Reference

AMetric tile reference

Every tile you can put on a layout, explained in full: what it means, where the number comes from, how it is worked out, and what it does when the inputs are missing.

Works offline

How to read this reference#

Every metric you can place on a layout, with what it means, where the number comes from, and how it behaves when the inputs are missing. This is the reference the short descriptions in the app's feature demo point at.

Each entry lists what the metric reads, what it falls back to when that source is unavailable, and when it gives up and shows --. Where the number is derived rather than measured, the calculation is described in the terms that matter to you as a pilot.

Note

Units follow your choices in Tiles and the map area. Everywhere below, distances, speeds and altitudes are written in the app's defaults: km, km/h, m and m/s.

Four things that apply to every metric#

Before the individual entries, four behaviors that explain most of what you will see.

Everything is smoothed
Raw GPS and barometer samples are noisy, so each channel is averaged before it is shown. Vario is the most responsive, position and heading a little slower, altitude slower still. This is why a number keeps moving for a second after you stop turning, and why the vario reacts before the altitude does.
Sources have a priority order
When a Bluetooth vario is connected it normally supplies altitude, climb and sometimes GPS, and the phone's own sensors take over if that stream goes stale. Which one wins is yours to set in Vario and sound.
Implausible samples are thrown away
A jump implying more than 120 m/s between fixes, or a climb rate beyond 25 m/s, is discarded rather than displayed. A tile that briefly stops updating is usually the app refusing to show you nonsense.
-- means unknown, not zero
A metric with no usable input shows --. That is deliberate: a glide ratio of zero and an unknown glide ratio are very different things to fly on.

Caution

Several metrics need terrain height, which comes from a downloaded offline region, from online terrain tiles, or from a server lookup, in that order. Outside a downloaded region with no signal, AGL, arrival heights and the side view all stop. See Internet connection.

Base#

One entry, and the only one that is not a number.

Map#

The moving map. Everything drawn geographically lives here: your position and track, the task, airspace, obstacles, weather stations, buddies, the XC plan and the glide line. It is a tile like any other, so its size and position on the screen are yours to choose in the layout editor.

Reads
The map style you selected, plus every overlay you have enabled
Units
n/a

Tip

A layout can only hold one map. If you want a different map size while thermalling, build a second page and mark it as your thermal page.

Altitude#

Where you are vertically. These are the numbers airspace limits are judged against, so it is worth knowing which one is which.

Altitude (AMSL)#

Your height above mean sea level. This is the primary altitude and the one to compare against airspace floors and ceilings, because that is how airspace is published.

Reads
Barometric altitude, corrected to your QNH setting
Falls back to
GPS altitude when no barometer is available
Units
m or ft
Shows -- when
Neither a barometer nor a GPS altitude is available

Caution

Barometric altitude is only as correct as your QNH. Set it from the briefing or the nearest airfield when you are working under a low airspace floor. A QNH that is 10 hPa out moves this number by roughly 80 m. See Airspaces.

AGL#

Your height above the ground directly beneath you. The number that tells you how much room you actually have, as opposed to how high you are.

Reads
Altitude above sea level minus the terrain height below you, taken from the elevation model
Units
m or ft
How it is worked out
Never goes negative. If the terrain model says you are below ground, which happens over water and in steep terrain, it is clamped to zero rather than shown as a negative height
Shows -- when
No terrain data for your position, or no altitude

Caution

Terrain data comes from a downloaded region first, then from the network. Fly outside a downloaded region with no signal and this tile stops. That is the main practical reason to download the area you fly.

GPS Altitude#

Raw altitude from the satellites, with no barometric correction and no QNH applied. Mostly useful as a cross check.

Reads
The GNSS receiver
Units
m or ft
Shows -- when
No GPS fix

Tip

Expect it to disagree with the barometric altitude, often by tens of meters. If they disagree by a lot and consistently, your QNH is probably wrong rather than your GPS.

Altitude limit#

How much vertical room you have left before the nearest relevant airspace, or before a hard limit you set yourself.

