.version ← markers of the last imported snapshot per country (idempotency)
dipul-airac/ ← extracted DiPUL AIRAC air-traffic layers (weekly check)
<cc>-protected.json ← context: protected areas (OSM, ODbL) — cc ∈ at,ch,es,dk,ie,fr
<cc>-motorways.json ← context: motorways (OSM, ODbL)
<cc>-powerlines.json ← context: high-voltage power lines (OSM, ODbL)
<cc>-rail.json ← context: main railway lines (OSM, ODbL)
gcg2016v2023-cm.i16 ← compact GCG2016 quasi-geoid grid (Int16, cm) for the coordinate page
scripts/
build-eu-zones.mjs ← builds the LU/NO/EE/SE/BE ED-269 snapshots from the official sources
gen-context.mjs ← reusable generator: Overpass → simplified GeoJSON (lines + polygons)
fetch-context.sh ← robust driver: curl-fetch (retry) + gen-context per layer, idempotent
build-fr-spatial-data.mjs ← builds the 2° spatial tiles for France (zones index + context layers)
build-gcg-web-grid.mjs ← converts the official GCG2016 GeoTIFF into the compact web grid
README.md ← how to add context layers for a new country
test-coordinate-tools.cjs ← Node check for coordinate-tools.js (`node scripts/test-coordinate-tools.cjs`)
tests/ ← Node tests (`node --test "tests/*.test.mjs"`)
.github/
workflows/
update-at-zones.yml ← monthly job: fetch newest Austro Control ED-269 → commit data file
update-eu-zones.yml ← weekly job (Mondays): refresh the LU/NO/EE/SE/BE ED-269 snapshots → commit data files
update-de-airac.yml ← weekly job: check the Mobilithek AIRAC offer → extract the DiPUL air-traffic layers
redirect.html ← optional redirect page
🇨🇭 CH needs none of the above — the map overlay is the geo.admin.ch WMS layer and the zone detail comes from the geo.admin.ch Identify REST API, both called directly from the browser (CORS-open). No Netlify function, no hosted data file, no update workflow.
Multi-country support (since v0.73)
SkyCheck uses an adapter pattern for country-specific geo-zone sources. Country is detected from the hostname (e.g. skycheck-ch.netlify.app) or the URL parameter ?country=de|fr|at|ch|es|dk|ie|nl|pt|lu|no|ee|se|be. Default: de. Weather, ADS-B, METAR/TAF and Kp-index are global; the UI language, the search-hint landmark and the geocoding bounding box are set per country.
| Country | Geo-zone source | Overlay | Detail list / status | Data & updates |
|---|
| 🇩🇪 DE (default) | DiPUL WMS (uas-betrieb.de) | WMS tiles | WMS GetFeatureInfo | live service (official, always current) |
| 🇫🇷 FR | ED-269 dataset | client-side polygons/circles | zones-fr.js (bbox filter) | data/uas-zones-fr.json (~3.6k zones, replaceable) |
| 🇦🇹 AT | Austro Control ED-269 | all zones drawn client-side (about 290) | zones-at.js (bbox filter) | data/uas-zones-at.json — auto-updated monthly via GitHub Actions (update-at-zones.yml) |
| 🇨🇭 CH | BAZL / geo.admin.ch ch.bazl.einschraenkungen-drohnen | WMS tiles | geo.admin.ch Identify REST API | live service (CORS-open) — no function, no file, no workflow |
| 🇪🇸 ES | ENAIRE servAIS SRV_UAS_ZG_V0 | WMS tiles | ArcGIS Identify REST API | live service (CORS-open) — no function, no file, no workflow |
| 🇩🇰 DK | Trafikstyrelsen ArcGIS FeatureServer | client-side vector polygons (~870, colour-coded) | ArcGIS query (bbox) | live service (CORS-open) — no function, no file, no workflow |
| 🇮🇪 IE | EASA Common Repository ie_geozones | client-side vector polygons (76) | ArcGIS query (bbox) | live service (CORS-open, preliminary EASA data) |
| 🇳🇱 NL | EASA Common Repository Netherlands_ED318 | client-side vector polygons (~162) | ArcGIS query (bbox) | live service (CORS-open) — no function, no file, no workflow |
| 🇵🇹 PT | EASA Common Repository / ANAC Portugal_Geo_Zones_Polygons | client-side vector polygons (~314) |
Three integration styles: WMS + point query (DE, CH, ES — official live services render the whole country and answer point queries directly), client-side ArcGIS vector (DK, IE, NL, PT — GeoJSON pulled live from an ArcGIS FeatureServer, drawn as colour-coded polygons), and hosted ED-269 file + Netlify function (FR, AT, LU, NO, EE, SE, BE — a JSON dataset in the repo, filtered server-side; AT refreshes itself monthly, LU/NO/EE/SE/BE weekly).
