FlyByViews 🛫

FlyByViews is an intelligent flight route planner that helps travelers discover scenic views and choose optimal airplane seats for sunrise/sunset viewing. The application analyzes geographical features along flight paths and calculates sun positions to provide personalized seat recommendations.

✨ Features

🗺️ Interactive Route Planning

• Plan flight routes between any two cities worldwide
• Interactive map visualization with Leaflet and OpenStreetMap
• Real-time great-circle path calculation

🏔️ Scenic Feature Discovery

• Discover mountains, volcanoes, and coastlines along your flight path
• Left/right side classification of scenic features
• Detailed scenery statistics and breakdown

🌅 Smart Seat Recommendations

• Sun Position Analysis: Real-time solar calculations for optimal sunrise/sunset viewing
• Time-based Recommendations: Suggests left or right window seats based on flight time
• Interactive Sun Tracking: Time slider to visualize sun position throughout the flight
• Night Flight Detection: Intelligent handling of nighttime flights

📊 Flight Analytics

• Distance calculations and flight duration estimates
• Scenic feature counts by type (mountains, coastlines, volcanoes)
• Subsolar point tracking (where sun is directly overhead)

🛠️ Tech Stack

Frontend

• React 17 - User interface framework
• Leaflet & React-Leaflet - Interactive maps
• Tailwind CSS - Utility-first CSS framework
• Axios - HTTP client for API requests

Backend

• Node.js - JavaScript runtime
• Express.js - Web application framework
• MongoDB - NoSQL database
• Mongoose - MongoDB object modeling
• Redis - Caching recent queries
• Nodemailer - Email service for OTP

External APIs & Data Sources

• OpenStreetMap Nominatim - City coordinates geocoding
• Overpass API - Geographical feature data
• Custom astronomical calculations - Sun position algorithms

🚀 Local Setup

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16+ recommended)
• MongoDB (local installation or MongoDB Atlas)
• Redis (for caching)
• Git

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/abdul8704/FlightBooking-clean.git
cd FlightBooking-clean

2. Backend Setup

Navigate to server directory

cd server

Install dependencies

npm install

Environment Configuration

Create a .env file in the server directory:

# Database
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/flybyviews
# Or for MongoDB Atlas:
# MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://username:password@cluster.mongodb.net/flybyviews

# Redis
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379

# JWT Secrets
JWT_SECRET=your-super-secret-jwt-key-here
JWT_REFRESH_SECRET=your-refresh-token-secret-here

# Email Configuration (for OTP)
EMAIL_USER=your-email@gmail.com
EMAIL_PASS=your-app-password

# API Configuration
USER_EMAIL=your-email@domain.com  # Used for OpenStreetMap API requests
PORT=5000

Start the backend server

npm run dev
# Server runs on http://localhost:5000

3. Frontend Setup

Navigate to client directory (new terminal)

cd client

Install dependencies

npm install

Start the development server

npm run dev
# Client runs on http://localhost:5173

4. Access the Application

Open your browser and navigate to:

• Frontend: http://localhost:5173
• Backend API: http://localhost:5000

📱 How to Use

1. Plan a Flight Route

1. Navigate to the Flight Route Planner page
2. Enter your source city (e.g., "Chennai")
3. Enter your destination city (e.g., "Srinagar")
4. Optionally add a departure time for sun calculations
5. Click "Plan Route & Show Scenery"

2. Explore Scenic Features

• View the interactive map showing your flight path
• Examine scenic statistics showing mountains, coastlines, and volcanoes on left/right sides
• Click on map markers to see feature details

3. Get Seat Recommendations

• If you provided a departure time, see smart seat recommendations
• Use the time slider to track sun position throughout your flight
• Choose between sunrise/sunset viewing or scenic features

4. Interactive Sun Tracking

• The yellow dot shows where the sun is directly overhead
• Drag the slider to see sun movement during your flight
• Get real-time guidance on which side to look for the sun

🔧 API Endpoints

Flight Routes

• POST /api/flights/route-scenery - Get scenic features along a flight route

Authentication

• POST /auth/signup - User registration
• POST /auth/login - User login
• POST /auth/send-otp - Send OTP for password reset
• POST /auth/verify-otp - Verify OTP
• POST /auth/reset-password - Reset password

🌟 Key Algorithms

Sun Position Calculation

The application uses precise astronomical algorithms to calculate:

• Solar azimuth and altitude at any time and location
• Subsolar point (where sun is directly overhead)
• Relative bearing from aircraft heading to sun position

Great Circle Path

• Implements great circle interpolation for accurate flight paths
• Accounts for Earth's curvature in route calculations
• Provides smooth geodesic visualization

Side Classification

• Determines if scenic features are visible on left or right side of aircraft
• Uses cross-product mathematics for precise spatial classification

📂 Project Structure

FlightBooking-clean/
├── client/                    # React frontend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── components/        # Reusable UI components
│   │   ├── pages/            # Main application pages
│   │   ├── utils/            # Helper functions & calculations
│   │   └── api/              # API configuration
│   └── package.json
├── server/                   # Node.js backend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── controllers/      # Request handlers
│   │   ├── models/           # Database schemas
│   │   ├── routes/           # API route definitions
│   │   ├── services/         # Business logic
│   │   ├── utils/            # Helper utilities
│   │   └── config/           # Database & app configuration
│   └── package.json
└── instructions/             # Documentation

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

🙏 Acknowledgments

• OpenStreetMap community for geographical data
• Leaflet for excellent mapping library
• Overpass API for efficient geographical queries
• Nominatim for city geocoding services

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Built with ❤️ for travelers who love scenic flights ✈️🌅