# Planefinder Photos Scraper (`romy/planefinder-photos-scraper`) Actor Planefinder Photos Scraper fetches user-submitted aircraft photos from Planefinder's mobile API. Look up photos by aircraft registration, IATA flight number, or ADS-B hex code — useful for building visual aircraft databases or enriching flight-tracking data with imagery. - **URL**: https://apify.com/romy/planefinder-photos-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Romy](https://apify.com/romy) (community) - **Categories:** Developer tools, Travel, Other - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $30.00 / 1,000 results This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ### What does Planefinder Photos Scraper do? **Planefinder Photos Scraper** fetches user-submitted aircraft photos from [Planefinder's](https://planefinder.net) mobile API. Look up photos by aircraft registration, IATA flight number, or ADS-B hex code — useful for building visual aircraft databases or enriching flight-tracking data with imagery. Results are pushed directly to an Apify dataset. Use Apify's scheduling and integrations to automate collection at any cadence. ### Why use Planefinder Photos Scraper? - **Visual enrichment** — attach real photos to aircraft/flight records from other Planefinder scrapers. - **Spotter research** — find recent photos of a specific tail number or flight. - **Aviation media pipelines** — collect photo URLs and author credits for a fleet of aircraft. ### How to use Planefinder Photos Scraper 1. Open the Actor and click **Try for free**. 2. In the **Input** tab, enter one or more registrations, flight numbers, or ADS-B hex codes. 3. Optionally adjust the photos-per-query limit. 4. Click **Start** and wait for the run to finish. 5. Download results from the **Output** tab in JSON, CSV, or Excel format. ### Input At least one of `registrations`, `flight_numbers`, or `adshex_codes` must be provided. | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | `registrations` | array | Aircraft registrations (e.g. `["PK-GFA"]`) | | `flight_numbers` | array | IATA flight numbers (e.g. `["GA401"]`) | | `adshex_codes` | array | ADS-B transponder hex codes (e.g. `["8A02E4"]`) | | `limit` | integer | Maximum photos per query (default `5`, max `50`) | ```json { "registrations": ["PK-GFA"], "flight_numbers": [], "adshex_codes": [], "limit": 5 } ```` ### Output Each item represents one photo. ```json { "id": "7304444:PhotoEntry:2556923", "url": "https://photo-serve.planefinder.net/remote/lh3.googleusercontent.com/...", "authorText": "Donni Kurniawan", "query_type": "registration", "query_value": "PK-GFA" } ``` ### Data table | Field | Description | |-------|-------------| | `query_type` | How the aircraft was looked up: `registration`, `flight_number`, or `adshex` | | `query_value` | The specific value used for the query | | `id` | Planefinder's internal photo entry ID | | `url` | Direct photo URL (served via Planefinder's photo CDN) | | `authorText` | Photo credit / author name | ### Tips - Mix all three identifier types in a single run — each result includes a `query_type` field so you can trace which input produced it. - Combine with the Planefinder Flight Scraper or Airport Scraper to attach photos to timeline/arrival/departure records. ### Pricing This Actor uses the **Pay Per Event** model: **$0.03 per result** (photo) in the dataset (plus a negligible one-time actor-start fee). Use the `limit` input to control exactly how many photos — and how much cost — each query produces. ### FAQ and support This Actor uses Planefinder's public mobile API for informational purposes only. Photos are user-submitted; verify licensing/attribution requirements with Planefinder before redistribution. For bugs or feature requests, open an issue on the Actor's Issues tab. Custom scraping solutions are available on request. # Actor input Schema ## `registrations` (type: `array`): Aircraft registrations to look up (e.g. \["PK-GFA"]) ## `flight_numbers` (type: `array`): IATA flight numbers to look up (e.g. \["GA401"]) ## `adshex_codes` (type: `array`): ADS-B transponder hex codes to look up (e.g. \["8A02E4"]) ## `limit` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of photos to fetch per registration/flight number/hex code ## Actor input object example ```json { "registrations": [], "flight_numbers": [], "adshex_codes": [], "limit": 5 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): No description # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = {}; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("romy/planefinder-photos-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = {} # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("romy/planefinder-photos-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{}' | apify call romy/planefinder-photos-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=romy/planefinder-photos-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Planefinder Photos Scraper", "description": "Planefinder Photos Scraper fetches user-submitted aircraft photos from Planefinder's mobile API. Look up photos by aircraft registration, IATA flight number, or ADS-B hex code — useful for building visual aircraft databases or enriching flight-tracking data with imagery.", "version": "0.0", "x-build-id": "OyC7vMpqO6pfic7UV" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/romy~planefinder-photos-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-romy-planefinder-photos-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/romy~planefinder-photos-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-romy-planefinder-photos-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/romy~planefinder-photos-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-romy-planefinder-photos-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "registrations": { "title": "Registrations", "type": "array", "description": "Aircraft registrations to look up (e.g. [\"PK-GFA\"])", "default": [], "items": { "type": "string" } }, "flight_numbers": { "title": "Flight Numbers", "type": "array", "description": "IATA flight numbers to look up (e.g. [\"GA401\"])", "default": [], "items": { "type": "string" } }, "adshex_codes": { "title": "ADS-B Hex Codes", "type": "array", "description": "ADS-B transponder hex codes to look up (e.g. [\"8A02E4\"])", "default": [], "items": { "type": "string" } }, "limit": { "title": "Photos per query", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 50, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of photos to fetch per registration/flight number/hex code", "default": 5 } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```