How many geo-zones per country?
Zone counts pulled directly from each country's live source (DE via DiPUL WFS across all 31 categories; ES via ENAIRE ArcGIS; FR/AT from the ED-269 datasets; CH from the geo.admin.ch GeoJSON; DK/IE via ArcGIS FeatureServer; LU/NO/EE/SE/BE from the weekly ED-269 snapshots in data/), normalised by land area:
| Country | Geo-zones | Area (km²) | Zones per 1 000 km² |
|---|
| 🇩🇪 Germany | 88 635 | 357 592 | ≈ 248 |
| 🇪🇸 Spain | 15 787 | 505 990 | ≈ 31 |
| 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 1 232 | 41 285 | ≈ 30 |
| 🇩🇰 Denmark | 870 | 42 952 | ≈ 20 |
| 🇧🇪 Belgium | 582 | 30 689 | ≈ 19 |
| 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 43 | 2 586 | ≈ 17 |
| 🇫🇷 France | 3 642 | 551 695 | ≈ 6.6 |
| 🇪🇪 Estonia | 241 | 45 339 | ≈ 5.3 |
| 🇳🇴 Norway | 1 390 | 385 207 | ≈ 3.6 |
| 🇦🇹 Austria | about 290 | 83 879 | ≈ 3.4 |
| 🇮🇪 Ireland* | 76 | 70 273 | ≈ 1.1 |
| 🇸🇪 Sweden | 390 | 450 295 | ≈ 0.9 |
* Ireland's figure is from the EASA Common Repository, which is still preliminary (the national IAA dataset lists ~87) — so its count is indicative, not complete.
Germany stands out drastically — roughly 5.6× the absolute count of the next country (Spain) and about 8× the zone density of Spain/Switzerland, 37× France and 73× Austria. The reason is Germany's uniquely fine-grained zoning: it designates zones for categories the others largely don't — e.g. industrial sites (24 482), residential properties (10 793), railway installations (9 819), nature reserves (9 012), even public outdoor pools (6 600). (Counting granularity differs between national datasets, which is itself the point: Germany zones far more categories at far finer resolution.)
Legal basis — the zones are public by EU law
Under Article 15(3) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947, every member state that defines UAS geographical zones must make that information publicly available in a common unique digital format — the EUROCAE ED-269 / ED-318 standard — explicitly for geo-awareness purposes, i.e. so that apps and systems like SkyCheck can inform pilots. The Open Data Directive (EU) 2019/1024 additionally frames such public-sector geospatial data as re-usable (geospatial being a "high-value dataset" category). In other words, the data is legally required to be openly accessible; SkyCheck merely displays each country's official source, with attribution. Exact re-use terms are still set nationally, so the individual data providers are credited above.
Netlify Functions (CORS proxies)
The Aviation Weather and GFZ APIs don't send CORS headers, so they go through Netlify Functions:
awc.js — proxies aviationweather.gov/api/data/{metar,taf}, adds CORS headers, 10 s timeout, 90 s cachegfz.js — proxies kp.gfz.de requests (Kp-index, Hp30)
Asynchronous loading
Weather, air traffic, METAR/TAF and Kp-index are loaded in parallel. The GFZ Hp30 tile loads asynchronously in the background without blocking the main view — the status page therefore appears in ~1 second.
Geo-zone detection (DiPUL WMS GetFeatureInfo)
The WMS GetFeatureInfo request uses a 101×101 pixel grid. The effective search radius is controlled via the bounding-box size δ:
δ = Math.max(0.001134, radiusM * 101 / (4 * 111320))
This allows the search radius to be precisely scaled between 5 m and 100 m (empirically calibrated).
