Comparison
Airborne or FlightPortrait?
Both hang aircraft on a wall. They are built on opposite assumptions, and which one suits you comes down to a single question: do you want a picture that updates, or a window on the sky right now?
The difference
One refreshes a couple of times a day. The other redraws the sky every thirty seconds.
FlightPortrait is an e-ink frame. The image is rendered on a server and sent to the panel, which is why the battery lasts and why the picture changes on the order of twice a day. It is a print that keeps itself current.
Airborne is a live display on an ordinary screen. It reads what aircraft are broadcasting and redraws every thirty seconds, so what is on the wall is what is overhead now, with the route and the height beside it.
Neither is the better idea in the abstract. In a hallway, a beautiful thing that changes twice a day may be exactly right. In an FBO lounge, where a guest is waiting for the aircraft on the apron outside, a picture from this morning is the wrong object entirely.
The honest summary: if you want an art print that stays fresh, buy the e-ink one. If you want to watch the sky, the refresh rate is the whole argument.
Side by side
What each one actually does.
| Airborne | FlightPortrait | |
|---|---|---|
| Refresh | Every 30 seconds | About twice a day |
| Display | Any screen with HDMI | E-ink panel, supplied |
| Where the picture is made | On your own machine | On their server |
| Views | Five: art print, radar map, scope, airport movements, hangar record | The art print |
| Own aerial | Optional, and supported | Not applicable |
| Works if the company stops | Yes; the last build reads any ADS-B source you point it at | Depends on their server |
| Price | Not set; shipping from Q4 2026 | Around $499, expected Q4 2026 |
FlightPortrait figures are from their published material, checked in August 2026. They are a different company with a different product and we may have it out of date; tell us if so and we will correct it. Nothing here is a criticism of a thoughtful piece of design.
Which to choose
An e-ink frame suits you if
You want an object rather than a screen, there is no power socket where it hangs, and a picture that changes twice a day is the point rather than a limitation.
Airborne suits you if
You want to look up and see what is overhead now, you have a screen and a socket, or you are putting it somewhere people are already waiting for an aeroplane.