The flight information system was designed from day one to integrate with multiple data sources. It currently supports X-Plane, MS FS 2004, FSX, ELITE, Device Location Services, and starting with 3.0 the exteral from AHRS-Mini from Levil Aviation.

When starting the app you will be given the possibility to choose a data source in a screen similar to the one below:

At startup and by default, AirTrack will automatically select the first available data source and start capturing data.

The iPad/iPhone Location Services data source

The name says it all: If you have a GPS capable device, you're on! If you have a first generation non-GPS iPhone, non-3G iPad or iPod touch, you won't get accurate information but the GSM cell-ID and WiFi receivers might nevertheless help in providing some of the magic.

With this mode the application will collect geographical information from the builtin location services as well as altitude and heading when available and will use these to determine how and where you are moving towards.

You can use it standing still to know where you are or to find out the bearing to a certain destination. But you can also use it in a moving vehicle to simulate a full flight experience, tracking your route, your heading, your speed, and doing this all as if you were sitting in a cockpit. Or you can use it in a real cockpit just for fun.

Things like wind speed, direction or outside temperature cannot be collected by the iPad or iPhone; but to make it more fun we have added a bit of magic: take the nearest airport's METAR to get your "virtual" wind speed, direction, temperature and barometric pressure, and use these as if they were real.

The X-Plane, MS FS9 and FSX data sources

The recipe is simple; track and control your flights wirelessly using your device. Move around the house, read the newspaper, lie in the sofa and enjoy your flight.

By running a small plugin which can be freely downloaded from this website, and using your wireless network,the simulator will broadcast all relevant flight data to the App.

Now run the app on your device and as if by magic, your flight will be detected and you will be able to select it; by doing it you will "tune-in" and track the flight.

If you have multiple computers doing multiple flights you can tune each one individually. If you have multiple iPhones, iPads or iPods you can "tune-into" one or multiple flights. There is no limit in the number of devices you can attach nor the number of flights you can have, and all this happens without you having to configure or know anything about computer networks: Just launch and you're on.

The AHRS-Mini Data Source

Starting with 3.0, AirTrack has built in support for the AHRS-Mini from Levil Aviation. This device measures real roll, pitch, pressure altitude, vertical speed and air speed with great precision and transfers these to AirTracking using a WiFi connection.

The Navigation Data

By default AirTrack comes with the 1006 cycle of Navigraph's FMS data. The data can be updated to a more recent cycle using the built-in Navigation Data manager page.

If you want the latest and most up-to-date AIRAC cycle for your FMC, you can visit Navigraph, purchase a token for AirTrack here, and update the internal AirTrack database to the currenty data.

Then select "Navigation Data", submit your purchased token and download the FMS data directly into your device.

In addition and alternatively to this you can also download any of the X-Plane navigation data cycles for free.

Next topic: The PFD