Reads
The floor or ceiling of the nearest airspace that applies to you
Falls back to
Your own maximum altitude setting
Units
m or ft
How it is worked out
Colored by how much margin is left, so it changes appearance as you close on the limit
Shows -- when
No airspace data installed, or nothing relevant nearby

Caution

This depends entirely on the airspace files you have installed and which classes you left enabled. With no airspace data it has nothing to measure against. See Airspaces.

AGL at target#

The predicted height above the ground at the turnpoint you are heading for, on arrival. The tile takes the turnpoint's name, so it reads for example AGL (TP2).

Reads
Your height above the target's terrain, less the height you will lose gliding there
Units
m or ft
How it is worked out
Uses the terrain at the point where the optimized route actually crosses the cylinder rim, not the terrain at the cylinder center, because that is the ground you will really arrive over
Shows -- when
No active turnpoint, or no terrain data for it

Caution

This is the literal height above the terrain. It does not subtract an elevated goal requirement, which is what makes it different from Arrival ESS. Use it to answer whether you clear the ground, and use the arrival tiles to answer whether you make a valid finish.

AGL at shortest#

The same predicted arrival height as AGL at target, but gliding the shortest way into the zone instead of following the optimized line. It answers whether you still reach the turnpoint if you cut the corner. The tile itself reads AGL TS.

Reads
Your height above the target's terrain, less the height you will lose gliding to the nearest point of the zone
Units
m or ft
How it is worked out
Identical to AGL at target except for the distance flown, including the terrain reference, so the two tiles differ purely by the shorter glide
Shows -- when
No active turnpoint, no terrain data for it, or no task is loaded

Tip

It always reads higher than AGL at target. The gap between the two is the height the optimized line costs you on this leg, which is what you are trading away when you decide to round the turnpoint wide.

Flight#

How the wing and the air are performing right now. Most of the flying decisions come from this group.

Ground speed#

How fast you are moving over the ground. What the GPS measures directly.

Reads
Smoothed GPS speed
Falls back to
The raw unsmoothed speed
Units
km/h, mph or knots
Shows -- when
No usable GPS

Airspeed#

How fast you are moving through the air. On a paraglider this is the number that tells you what the wing is doing, independent of what the air is doing to you.

Reads
A connected instrument that reports airspeed directly
Falls back to
Your ground speed with the estimated wind vector subtracted, and before any wind estimate exists, your glider's trim speed
Units
km/h, mph or knots
Shows -- when
No usable ground speed

Tip

With no air data sensor this is derived from the wind estimate, so it inherits the wind estimate's uncertainty. Early in a flight, before the app has seen you circle, treat it as approximate.

Vario#

Your rate of climb or sink. Colored by value, so strong lift and strong sink are recognizable without reading the digits.

Reads
The barometer, either the phone's or a connected vario's
Falls back to
Rate of change of GPS altitude, smoothed harder because GPS altitude is noisy
Units
m/s or ft/min
Shows -- when
No altitude source at all

Caution

A barometric vario responds in a fraction of a second. A GPS derived one lags by seconds and is much less useful for centering a climb. If your phone has no barometer, this is the strongest argument for a Bluetooth vario.

Linear vario#

The same climb rate as a vertical bar along the edge of the screen, readable from the corner of your eye without focusing on digits.

Reads
The same source as the vario tile
Units
m/s or ft/min
How it is worked out
The bar auto ranges. It starts at roughly 4 m/s up and down and expands when it sees stronger samples, so a strong day does not peg the bar

Tip

Mount it on the side your eye naturally falls on. You choose the left or right edge per tile in the layout editor.

Wind#

Wind speed and direction at your altitude, reported the meteorological way as the direction the wind is coming from.

Reads
An air data sensor when one is connected
Falls back to
An estimate built from your own track
Units
km/h, mph or knots
How it is worked out
Two independent estimators feed it. While you circle, your ground speed rises and falls once per turn, and the size of that variation is the wind speed while its timing gives the direction. In straight flight, the app fits the wind from how your ground velocity changes as you change heading. Each estimate is scored for quality and stored against the altitude it was taken at
Shows -- when
Not enough evidence yet, which is normal in the first minutes of a flight

Tip

The estimate is banded by altitude, roughly 500 m either side of where you are, and forgotten after about an hour. So it is genuinely the wind where you are, not the wind at launch. It improves sharply after your first full circle.

