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Vibecoding SkyTrack: Building a Flight Tracker Without Coding
In 2026, you don’t need to be a senior developer to ship an app. The era of vibecoding is here—creating software using AI as your primary engine. But as I found out while building SkyTrack, you still need a bit of a pilot's license to navigate the storm.
The Tool of Choice: Google AI Studio
I chose Google AI Studio for this experiment. It’s free, runs in the browser, and doesn’t require complex setups. Interestingly, I hit the limits of the free tier more often with the smaller Gemini Flash model than with the more capable Gemini Pro.
The Reality of Vibecoding
Vibecoding feels like working with your private Forrest Gump or Rain Man. Extremely intelligent but you never know how it will surprise you this time. The AI is tireless but fundamentally lazy. If your script exceeds 500 lines, it starts simplifying things without telling you - usually by deleting crucial parts of your code.
A few hard-learned lessons:
The Immersive Trap: Android 15 (API 35) forces edge-to-edge display. It is to nightmare to adapt your UI for both screen orientation. If you use libraries like Leaflet for maps, be prepared for strange UI bugs that AI won't always know how to fix.
Backup, Backup, Backup: Since a February update, AI Studio occasionally loses parts of your project during saving. I learned to download a code backup after every single successful prompt.
The System Instructions Myth: The AI often ignored my requests for human-readable code or specific CSS grouping. It has a mind of its own.
The Final Boss: Google Play Console
Building the app (using React and Capacitor) was the fun part. Getting it into the Store was a nightmare.
Google’s current policy for new personal accounts is a developer’s hell: you need 12 testers to use your app for 14 consecutive days before you can even apply for production. For an indie dev, this is a massive hurdle.
Then there’s the bureaucracy: a dozen forms, non-saveable pricing grids for 200+ regions, and a strict requirement for a hosted Privacy Policy URL.
Is it worth it?
Absolutely. SkyTrack is now live, and it’s exactly the tool I wanted for myself. Vibecoding allowed me to create a modern, AJAX-heavy app in record time, but it also forced me to look under the hood more than I expected.
The Verdict: AI can write 90% of your code, but that final 10% - the licensing, the API shifts, and the store requirements - still requires a human in the cockpit.
