Flight Tracking Enhancements

For customers with large fleets, aircraft can be sorted by type or found using the search bar.

Clicking on an aircraft registration makes it appear on the map. Multiple aircraft can be shown at the same time.

Too many aircraft displayed at once? Clicking on the target icon locates a specific aircraft quickly.

Other new features include the antenna icon, which turns blue if the aircraft has an active datalink subscription, the pin icon, which will allow the user to plot the aircraft’s GDFS flight plan, and the ring icon, which will display range rings around the aircraft.

If the selected aircraft has a flight plan filed with GDFS, clicking on the antenna icon will display the route.

Clicking on the ellipsis (...) displays more menu options, including Recent Trips, Position Reports, and Datalink Messaging.

Clicking on Position Reports will open the window shown below. The user is then able to view report details.

Clicking on Datalink Message shows the latest uplink and downlink messages

Toolbar

The new toolbar on the right side of the page includes a cloud icon for Weather, a layers icon for Airspace, a map icon for Navigation, a tools icon, and a search icon. Additionally, (+) and (-) icons allow the user to zoom in or out.

Users can hover over each icon to see what it will display. Only one menu option can be displayed at a time, so if the weather menu is open and the user clicks the airspace icon, the weather menu will close before the airspace menu opens.

Each menu icon displays various functions. Here, North American Radar and PIREPS are selected on the weather menu.

Opening the Airspace Menu, the user can select a variety of options which can be displayed over their route of flight. Here, TFR’s are selected from the “restrictions” menu, as well as airports with runways up to 6000 ft. Clicking on an airport will display the airports diagram, as well as pertinent information which may be useful if the flight needs to divert.

Other Airspace Menu options include Oceanic Tracks and coverage maps for VHF stations, DirectTV™, and SwiftBroadband®.

Pulling up the Navigation menu, the user can choose to change the appearance of the base map. Available options include Street, Aerial, and a “minimal” Grayscaleversion. Users may also overlay various Navaids on the map by opening aeronautical charts.

Opening the Tools menu displays a Distance and Bearing tool, as well as an option to print the map. The search menu can be used to locate a particular waypoint, navaid, airway, or ICAO location.

Datalink and Cabin Connectivity

GDFS is also working on several enhancements for “Cabin Connectivity” customers. Upcoming new features include the ability to filter the a fleet based on Flight Status or Vehicle Category.

For aircraft that have both Datalink and Connectivity services, users will be able to view recent datalink messages by viewing the “Datalink Log” page and clicking on the “messaging history” link. Customers can also add datalink service by clicking on the Upgrade Plan button.

Users may also plot their current or upcoming route using the “Plot Flight Plan” option, located under the “More” tab.

Other selections under the “More” tab will include the option to view recent trips. This will show the completed flights for a selected aircraft. The customer can also view position reports, as well as the aircraft's route history.