Current L/D#

The glide ratio you are actually achieving right now: how far forward you travel for each meter down.

Reads
Distance flown against height lost over the last 10 seconds
Falls back to
A longer rolling window from recent fixes
Units
A ratio
How it is worked out
Averaged over a rolling window rather than computed instantaneously, because an instantaneous figure is unreadable noise
Shows -- when
Never blank, but shows infinity while you are climbing or flying level, since you are not losing height

Tip

Compare it with your wing's configured glide ratio. Consistently achieving much less than the book figure in still air usually means your configured ratio is optimistic, and every final glide the app predicts is optimistic with it.

Linear L/D#

Glide ratio as an edge bar, with the glide you need marked on it. The single fastest way to see whether you are making it.

Reads
The same rolling glide ratio as the current L/D tile
Units
A ratio
How it is worked out
Scaled sensitively across the range that matters for a paraglider, roughly 3 to 25, expanding when the value goes beyond that. The required glide ratio is drawn on the same bar as a target

Tip

When the bar sits above the target mark you are making it, when it sits below you are not. That comparison is the whole point, and it works without reading a single number.

Speed to fly#

The airspeed that gives you the best average cross country speed for the day, rather than the best glide.

Reads
Your glider's trim speed, maximum speed and glide ratio, plus the climb you expect next
Units
km/h, mph or knots
How it is worked out
Classic McCready theory applied to a paraglider polar, then corrected for headwind and clamped so it never recommends slower than trim or faster than your wing can fly
Shows -- when
No glider configured, or no usable wind and speed data

Tip

The expected climb comes from your McCready setting. Left on automatic it follows your recent thermals, so the recommendation gets more aggressive as the day improves. See Gliders.

STF (+-)#

How far you are from the speed to fly recommendation. Positive means speed up, negative means slow down.

Reads
The difference between your airspeed and the recommendation
Units
km/h, mph or knots
Shows -- when
Speed to fly cannot be computed

Tip

Easier to act on than the absolute recommendation, because it tells you what to change rather than what to achieve.

Linear STF#

Speed to fly as an edge bar. Bar up means push bar, bar down means ease off.

Reads
The same recommendation as the speed to fly tiles
Units
Relative

Tip

This is the one to use if you fly with a speedbar and want a glanceable answer rather than a number to interpret.

Temperature#

Outside air temperature.

Reads
A connected instrument that reports it
Units
Degrees
Shows -- when
No sensor reports temperature

Tip

Phones do not measure outside air temperature usefully, so in practice this tile needs an external vario that provides it.

Side view#

A vertical slice through the terrain ahead of you, with your projected glide drawn onto it and the next turnpoint marked. The fastest way to answer whether a ridge is a problem.

Reads
The terrain along your track, plus your current glide performance
Units
Graphical
Shows -- when
Shows Waiting for GPS fix before a fix, On the ground before takeoff, and No terrain data where the elevation model is unavailable

Tip

Give it width rather than height. It is resized by long pressing and dragging any edge, and it can show up to three extra values while you circle. See Tiles and the map area.

Flight radar#

A radar style picture of the air around you: you sit at the center, your recent trail curls around you colored by climb, the predicted thermal core is boxed, and the rim carries pointers for wind, the next target and the shortest way into that target's zone. Nearby airspace and obstacles are drawn in, and a large climb readout sits in the corner.

Reads
Your climb history, the predicted core, the wind estimate, the active target, the shortest line aim point, and the same airspace and obstacle data the alerts use
Units
Graphical, plus the climb readout in m/s or ft/min
How it is worked out
Airspace is solid when crossing its boundary at your altitude would mean entering, dashed when you are only within the vertical warning margin. The shortest arrow appears only with a task target and the shortest line turned on, and only while it disagrees with the optimized line. Zoom, orientation, corner values and value placement are per tile options in the layout editor

Tip

Called the thermal assistant tile before 1.7.2. It works on its own: placing it on a page switches the assistant on by itself, whatever Enable thermal assistant says. Give it room on the layout. See Thermal assistant.

