GolfMike - Flight Tracking Application

A comprehensive flight tracking and weather monitoring system that integrates with FAA SWIM (System Wide Information Management) to provide real-time flight data, weather information, and aviation alerts.

Features

• Real-time Flight Tracking: Live flight data from FAA SWIM
• Weather Integration: METAR, TAF, and weather alerts from AviationWeather.gov
• ITWS Weather Alerts: Real-time weather warnings and advisories
• Interactive Web Interface: Modern dashboard with flight search and details
• Docker Support: Easy deployment with Docker Compose
• Database Integration: PostgreSQL with optimized schemas
• Background Processing: Celery workers for data processing
• Monitoring: System health checks and logging

System Architecture

The system consists of several key components:

• Flask API: RESTful API for flight and weather data
• PostgreSQL Database: Stores flight plans, tracks, and weather data
• Celery Workers: Background processing for data ingestion
• Solace Consumer: Real-time data from FAA SWIM
• Weather Services: METAR/TAF data and ITWS alerts
• Web Interface: Bootstrap/Tabler.io frontend

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose
• Git

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/gmisner/golfmike.git
cd golfmike

2. Start the system:

docker-compose up -d

3. Access the web interface:

• Main Dashboard: http://localhost:5500
• Flight Details: http://localhost:5500/flight-detail.html
• API Health: http://localhost:5500/health

Configuration

The system uses environment variables for configuration. Key settings:

• POSTGRES_DB: Database name
• POSTGRES_USER: Database user
• POSTGRES_PASSWORD: Database password
• SOLACE_HOST: Solace message broker host
• SOLACE_USERNAME: Solace username
• SOLACE_PASSWORD: Solace password

API Endpoints

• GET /api/flights/current - Get current flights
• GET /api/flights/{aircraft_id}/detail - Get flight details with weather
• GET /api/flights/{aircraft_id}/position - Get current position
• GET /api/flights/{aircraft_id}/track - Get flight track
• GET /api/flights/{aircraft_id}/flightplan - Get flight plan
• GET /api/flights/{aircraft_id}/alerts - Operational / SWIM alerts for a tail (same filters as /api/flight-alerts?aircraft_id=)
• GET /api/flight-alerts - Alerts list; filter by aircraft_id (recommended), optional since / until (ISO), offset, acknowledged
• GET /health - Liveness (process up)
• GET /health/ready - Readiness (database connection); returns 503 when the DB is unreachable

Weather Data

The system provides comprehensive weather information:

• METAR: Current weather conditions at airports
• TAF: Terminal aerodrome forecasts
• Weather Alerts: AIRMET, SIGMET, and ITWS alerts
• Real-time Updates: Automatic data refresh from multiple sources

Development

Project Structure

golfmike/
├── .devcontainer/          # Docker configuration
├── models/                 # Database models
├── parsers/               # XML data parsers
├── storers/               # Data storage handlers
├── static/                # Web interface files
├── utils/                 # Utility functions
├── app_flask.py           # Flask application
├── simple_api.py          # API endpoints
└── docker-compose.yml     # Container orchestration

Running Tests

# Run system health check
python check_system_status.py

# Test weather API
python test_weather_api.py

# Audit curated SWIM ingestable samples (strict)
./tools/audit_ingestable_samples.sh

See docs/CI.md for GitHub Actions, branch protection, and database-backed integration tests.

Database Management

# Create weather tables
python create_weather_api_tables.py

# Check database status
docker exec postgres psql -U postgres -d postgres -c "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM track_information;"

Monitoring

The system includes comprehensive monitoring:

• Health Checks: API endpoint monitoring
• Logging: Structured logging with timestamps
• Error Handling: Graceful error recovery
• Performance Metrics: Database query optimization

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests if applicable
5. Submit a pull request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Support

For issues and questions:

• Create an issue on GitHub
• Check the system logs: docker-compose logs
• Review the documentation in the docs/ directory

Roadmap

• Enhanced weather visualization
• Mobile-responsive interface
• Historical data analysis
• Performance optimizations
• Additional data sources