Get PAID to track drones and low-flying aircraft

There’s a massive opportunity forming in aviation right now, and most people aren’t paying attention.

A whole new layer of flight is emerging below 3,000 meters: delivery drones, air taxis, autonomous aircraft, and eventually swarms of all of the above. This could be our near future.

The problem is… that future looks messy. And without reliable tracking infrastructure, it’s super inconvenient and, more importantly, unsafe.

That’s why I’m looking at 4DSKY.

They’re building a decentralized flight tracking network designed for this new “low-altitude economy.” Their hardware is already integrated into real airports in the UK, which immediately puts them in a different category than a lot of DePIN ideas floating around.

And just for full disclosure, this is not a sponsored or paid newsletter. I covered 4DSKY on my YouTube channel, and that video WAS sponsored, but not by 4DSKY, but by Helium Deploy, where I got my unit. As always, I only work with projects and companies where I have real interest AND where I am willing to put my own money in (like this), but neither Helium Deploy nor 4DSKY knows I am writing this newsletter.

The Big Idea: “Edge-Native” Flight Tracking

4DSKY wants to be the world’s first edge-native flight tracking network.

In normal systems, data funnels into a centralized cloud server. That creates a single point of failure. We’ve all seen what happens when big providers like AWS or Cloudflare have issues.

4DSKY wants to flip that model.

They push computation and networking closer to the sensor. Lower latency. Higher availability. More resilience.

Their vision is honestly kind of wild (in a good way): even if the core company ever shut down its servers, your sensor could still communicate directly with applications that need the data.

Who Built This (and why it matters)

4DSKY has been in development since 2020, built by two aviation safety pros:

• James (aeronautical engineer specializing in drone collision avoidance)

• Neil (air traffic control background, including experience with NATS, the UK’s National Air Traffic Service)

They started it because old-school air traffic control was built for traditional aircraft, not dense, digitally native drone traffic. The systems we use today are too centralized and not designed for what’s coming.

The Hardware Isn’t a Toy

4DSKY uses the Jetvision AirSquitter sensor.

This is not a cheap Raspberry Pi setup. It’s professional-grade equipment used in industrial applications and even by smaller airports as a secondary radar system.

And here’s a key point: ADS-B (which is what most aviation detection uses) alone isn’t enough for safety-critical use cases.

AirSquitter can detect up to five signal types:

• ADS-B

• Mode S

• MLAT

• FLARM

• UAT

That matters because many low-flying aircraft (helicopters, gliders, and others) don’t always show up reliably on standard ADS-B tracking.

They also have notable names around them (Thales, Collins Aerospace, Sky-Drones), and again: three UK airports already integrated.

Why This Might Be One of Those “Early” Moments

Right now, 4DSKY is in testnet/beta. Aka, it’s super early. I am a huge fan of finding projects to get involved in while they are still super early.

You buy the device, run it, and earn 4DSKY points, which are expected to convert into the token at a future TGE (planned for 2026).

The network is still tiny: roughly 200 devices worldwide.

A legitimacy signal I like: they secured a $360,000 contract with the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as part of an airspace modernization trial.

How Rewards Work (in plain English)

Points are influenced by:

• Uptime (24/7 reliability matters)

• Range + signal quality (height, clear sky view, minimal obstruction)

• No clustering (best rewards if you’re at least 2km from the nearest unit)

• High-value airspace bonus (near airports, drone corridors, etc.)

• Extra antennas (UAT + FLARM can add 20–25% bonus)

Base rewards are around 25 points/day, and many users seem to average around 30 points/day (roughly 900/month), depending on placement. There are also bonus points right now for early-adopters.

Important note: we don’t know the future token conversion rate or tokenomics yet. Anyone claiming certainty is guessing.

4DSKY vs WingBits (obvious comparison)

Both track flights, but they’re aiming at different levels of the market.

• WingBits tends to distribute data through a more centralized API model.

• 4DSKY is pushing peer-to-peer, where data buyers can connect directly to sensor owners with no central cloud middleman.

4DSKY is also positioning for enterprise + regulatory-compliant use cases, with MLAT capability and heavy emphasis on cryptographic security because aviation decisions can be extremely high-stakes.

Reality Check: The Downsides

Let’s not sugarcoat it:

• High upfront cost (around $985 for the bundle, more with antennas)

• Early-stage uncertainty (tokenomics unknown, TGE timing can slip)

• Early-Stage = Way more risk (only invest what you are 100% okay losing)

• Location matters a lot (bad placement can mean mediocre rewards)

• Regulatory friction (aviation moves slowly, and compliance is brutal)

But that’s also why the upside exists. If it were easy and obvious, it wouldn’t be early.

My take

4DSKY is one of the more “real” aviation DePIN projects I’ve seen because it’s already landing airport integrations and regulator work. But it’s still a bet. A calculated one, but a bet. It could completely fail and all your points and effort could be worth ZERO. However, for someone like me, that’s also why it’s exciting. If it works out, I’m super early and will likely be far more rewarded.

If you’re considering it: treat it like a venture-style play. Size it accordingly. And do your own research before you spend a grand on hardware.

Buy the 4DSKY device here: https://a.ndy.fyi/HD-4DSKY

Get FREE months on the Moken DePIN tracker (to track your 4DSKY and other devices) with this code: YOURFRIENDANDY

I’ve also covered this in far more detail in this video, so check that out: