Changes to onboard flight tracker map

Old Jul 9, 2016, 1:53 am
  #31  
 
Join Date: May 2002
Programs: WN F9 HA UA AA IHG HH MR
Posts: 3,305
Yayyyyy. The cartoonish flight tracker is gone!

A real flight tracker map has reappeared today that accurately depicts the airplane path. ^ Also a few other nifty features like superimposing city streets etc.


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Tanic is offline  
Old Jul 9, 2016, 2:42 am
  #32  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Houston (HOU/IAH)
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Nice improvement. Also thought it was silly that they hadn't added any new stations or taken out Branson, Jackson, and Key West.
alggag is offline  
Old Jul 27, 2016, 7:34 am
  #33  
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: ORD, MDW or MKE
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For those that like to sit at the window and know what they are looking at, I found a good IOS app : http://fc.umn.edu/

It's called flyover country. You tell the app your city pairs and it downloads a map before you fly. Then, in the air with airplane mode on, it uses your GPS to show where you are on the map. In addition to roads and towns it shows you points of interest on the map and tells about them, with geology being the largest part of what it shows. It works quite well, though does eat through the battery.
lougord99 is offline  
Old Jul 27, 2016, 7:49 am
  #34  
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Programs: LTP, PP
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Thanks, really appreciate it! Going to try it out cross country next week. We've certainly come a long, long way from the days when I would hide a bluetooth GPS in the window shade and track flight on my aviation mapped pda.
joshua362 is offline  
Old Jul 27, 2016, 8:09 am
  #35  
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
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Actually you never had to hide it. Southwest was one of the few airlines that use to explicitly allow GPS.

Remember that it will eat away at your battery. I suggest bringing a charging brick if you are going cross country.
lougord99 is offline  
Old Jul 27, 2016, 8:47 am
  #36  
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
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Will do that, thanks. But the 10,000' & below rule was still in effect and that was the most interesting time for me as a new (small plane) private pilot...
joshua362 is offline  
Old Jul 27, 2016, 10:04 am
  #37  
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
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My flight Sunday still had the old flight tracker. Apparently this is being rolled out plane-by-plane.
ursine1 is offline  
Old Jul 28, 2016, 5:04 am
  #38  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
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Firstly... A few weeks ago Inwas on a flight and had the new flight tracker. It was much improved over the old one. However, since that time, I have had the old cartoon tracker. So, as someone said, maybe they're rolling it out plane by plane.

Secondly... If you are sitting near a window, you can now open up the Google Maps app on your iPhone (and I presume android) and see where you are. You'll see the blue dot. Zoom in as far as you want. It works well but does not provide the line on where you've been.
jb3t is offline  
Old Jul 28, 2016, 5:11 am
  #39  
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
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you can only open Google Maps if you are connected to the Southwest Wifi and it is working. I choose not to pay for Wifi.
lougord99 is offline  
Old Jul 28, 2016, 9:45 pm
  #40  
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 289
Originally Posted by lougord99
you can only open Google Maps if you are connected to the Southwest Wifi and it is working. I choose not to pay for Wifi.
I use it all the time. Works fine offline,
rrapynot is offline  

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