Task#

Only meaningful with a task loaded. These are the numbers competition flying is decided on.

Note

Task distances are measured along the optimized route, the shortest legal path that still touches every control zone, not in a straight line. That is why the remaining distance can drop faster than your ground speed suggests when you cut a corner well.

Task distance#

How far you still have to fly to complete the task, measured along the optimized route from where you are now.

Reads
The task engine's remaining distance, recalculated from your current position
Units
km, mi or nm
Shows -- when
No task loaded, or the route cannot be resolved

Task % flown#

How much of the task you have completed.

Reads
The task engine
Units
Percent, always between 0 and 100
Shows -- when
No task loaded

Task L/D#

The glide ratio required for the current final glide target, whether that is ESS or goal.

Reads
Remaining task distance and your height above the target
Units
A ratio
Shows -- when
Not on the final leg, or no usable height

L/D to ESS#

The glide ratio required to reach the end of speed section specifically.

Reads
Distance to the resolved final glide target and the terrain height there
Falls back to
Goal, once ESS has been crossed, or directly when the task has no separate ESS
Units
A ratio
Shows -- when
Before the final leg, or while the target is not yet active

Arrival#

The height you will have left when you arrive at the current final glide target. This is the headline final glide number.

Reads
Your height above the target, less the height you will lose covering the remaining distance
Units
m or ft
How it is worked out
Uses a deliberately conservative glide ratio: the lower of your configured glide ratio and the glide you are actually achieving. When only the configured figure is available it is adjusted for headwind, bounded so a single gust cannot collapse the estimate and a tailwind cannot inflate it
Shows -- when
No active final glide target

Caution

Colored in three bands: below zero means you do not make it, up to 50 m means marginal, and 50 m or more means you have margin. Zero means arriving exactly at the target with nothing to spare, which is not a plan.

Arrival ESS#

The same prediction, for the end of speed section rather than goal.

Reads
Distance to the resolved target and the terrain height there
Falls back to
Goal after ESS is crossed, or goal directly when there is no ESS
Units
m or ft
How it is worked out
For an elevated goal, the required finish height is subtracted, so the number answers whether you make a valid finish rather than merely whether you clear the ground
Shows -- when
Before the final leg, or with no usable glide source

Tip

On the last leg, watch arrival at ESS to decide how hard to push and arrival at goal to decide whether you can afford it. When they disagree, that difference is the decision you are making.

Time to goal#

How long the remaining task will take at your current performance.

Reads
Remaining distance divided by your ground speed
Falls back to
Trim speed, current speed or rolling XC speed when ground speed is not usable
Units
A duration
Shows -- when
You are effectively stationary, so the figure would be meaningless

Tip

It assumes you keep going at the current speed, which on a task with a climb still to come is optimistic. Treat it as a floor, not a forecast.

Leadout#

Your leading position relative to the rest of the field, for tasks that award leading points.

Reads
The task engine's leadout calculation
Units
Percent
Shows -- when
Not available for this task

Tip

Only relevant in competitions scored with leading points. If your event does not use them, this tile costs you screen space for nothing.

Statistics#

How the day is going, accumulated across the flight rather than measured instantaneously.

XC Distance#

The scoring distance you have flown so far, using whichever shape currently scores best.

Reads
The XC scoring engine, which continuously evaluates open distance and triangles across your track
Falls back to
Total track distance
Units
km, mi or nm

Tip

This is scoring distance, not distance travelled. Fly a circle back to where you started and your track length grows while this barely moves.

XC speed 30'#

Your average cross country speed over the last 30 minutes.

Reads
How much scoring distance you gained across the window, divided by the time
Falls back to
Average ground speed penalized for turning, so time spent circling does not read as progress
Units
km/h, mph or knots
Shows -- when
Less than about 30 seconds of usable data, or the window is too noisy

Tip

The single most honest number on the screen. It counts climbing as the cost it is, so a slow reading during a long climb is correct rather than unfair.

XC speed 60'#

The same over the last 60 minutes. Slower to react, better at showing the shape of the day.

Reads
The same calculation over a longer window
Units
km/h, mph or knots
Shows -- when
Not enough data yet

Tip

Watch the 30 and the 60 together. The 30 above the 60 means the day is improving or you have found a better line.

