Know where every aircraft is, and which one is late

Without it

• A solo student is twenty minutes overdue and the front desk finds out when the next student asks where the aircraft is.
• Tracking means a separate subscription, a separate login and a map nobody in dispatch has open.
• The debrief is the instructor's memory of the flight, because the track lives in someone's phone.

What Live Tracking & ADS-B does

The whole fleet on one map

Positions come from ADS-B through FlightAware, with no tracking account of your own to set up. Positions are usually under a minute old and the map refreshes every 60 seconds. A wall display gives dispatch a full-screen view.

Overdue flights first

Counters for in progress, due soon and overdue, with overdue flights marked amber, then red. The server checks every five minutes and alerts the instructor and staff when a flight is overdue, goes silent for 20 minutes, or a solo goes beyond its distance limit. Alerts are sent whether or not anyone has the page open.

Practice areas and the planned route

Draw the practice areas a flight should stay in, and compare the route that was planned with the one that was flown. Landings are counted from the track. Radar and METARs can be shown on the same map.

Replay and the debrief

Replay the last week of flights at 10 to 120 times speed. A flight recorded on the pilot's phone is shown beside the lesson, with suggested grades from the track for the instructor to accept or change. The phone records in the web page with the screen kept awake.

ADS-B In, coming to the apps

Built for the iPhone and Android apps: with a Sentry, Stratus 3 (in open mode) or another GDL 90 receiver, nearby traffic with spoken alerts, and FIS-B weather: NEXRAD, METARs, TAFs, PIREPs and winds. It arrives with the next release of the apps. Traffic is advisory: look outside.

Every module in Live Tracking & ADS-B

• Live Tracker: Live fleet positions and active flights on a map, and a wall display for the dispatch desk.
• Flight recording: The phone records the flight's track, logs it, and shows it beside the lesson.
• ADS-B In: Traffic and FIS-B weather from a GDL 90 receiver, arriving with the next release of the iPhone and Android apps.

How it connects

Feeds in:

• Scheduling: who has which aircraft, and when it is due back
• Training: the lesson the flight was booked for
• Flight planning: the route that was planned

Feeds out:

• Dispatch: overdue and silent-aircraft alerts
• Training: the track beside the lesson, with suggested grades
• Check-in: landings from the recorded track

Compared

How Live Tracking & ADS-B compares with Flight Schedule Pro, Flight Circle and Aviatize, from each vendor's public documentation: the full comparison.

Questions

Do we need our own FlightAware or ADS-B account?

No. Positions come through Flight Suite HQ's own FlightAware connection. Your aircraft need to be transmitting ADS-B Out, as they already are in most airspace.

How current are the positions?

Usually under a minute old. The page refreshes every 60 seconds, and the server checks for overdue and silent aircraft every five minutes whether anyone has the page open or not.

Who gets the overdue alerts?

The flight's instructor and your staff. An alert is sent when a flight passes its due-back time, when an aircraft has sent nothing for 20 minutes, or when a solo goes beyond the distance limit you set.

Can a student record a flight on their phone?

Yes, from the flight page in the browser or the app, with the screen kept awake. Recording in the background, with the screen off, is not supported. The track is uploaded after the flight and shown beside the lesson.

Which ADS-B receivers will work with the apps?

Receivers that send GDL 90 over Wi-Fi, including Sentry and Stratus 3 in open mode. ADS-B In arrives with the next release of the iPhone and Android apps, and traffic is for awareness only.

Does it cost extra?

No. Live tracking and flight recording are part of every plan, and so is ADS-B In when it reaches the apps.