Finding current positions with flights/search/positions

FlightAware AeroAPI
1

Hello! I have a personal account. Trying to get current position data for flights in-air based on radius. All queries return the same “ZEPHYR89” plane somewhere in Africa, as below. For example, this is a query of 200 miles around KJFK (try any other place). Thank you in advance for any help!

❯ curl -X GET “https://aeroapi.flightaware.com/aeroapi/flights/search/positions”
-H “x-apikey: XYZ”
–data-urlencode “query={circle 40.6398 -73.7789 200} inAir 1”

{“positions”:[{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:505,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:51,“heading”:285,“latitude”:0.21529,“longitude”:36.95182,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:14:03Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:506,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:53,“heading”:278,“latitude”:0.21712,“longitude”:36.94489,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:14:33Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:554,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:50,“heading”:28,“latitude”:0.3219,“longitude”:36.9865,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:49:43Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:555,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:51,“heading”:27,“latitude”:0.32824,“longitude”:36.98978,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:50:13Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:555,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:53,“heading”:26,“latitude”:0.33946,“longitude”:36.99518,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:51:05Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:556,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:53,“heading”:25,“latitude”:0.34798,“longitude”:36.99916,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:51:43Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:557,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:53,“heading”:26,“latitude”:0.35838,“longitude”:37.00395,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:52:30Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:559,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:55,“heading”:25,“latitude”:0.36748,“longitude”:37.0083,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:53:09Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:559,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:54,“heading”:25,“latitude”:0.37428,“longitude”:37.01142,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:53:39Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:561,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:54,“heading”:24,“latitude”:0.38243,“longitude”:37.01507,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:54:14Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:562,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:53,“heading”:26,“latitude”:0.39262,“longitude”:37.01974,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:54:59Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:562,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:54,“heading”:24,“latitude”:0.40049,“longitude”:37.02331,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:55:34Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:562,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:54,“heading”:24,“latitude”:0.40743,“longitude”:37.02639,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:56:04Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:563,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:54,“heading”:25,“latitude”:0.41656,“longitude”:37.03063,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:56:45Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:564,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:53,“heading”:31,“latitude”:0.42307,“longitude”:37.03368,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:57:14Z”,“update_type”:“A”}],“links”:{“next”:“/flights/search/positions?cursor=28c3419ceb1fa20”},“num_pages”:1}%

2

hoping for some feedback on this request-- searching by position is a basic use case, correct? again, thanks in advance for any help or ideas

3

Your query argument is invalid so is being ignored. Where did you find a reference to a “circle” operator?

I would recommend rewriting the query to use a lat/lon box instead. Additionally, inAir must be tested using the “true” operator. For example (untested):

–data-urlencode "query={range lat 40.60 40.66} {range lon -73.70 -73.79} {true inAir}"
4

hmm… I may have had an old example. I tried your approach for LAX basin, no luck… thanks for looking at this! ❯ curl -v -X GET “https://aeroapi.flightaware.com/aeroapi/flights/search/positions”
-H “x-apikey: XYZ”
–data-urlencode “uery={range lat 33.80 34.10} {range lon -118.50 -118.10} {true inAir}”
(…)
{“positions”:[{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:505,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:51,“heading”:285,“latitude”:0.21529,“longitude”:36.95182,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:14:03Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:506,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:53,“heading”:278,“latitude”:0.21712,“longitude”:36.94489,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:14:33Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:554,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:50,“heading”:28,“latitude”:0.3219,“longitude”:36.9865,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:49:43Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:555,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:51,“heading”:27,“latitude”:0.32824,“longitude”:36.98978,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:50:13Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:555,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:53,“heading”:26,“latitude”:0.33946,“longitude”:36.99518,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:51:05Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:556,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:53,“heading”:25,“latitude”:0.34798,“longitude”:36.99916,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:51:43Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:557,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:53,“heading”:26,“latitude”:0.35838,“longitude”:37.00395,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:52:30Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:559,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:55,“heading”:25,“latitude”:0.36748,“longitude”:37.0083,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:53:09Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:559,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:54,“heading”:25,“latitude”:0.37428,“longitude”:37.01142,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:53:39Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:561,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:54,“heading”:24,“latitude”:0.38243,“longitude”:37.01507,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:54:14Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:562,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:53,“heading”:26,“latitude”:0.39262,“longitude”:37.01974,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:54:59Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:562,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:54,“heading”:24,“latitude”:0.40049,“longitude”:37.02331,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:55:34Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:562,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:54,“heading”:24,“latitude”:0.40743,“longitude”:37.02639,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:56:04Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:563,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:54,“heading”:25,“latitude”:0.41656,“longitude”:37.03063,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:56:45Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:564,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:53,“heading”:31,“latitude”:0.42307,“longitude”:37.03368,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:57:14Z”,“update_type”:“A”}],“links”:{“next”:“/flights/search/positions?cursor=7a3ea1e8e3ecf05”},“num_pages”:1}%

5

Typo in word “query” ?

6

seems I may have copy/pasted incorrectly but I do get the same result:

curl -v -X GET “https://aeroapi.flightaware.com/aeroapi/flights/search/positions” -H “x-apikey: XYZ” --data-urlencode “query={range lat 33.80 34.10} {range lon -118.50 -118.10} {true inAir}”
(…)
{“positions”:[{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:505,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:51,“heading”:285,“latitude”:0.21529,“longitude”:36.95182,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:14:03Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:506,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:53,“heading”:278,“latitude”:0.21712,“longitude”:36.94489,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:14:33Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:554,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:50,“heading”:28,“latitude”:0.3219,“longitude”:36.9865,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:49:43Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:555,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:51,“heading”:27,“latitude”:0.32824,“longitude”:36.98978,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:50:13Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:555,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:53,“heading”:26,“latitude”:0.33946,“longitude”:36.99518,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:51:05Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:556,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:53,“heading”:25,“latitude”:0.34798,“longitude”:36.99916,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:51:43Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:557,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:53,“heading”:26,“latitude”:0.35838,“longitude”:37.00395,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:52:30Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:559,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:55,“heading”:25,“latitude”:0.36748,“longitude”:37.0083,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:53:09Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:559,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:54,“heading”:25,“latitude”:0.37428,“longitude”:37.01142,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:53:39Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:561,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:54,“heading”:24,“latitude”:0.38243,“longitude”:37.01507,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:54:14Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:562,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:53,“heading”:26,“latitude”:0.39262,“longitude”:37.01974,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:54:59Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:562,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:54,“heading”:24,“latitude”:0.40049,“longitude”:37.02331,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:55:34Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:562,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:54,“heading”:24,“latitude”:0.40743,“longitude”:37.02639,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:56:04Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:563,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:54,“heading”:25,“latitude”:0.41656,“longitude”:37.03063,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:56:45Z”,“update_type”:“A”},{“fa_flight_id”:“ZEPHYR89-1737276464-adhoc-1608p”,“altitude”:564,“altitude_change”:“-”,“groundspeed”:53,“heading”:31,“latitude”:0.42307,“longitude”:37.03368,“timestamp”:“2025-01-19T11:57:14Z”,“update_type”:“A”}],“links”:{“next”:“/flights/search/positions?cursor=ca430b0bd7c59df”},“num_pages”:1}%

7

has anyone gotten a query like this or similar to work? Any working examples would be very much appreciated

8

bumping once more to see if there is a working example available or any other support on this sort of “current position” query. thanks in advance for any help.