✈️ Live data · airplanes.live

Why GraphQL
Changes Everything

REST APIs give you whatever the server decided to send. GraphQL lets you ask for exactly what you need — nothing more, nothing less. See the difference live with real flight data.

🔴 REST Problems 🟢 GraphQL Solutions ✈️ Live Flight Data
📦

Over-fetching

REST endpoints return all available fields. Your UI needed 5, the API sent 55. The rest is wasted bandwidth.

🔗

Under-fetching

One endpoint doesn't have everything you need, so you fire multiple sequential requests and wait for each one.

🔁

N+1 Problem

Fetching a list takes 1 request, then N more for related data on each item. Requests grow with your data.

01

Over-fetching

airplanes.live returns 55 fields per aircraft. A basic flight tracker needs 5. GraphQL sends only those 5.

🔴 REST — full response
GETapi.airplanes.live/v2/point/52/16/600
Response — first flight (all 55 fields):
Click "Run Live Demo" to fetch real flight data ✈️
■ Used   ■ Wasted (not needed)
🟢 GraphQL — only what you asked for
Query:
{ flights(area: "Central Europe") { callsign originCountry latitude longitude altitude velocity } }
Response — same flight, 6 fields only:
Waiting for live data...
02

Under-fetching

Show a flight with full country details. REST requires 2 sequential calls. GraphQL does it in one.

🔴 REST — 2 sequential requests
1
GET api.airplanes.live/v2/point/52/16/600
→ get flight + origin_country name
2
GET restcountries.com/v3.1/name/{country}
→ get capital, population, flag…
Combined result (manual assembly in code):
Click "Run Live Demo" to see both calls ✈️
🟢 GraphQL — 1 request, nested data
Query:
{ flight(callsign: "DLH456") { callsign altitude velocity originCountry { name capital population flag } } }
Response — everything in one shot:
Waiting...
03

N+1 Problem

List 5 flights with country details. REST: 1 + 5 = 6 requests. GraphQL: always just 1.

🔴 REST — 1+N requests
1
GET api.airplanes.live/v2/point/52/16/600
→ list of flights (pick 5 unique countries)
Result assembled from all requests:
Click "Run Live Demo" to watch N+1 happen ✈️
🟢 GraphQL — always 1 request
Query:
{ flights(limit: 5, area: "Europe") { callsign altitude originCountry { name capital flag population } } }
Response — all 5 flights + country data in one go:
Waiting...