Recreating Solari split-flap departure boards with Claude Code: 132 commits, 17 hours
SelectionNo3613 · reddit · 2026-10-29
A developer used Claude Code to build analogflightboard.com — a recreation of classic Solari airport split-flap departure boards showing real departures from 48 airports with individually animated characters, and you can even disassemble the board to inspect the original mechanism.
The workflow is the interesting part:
- Research before code: custom research skills reverse-engineered the boards from Solari's 1984 service manuals, patents and teardowns, giving Claude real mechanical specs instead of guesses; an open-source anatomy skill built the first flap module, then it iterated into the full board.
- Consistent loop: research → build → review in browser → specific feedback → test → repeat. Claude handled nearly all implementation (especially complex SVG geometry); the author's time went to flip timing, camera angles, scroll behavior and sound.
- Claude wrote browser tests that actually clicked through the UI, catching issues invisible in code; documenting project decisions eased continuation across context-window resets.
- Biggest takeaway: good results come from grounding in reliable research, small chunks and a tight feedback loop — not one perfect prompt. 132 commits, 17 hours of active Claude Code sessions.
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