Ground Effect
For aviation professionals, pilots, and enthusiasts seeking real-time flight data and historical incident reports.
PlaneWatcher
Snapshot
Who is Ground Effect?
Providing aviation professionals and enthusiasts with specialized tools for real-time flight tracking and historical accident data analysis.
Target audience
Portfolio
Free 1Last updated
PlaneWatcher
v2025.2
10mo ago
Publisher DNA
What defines Ground Effect?
Publisher DNA
Primary focus
Aviation-focused utility and reference tools
Scale
indie
Target audience
Aviation professionals, pilots, and enthusiasts seeking real-time flight data and historical incident reports.
Signature Patterns
- •Focus on niche, data-heavy aviation utilities
- •Integration with official or public aviation databases
- •Platform-specific optimization for Apple Watch and mobile
- •Mixed monetization model including paid and freemium strategies
Portfolio momentum
With only one release in the last six months and one of two apps currently being wound down, development activity is limited to maintenance.
Portfolio
What does Ground Effect ship?
Apps
2 apps analysed
Rivals
Who does Ground Effect compete with?
The rivals identified
Nemeses(1)
Both applications target aviation enthusiasts seeking real-time aircraft tracking, though PlaneWatcher focuses on wrist-based utility while Flightradar24 provides a global tracking platform.
Contenders(10)
Users report: Both applications target aviation enthusiasts for real-time flight tracking, but they diverge on platform focus and monetization: PlaneWatcher prioritizes hardware-specific utility on Apple Watch, while AirNav Radar competes through broad global data coverage and professional-grade military tracking.
FlightDeck competes for the same aviation enthusiast audience by offering AI-driven operational context, whereas PlaneWatcher focuses on hardware-specific wrist tracking.
Both applications target aviation enthusiasts with real-time flight tracking, but they diverge on platform focus and monetization strategy.
Both applications target aviation enthusiasts and professionals requiring real-time flight tracking, creating direct competition for users seeking situational awareness.
Both applications target aviation enthusiasts seeking real-time tracking, though PlaneWatcher focuses on wrist-based hardware utility while Flighty targets broader travel management and delay forecasting.
Both applications compete for aviation enthusiasts and travelers by providing real-time flight monitoring and situational awareness on iOS platforms.
Both apps target flight tracking, but Planes Live focuses on general travelers needing status alerts, while PlaneWatcher targets enthusiasts requiring unfiltered ADSB data on the wrist.
Both applications target aviation enthusiasts seeking real-time flight tracking, though they diverge on platform focus and data integrity. They compete for the same user base of individuals requiring flight status updates and aircraft visualization.
Both applications target aviation enthusiasts, but they diverge on hardware focus: PlaneWatcher prioritizes wrist-based situational awareness, while Plane Radar 24 captures the broader travel market through visual tracking and manual logging.
Both applications target aviation enthusiasts for real-time flight monitoring, creating direct competition for users seeking situational awareness in the flight tracking category.
Same space(20)
This app tracks altitude for mountain hiking, serving as a specialized barometer tool for users interested in aviation-grade sensor data.
This app provides standalone barometric altimetry on the Apple Watch, serving as a critical cockpit tool for pilots who use PlaneWatcher.
This app serves as a professional logbook for pilots who use PlaneWatcher to monitor active flight paths.
This app provides barometric altitude tracking on the Apple Watch, serving as a hardware-focused companion to PlaneWatcher's flight data.
It serves the same aviation enthusiast base as PlaneWatcher but focuses on raw audio feeds rather than visual map-based tracking.
This app provides camera-based identification that helps users log the aircraft they track using PlaneWatcher.
This app complements PlaneWatcher by adding audio context to visual tracking, targeting the same enthusiast audience through a subscription-based model.
This app provides travel-focused logistics that coexist with PlaneWatcher's enthusiast-grade tracking for users managing personal flight itineraries.
This app provides real-time cockpit logging that serves as a companion to PlaneWatcher's tracking data.
It offers specialized telemetry tracking for the amateur radio community, overlapping with the technical enthusiast segment of PlaneWatcher.
This app provides live flight tracking and AR identification, serving as a direct alternative to PlaneWatcher's core functionality.
This app provides fleet logging that complements the tracking data users collect via PlaneWatcher.
It provides cockpit-level traffic monitoring that complements PlaneWatcher's external tracking for pilots in flight.
Airmate provides comprehensive flight planning and navigation that serves as a broader utility for pilots using PlaneWatcher for situational awareness.
This app extends the tracking concept from aviation to maritime, serving users who monitor both planes and ships.
It shares the same Apple Watch utility focus as PlaneWatcher but provides computational navigation tools instead of real-time tracking.
This navigation tool provides specific flight data for pilots that complements the general tracking provided by PlaneWatcher.
This app is a direct visual tracking alternative to PlaneWatcher, targeting the same plane-spotting community.
This app offers an AR-first visual identification method that serves as a modern alternative to PlaneWatcher's map-centric interface.
This app provides flight status logistics that complement PlaneWatcher's real-time tracking for users coordinating airport pickups.
New entrants(2)
This app provides detailed cabin mapping that serves as a high-intent utility for frequent flyers who use PlaneWatcher for tracking.
This app provides real-time tracking and identification, serving as a direct alternative to PlaneWatcher's core functionality.
The Analyst's Read
The bottom line on Ground Effect
Bottom line
Ground Effect GmbH is a micro-publisher transitioning from a dual-app portfolio to a single-product focus. Their future viability depends on the continued utility of their flight-tracking tool as they exit the reference-data space.
Frequently asked questions
How many apps does Ground Effect publish?
What kind of apps does Ground Effect make?
What is Ground Effect's top app?
What fed this analysis
- Apps analyzed:
- 2
- With full intel:
- 0
- With overview:
- 2
- Website scraped:
- yes
- Social presence:
- yes
