Building a Live ADS-B Plane Radar with ESP32 and a Round Display

An ESP32 based plane radar for my desk

After a busy week at Devrelcon in NYC, I built a desk plane radar using an ESP32-C3 and a 1.28-inch round display. The project pulls live ADS-B traffic to show aircraft distance and bearing. I encountered tight tolerances with the original Makerworld 3D model, so I switched to an alternative design. I also customized the firmware to show flight origins, destinations, and local weather, while adding authenticated OTA updates for easier maintenance.