B748i

I've seen some trip reports which include a map view of the departure airport, with the taxi and takeoff path shown on the map, as though tracked by an accurate GPS.

I'd quite enjoy having this ability. How might I go about doing this? I assume it's at minimum some decent quality GPS device. I suppose it either can operate on it's own and upload data to laptop/pda later, or perhaps must be connected to an operating laptop/pda during use.

What equipment and software would be needed to do this on a commercial airliner? Ideally I'd love to track the entire flight, even transpacific, if possible.

I tried a few searches, but don't know quite what to search for.

antichef

I was going to say that you should look just below the luggage racks you will see the rows are numbered front to back of the aircraft starting at row 1, and they are great for helping you track your location as you navigate around the aircraft .........


but I see you are trying to track the aircraft's location

That is a bit more technical!

gfunkdave

You can use a handheld GPS receiver with a map display.

lensovet

Well officially you can't do this, seeing as you're required to power down everything for takeoff and landing. Presumably if you're sneaky enough an iPhone's GPS would be more than sufficient to get you the taxi paths.

B748i

Are you referring to something like this?

How about saving the route and displaying it on a map? And then as an image of the route on the map.

I remember seeing at least a couple times, images with a Google map, with a blue line tracing the taxi and takeoff (presumably beyond as well). The blue line looked just like the line Google draws when you ask it for driving directions.

BonzoESC

If the flight is over CONUS, grab the flight path after you land from http://flightaware.com/

iOS turns off the GPS in Airplane Mode, but from what I can tell Android doesn't.

tev9999

I've used my Garmin Nuvi driving GPS on aircraft many times. You need to be sitting in a window, with the unit very close to the window, to pick up the satellite signals. It is tough to maintain a satellite lock since the aluminum plane blocks all satellites that you don't have line of sight to through your window. Just about any commercial GPS unit should be able to do this. Saving route information is not as common in "road" GPS units, but it is probably available in higher end units.

I've also tried using my Android (Nexus One) phone, but that failed pretty miserably. Phones use cell tower locations to get a rough lock and then zero in based on satellites. With the phone radio off, it takes forever to get a lock. I'm guessing the smaller antenna built into the phone is also a detriment to getting a lock.

Many GPS units have a jack for an external antenna, so you may be able to stick one on the window to keep a better lock. Of course you may also freak out a fellow passenger who is convinced you have just put a blob of C4 on the window and are ready to blow up the plane.

Many airlines forbid the use of GPS in flight, while many allow it - so you need to check first.

t325

Yep, I was able to get a lock with my Garmin Nuvi, but never with my phone. And I barely got the lock on the Nuvi, I kept losing signal. But I locked on long enough for it to register 450 MPH as the max speed ever driven on the GPS's trip computer.

B748i

I did some more searching and found discussion about aviation grade GPS units. I wonder if having a good enough receiver would allow reception inside the plane, without worrying about the window. And then, I wonder if such a receiver can be obtained as a USB or smart phone attachment, using the phone or a laptop for it's processing and recording.

Somebody's done it, I guess should just dig up those trip reports and ask the authors.

Aside from the GPS being turned off in flight mode, the GPS in my particular iPhone is pathetic - it barely gets a signal in my house, a non-metal structure, so I'm sure it won't work inside an aluminum tube. It's accuracy standing outside at a high point with no tall obstructions on a clear day is often worse than 100 yards and it updates very slowly.


Only a small portion will be over the US. Plus, I've found that flight aware is often inaccurate, and I also would enjoy having the path recorded from gate to gate.

Sammythebarber

My Garmin Etrex works perfectly so long as I am in the window seat.

garyschmitt

I've used GPS devices in large aircraft. With all the steel and thick glass, it only works for me about 25% of the time.

If I had a genuine need beyond curiosity, I would look into something that has an accelerometer. I noticed a lot of Android phones have both GPS and accelerometers - but whether the software has advanced to the point of being able to use both for navigation is another question.

Also, there are a couple different competing GPS chipsets out there. I recall reading a study where the less popular chip (MTK) was better at receiving a weak signal than the more commonly used GPS chipset (SiRFstarIII).

Shimon

Why do you care about having the GPS data?

B748i

Personal enjoyment. Just something that gets me geeked out, along with planespotting. I enjoy seeing the trip reports with GPS data, and I would also enjoy including it in my own future trip reports.

gfunkdave

I got this on a flight from ORD - SLC, I believe.

B748i

Very cool. Does that thing let you output the trip data to a computer?