How to use the map

Getting Started

1. Open the sidebar (menu button on small screens). Most switches and lists are there.
2. Pan and zoom the map. If you drift from your chosen region, tap Reset Map in the bottom bar.
3. Themes and regions sit at the bottom of the sidebar: pick Satellite, Dark, Light, or VFR Sectional, then tap a region (US, Canada, Europe, and others) to re-center.

Legend: Turn Legend on in the sidebar for a compact panel on the map with METAR counts, active types, fleets, favorites, and tracking—especially helpful after you hide the sidebar on a large screen.

Wall display: On desktop, hide the sidebar for a clean full-screen map. A floating badge shows your Map ID, a QR code, and the remote URL so a phone can open /settings quickly.

METAR weather

• Use the METARs master switch to turn the whole METAR layer on or off.
• VFR, MVFR, IFR, and LIFR rows show or hide each category. Counts appear in the sidebar and in the Legend.
• Hi-Res loads far more stations worldwide than the default (more data). Use it when you need global coverage.
• Wind draws wind barbs when you are zoomed in enough.
• Tap a station for decoded weather, raw METAR, and age. Use the header control in the popup to zoom to that airport.

Favorite airports

1. In the sidebar, type a four-letter ICAO (e.g. KJFK) and add it.
2. You can add up to five custom airports. They show as stars on the map.
3. When data exists, a strip along the top summarizes those airports.

Search Airports opens /metars with the same favorite list and a searchable hi-res grid. Esc closes the detail modal there.

Weather and map overlays

Toggle these in the sidebar:

• NEXRAD (US) — radar; a color scale appears above the bottom bar when on.
• Fronts — surface/front overlay.
• Cloud Bases — from METARs, with a legend.
• Day / Night — terminator over the basemap.
• Airspace — boundaries with popups.
• Borders — country and region lines and labels.

Traffic, trails, and activity

• Traffic — live aircraft (turn off for weather-only).
• Trails — recent track history (length can depend on type and saved preferences).
• Tail Numbers — show registration on icons.
• Planned Routes — filed routes where available.
• Activity — takeoff/landing feed (on desktop, right side).

Aircraft types

You can have up to 15 types active at once.

1. Expand a manufacturer and tap a type to add or remove it on the map.
2. Tap + Aircraft Types to search the full catalog.
3. Long-press a type in the sidebar to change its color. Use Reset Colors to undo.

In the Legend, tap a type row to hide or show it in the legend only (it can stay active on the map).

Favorite aircraft and following

1. Add a tail number (e.g. N123AB) — up to 10 favorites.
2. Favorites appear in the legend strip. From a traffic popup you can star or follow an aircraft.
3. Following keeps the map centered on that aircraft. A strip can also show a tracked aircraft that is not a favorite.

Fleets

Enter a fleet ID in the sidebar if your org uses fleets. Definitions are managed at /fleets. URLs can include ?fleet=FLEET1,FLEET2.

Route visualizer

1. Tap Route in the bottom bar, or press R when you are not typing in a text field.
2. Enter a space-separated route (airports, waypoints, fixes).
3. Press Enter to draw; Esc closes the bar.

The route is stored in your session and can sync with remote control.

Search active aircraft

There is no menu button for this—use a physical keyboard:

1. Press F when focus is not in an input. That opens Search Active Aircraft, or refocuses search if it is already open.
2. Filter by tail or type.
3. With the panel open, Tab / Shift+Tab move through results. Esc closes.

Phones and tablets usually have no F key—use touch and the rest of the UI.

Remote control (dashboard / TV)

1. On the main map, note the six-character Map ID at the bottom of the sidebar (click to copy), or use the QR code when the sidebar is hidden.
2. On another device, open /settings and enter the code or scan the QR.
3. Tap Connect. Toggles and lists on the settings page mirror the big map.
4. Pan and zoom on the wall stay on the map; use zoom/pan/reset commands from settings instead of overwriting the map position.

Share your setup

Share copies a link that may include query parameters such as airports, type, mode, region, tails, and follow so someone else opens a similar view.

Keyboard shortcuts

If a label here does not match the app, the product may have been updated—trust the text on the live sidebar.