The Story Behind PreflightAPI
Built by a Pilot, for Developers
PreflightAPI started as a personal need and grew into a mission: give every aviation developer access to comprehensive, accurate US aviation data from a single source.
Flying over the Puget Sound, Washington
Chapter 1
The Aviation Bug
My name is Brandon Berisford. I am a software engineer of about six years and a private pilot. In 2022 I started flight training while working full-time in the defense aviation industry, and in 2023 I earned my PPL. That mix of writing code during the week and flying on weekends is what eventually led to PreflightAPI.
Early mornings on the ramp during student pilot days, 2022
Checkride day — PPL earned, 2023
Chapter 2
From Hobby Project to Product
After getting my PPL I started building a hobby flight planning app — and immediately hit a wall. The aviation data I needed was scattered across half a dozen government sources, each with its own format and quirks. So I built a backend to pull it all together into one clean API. That backend became PreflightAPI.
Chapter 3
Why PreflightAPI Exists
If I needed this, other developers probably do too. There are other APIs that offer pieces of aviation data — but none that consolidate everything into a single, well-documented REST API.
That is the mission: the most comprehensive, accurate, and up-to-date US aviation dataset available from one source. You should be building your app, not reinventing the data pipeline.
Where the Data Comes From
PreflightAPI aggregates and normalizes data from official US government sources.
aviationweather.gov
METARs, TAFs, PIREPs, AIRMETs, SIGMETs, G-AIRMETs, winds aloft
FAA NASR Subscription
Airports, runways, frequencies, obstacles — updated every 28 days
FAA ArcGIS Services
Controlled & special-use airspace boundaries — updated every 56 days
FAA NMS (NOTAM Management System)
Active NOTAMs by airport, geographic radius, or flight route
FAA Charts & Diagrams
Airport diagram PDFs and Chart Supplement (A/FD) documents
FAA Digital Obstacle File
625,000+ obstacles including towers, buildings, cranes, and terrain