BalloonSpotters is a field companion and growing community archive for hot air balloon enthusiasts, photographers and spotters. Record what you see while it is in front of you, contribute photographs, look up balloons by registration and explore recent sightings on the map.
Every accurate sighting and genuine photograph can add something useful to the history of ballooning. The app is designed to be quick in the field, careful with time and location data, and useful when mobile signal is poor.
FAST SIGHTING LOGS
• Enter a registration and choose Envelope, Tethered or Flying
• Record the current time and GPS location automatically
• Add an optional note and choose public or private
• Save a temporary local log when the registration is not visible, then complete it later
• Filter your history and export your logs as CSV
PHOTOS AND THE ARCHIVE
• Take a photo in the app or choose one from your device
• Review the registration, status and privacy before saving
• Queue photos while offline and upload after you reconnect and sign in
• Contribute archive photos even when date or location metadata is unavailable
• See when yours was the first photograph added for a balloon
SEARCH AND DISCOVER
• Search the balloon archive by registration, country, year, type, manufacturer or tag
• Browse photographs and detailed balloon records
• See manufacturer, type, year, serial number, tags, sighting totals and recent sightings
• Search the cached archive without a signal
• Browse the latest community photographs
EXPLORE THE MAP
View clustered public sightings and filter recent activity across 7, 30, 60 or 90 days. Tap a sighting to see its registration, status, date and photograph, then open the balloon's full record.
TRACK YOUR SPOTTING
See your logs, unique balloons, photographs, best day, most-spotted balloons and activity over time. Contribution statistics show how your photographs are helping make the archive more complete.
BUILT FOR THE FIELD
Guest mode lets you keep logging locally without signing in. Offline data stays on the device and can sync once you are signed in and connected.
PRIVACY AND OWNERSHIP
Choose public or private for each log and photo. You keep ownership of the photographs and text you contribute. Your data is not used for advertising or tracking.
BalloonSpotters is a shared historical record of ballooning: a place to record what was seen, preserve photographs and build a more useful archive together.
Log balloon sightings, add photos, explore the map and search the archive.