£99.99
The Flight Light doesn’t mine Bitcoin – it’s one of my art pieces.
Designed and built by I Am GPIO, this aviation status beacon pairs a polished aluminium Spitfire with a glowing LED base and live ADS-B data from adsb.lol. Set any aircraft tail number in the simple web interface and the light switches from its grounded colour to an in-flight glow when that aircraft is in the air. There’s also a fully customisable ‘Night Light’ mode that turns it into a gentle bedside lamp on a schedule. Originally built so my wife could see when I was flying, it’s become a unique, thoughtful gift for pilots and aviation lovers.
What is ‘The Flight Light’?
Most of what I build at The Solo Mining Co’ is about Bitcoin mining.
However, The Flight Light is different – it doesn’t hash, doesn’t earn sats, and it won’t heat your office. It’s an aviation art piece with a very specific mission:
To give pilots and the people who care about them a simple indicator that shows, in real time, whether their aircraft is flying or safely on the ground.
As a passionate pilot, my wife wanted a way to see when I was airborne, so I designed and built the Flight Light. It’s a small aviation status beacon that beautifully uplights a classic Spitfire desk ornament while quietly tracking a real aircraft in the background, changing colour based on whether the aircraft is airborne or grounded.
A 4″wooden base hides internal LEDs on a custom PCB. On the surface is an injection-moulded polycarbonate diffuser that uplights a polished ~6″ aluminium Spitfire, creating a clean, modern aviation sculpture for your desk, bedside table or hangar office.
Flight Light connects to your Wi-Fi and listens to live ADS-B data from the open-source tracking site http://adsb.lol (no subscription required).
Through the built-in web interface you can:
Set any aircraft registration (tail number) – your own, a loved one’s or a favourite airliner
Choose colours for grounded and in-air / active states
Adjust LED brightness and the refresh interval to suit your room
Once configured:
When your chosen aircraft is on the ground, the base glows in your grounded colour
As soon as ADS-B shows it airborne, Flight Light smoothly switches to your in-air colour, so anyone nearby can see at a glance that the flight is live
It’s a gentle, ambient way for partners, kids and friends to see whether “their” pilot is up in the sky – without staring at an app all evening.
Flight Light also doubles as a programmable night light.
In the same web interface you can:
Set a start and end time for Night Light mode
Choose a separate Night Light colour and brightness level
When Night Light mode is active:
All grounded / in-air status changes are temporarily disabled
The base holds a steady, soft glow in your chosen Night Light colour
So by day it’s a live flight-status indicator, and by night it becomes a calm bedside lamp – ideal for pilot households.
Flip the unit over and you’ll find a laser-engraved wooden plate carrying a short original poem I wrote, “The Flight Light”, along with the logo for my aviation brand The Earl of Airside (main site launching soon at www.theearlofairside.com):
We trace the sky with fragile wings,
And carve the path where freedom sings.This beacon glows to mark the flight,
A faithful guide through day and night.The dream of flight, once wild, once new,
Still shines in light for me and you.
It turns a useful gadget into a small, sentimental keepsake for pilots – signed in spirit by myself, I Am GPIO.
Pilots whose partners want a simple “are they flying?” indicator
Families who like to follow a loved one’s flights in an easy, ambient way
Aviation geeks and collectors looking for a Spitfire desk light with real data behind it
A unique gift for student pilots, newly-qualified PPLs, flight instructors, airline pilots or retirement presents
Designed and built by I Am GPIO (The Solo Mining Co’ / The Earl of Airside)
Polished aluminium Spitfire mounted on a solid wood base (approx. 4″) with an injection-moulded polycarbonate light diffuser
Internal LEDs with configurable colours and brightness for grounded / live / error states
Night Light mode – scheduled, fully customisable colour and brightness, overrides status changes during set hours
Simple browser-based interface – connect to Wi-Fi and set your tail number in minutes
Uses live ADS-B data from adsb.lol (no subscription)
Powered via USB-C – easy to run from a desktop charger, monitor or USB socket
Over-the-air (OTA) firmware updates for future improvements
Laser-engraved poem “The Flight Light” and The Earl of Airside branding on the underside
Part of The Solo Mining Co’s art & experimental range – made in small batches
Base size: approx. 4″ square
Aircraft length: approx. 6″ (Spitfire-style model)
Materials: solid wood base, polished aluminium aircraft, injection-moulded polycarbonate diffuser
Power: USB-C power supply included. Almost zero power draw – uses less than 2w of power.
Connectivity: 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. Needs almost zero internet speed. Very low data transfer.
Configuration: Local web interface (no cloud account required)
Data source: ADS-B feed from adsb.lol
Function: Informational / decorative status light only
Important:
Flight Light is an art and information piece. It is not an aviation safety device and must not be used for operational decision-making in the air or on the ground.