Local development
# Simple HTTP server (Python)
python3 -m http.server 8091
# → http://localhost:8091/skycheck.html
# With Netlify Functions (recommended — otherwise no METAR/TAF/Kp)
npm install -g netlify-cli
netlify dev
# → http://localhost:8888/skycheck.html
Note: Without netlify dev, the METAR/TAF and GFZ tiles will fail on localhost because /.netlify/functions/* is not available. Weather, ADS-B and airspace work with the plain HTTP server as well.
Flight recommendation — rating logic
| Criterion | Warning | No-Go |
|---|
| Wind gusts | > 7 m/s | > 10 m/s |
| Kp-index | > 3.3 (GPS impaired) | > 5.0 (GPS unreliable) |
| Precipitation | > 0 mm | > 0.3 mm |
| Geo-zone | unrestricted, nature buffer zone | active no-fly zone |
Version history (excerpt)
| Version | Change |
|---|
| v26.10.118.1 | 🇸🇪 Sweden's permanent restricted areas now show red. 146 of the 160 restricted areas (LFV layer mais:RSTA, from ground) are now classified as prohibited (red traffic light, red polygon) instead of authorisation required (yellow) — consistent with the temporary NOTAM/AIP SUP restricted areas. The descriptions from the data, including notes on possible permits from the Transportstyrelsen, are unchanged; 5 km airport areas stay authorisation required. The 14 areas whose official description requires a permit only when announced by NOTAM or AIP SUP (e.g. the southern Stockholm archipelago, northern Gotland) stay authorisation required (yellow); once activated they appear red via the live button. Owner's decision; snapshot data/uas-zones-se.json regenerated, no client change. |
| v26.10.118.0 | 🇸🇪🇧🇪 Sweden and Belgium. Two new country variants (skycheck-se, skycheck-be) with official zones as weekly refreshed ED-269 snapshots (data/uas-zones-{se,be}.json, 390 / 582 zones). Sweden: seven LFV WFS layers plus the Transportstyrelsen ED-318 zone file (CC BY 4.0); restricted areas and 5 km airport areas = authorisation required; control zones, traffic (information) zones, 1 km heliport areas and danger areas = conditional; the 68 UAS zones with their validity windows as stated in the file. Belgium: Droneguide WFS (skeyes, for the BCAA), without the world time-zone polygons and without zones starting above 120 m AGL (like the official map's default view); licence not stated by the publisher; reuse per the BCAA's documented reply (ref. G26-187 of 2026-09-16) with four notices that the app shows permanently below the zone list. Live button now also for Sweden (notam-se: NOTAM areas with the official chart's filter, ground level only, plus currently valid AIP SUP areas near ground level) and Belgium (notam-be: NOTAM zones and temporary no-fly zones), alongside Norway. New rule for all five ED-269 countries: a zone counts as "currently inactive" when every activation window has ended or starts more than 24 hours from now ("Not yet active — starts UTC"); windows starting within 24 hours count as running. Build script and workflow cover se (directory of eight files) and be (one file); unknown restriction values or altitude texts abort that country's build. 299 Node tests. Fix wave after the final review: source attribution for the five snapshot countries (Sweden with the CC BY 4.0 link and "adapted") in the map attribution; Swedish SUP legal links encoded correctly; NOTAM classification RD/W… conditional, every other R… prohibited; live hits ordered active – snapshot zones – inactive; Belgium one-liner in the map panel above the NOTAM hint; per-country step time limits in the workflow. |
Privacy
SkyCheck does not track or store any user data. The app is purely a web application — even the "installation" as a PWA only places an app icon and does not install anything persistently. Data is loaded only temporarily and disappears when you leave the app.
Licence & liability
Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Denmark & Ireland · Operation in VLOS · No liability for completeness or accuracy of the displayed data. Using the app does not replace any required official authorisation. SkyCheck is an orientation aid — the legally required authorisation and final airspace clearance are issued via the competent national portals (e.g. DFS Aviation Services for DE, Austro Control Dronespace for AT, skyguide for CH).
Data sources are subject to their respective licences (DWD Open Data, GFZ CC BY 4.0, Airplanes.live Fair Use, NOAA Public Domain, DiPUL, Austro Control, BAZL / swisstopo geo.admin.ch, ENAIRE, Trafikstyrelsen, EASA).