Possible triangle#

The triangle you could still close from the track you have already flown, with its type and distance.

Reads
The XC scoring engine's best current candidate
Units
A type label plus km
How it is worked out
A triangle counts as closed when the gap between start and finish is small relative to the perimeter, and an FAI triangle additionally requires no leg to be too short relative to the others
Shows -- when
No candidate shape exists yet

Tip

Read alongside the XC Guide, which turns the same analysis into an instruction about when to turn.

Thermal avg#

The average climb rate of your last thermal.

Reads
The climb samples from your most recent thermal, counting only genuine climb rather than every sample in the turn
Units
m/s or ft/min
Shows -- when
No thermal recorded yet this flight

Tip

This is what drives McCready when it is left on automatic, so it quietly sets how fast the app tells you to fly between climbs.

Hike vario#

A climb rate tuned for walking rather than flying, expressed per hour instead of per second.

Reads
Your rate of altitude change over a long window
Units
m/h or ft/h
Shows -- when
Not enough altitude change to measure

Tip

For the hike part of hike and fly. On a walk up, meters per second is a number close to zero, and meters per hour is a number you can pace yourself against.

Map and Sensors#

The state of the instrument itself, and the clock. Unglamorous, and the group most pilots wish they had put on the layout after the fact.

Compass#

The direction you are traveling, as a cardinal heading.

Reads
Your track direction derived from successive GPS fixes
Falls back to
The navigation heading, then the phone's magnetic sensor
Units
Cardinal direction
Shows -- when
No usable fix or sensor

Tip

This is your track over the ground, not where the wing is pointing. In strong wind they differ, which is exactly what a crosswind feels like.

Compass rose#

The same heading drawn as a rose fixed to north around your position, with a red dot marking your direction.

Reads
The same source as the compass tile
Units
Graphical

Tip

Most useful with the map set to heading up, where the map itself no longer tells you where north is. See Maps.

Map scale#

The current scale of the map.

Reads
The map's zoom level
Units
km, mi or nm
Shows -- when
The map has not reported a scale yet

Tip

Worth having if you use auto zoom, which changes the scale for you and can otherwise leave you misjudging distances by eye.

GPS signal#

The quality of your position fix, as a rating plus the accuracy in meters.

Reads
The reported accuracy of the current fix
Units
A rating from good down to bad, plus meters
Shows -- when
No fix at all

Caution

Check this before you launch. Starting a flight on a poor fix gives you a ragged first minute of track and a wrong takeoff altitude, and both follow the flight into your logbook.

Battery#

Phone battery level, including whether it is charging.

Reads
The operating system
Units
Percent

Tip

Worth a tile on any flight longer than two hours, and essential if you fly with live tracking on. See Recording a flight.

Time#

Clock time.

Reads
The device clock
Units
Local time

Tip

Obvious, and the tile competition pilots reach for first. Start gates are times, not countdowns.

Flight time#

How long you have been airborne.

Reads
Now, minus your detected takeoff
Units
mm:ss, or hh:mm:ss on longer flights
Shows -- when
Before takeoff is detected

Tip

It starts at takeoff detection, not when you pressed start, so time spent waiting on launch does not count.

Civil sunset#

Civil sunset at your position.

Reads
Calculated from your position and the date
Units
Local time
Shows -- when
No position fix yet

Tip

The number that ends the flying day. It moves as you fly east or west, which matters more than pilots expect on a long cross country.

Controls#

Buttons rather than values. They do the same jobs as a remote control, for pilots who would rather tap the screen.

Button What it does Notes
Zoom in Zooms the map in one step. Pair with zoom out and turn off touch gestures for deliberate map control.
Zoom out Zooms the map out one step.
Auto zoom Turns automatic zoom on and off. The icon and color follow the current state.
Map up Pans the map north.
Map down Pans the map south.
Map left Pans the map west.
Map right Pans the map east.
Next turnpoint Moves the task focus to the next turnpoint. For skipping a turnpoint you have decided to abandon.
Previous turnpoint Moves back to the previous turnpoint.
Switch layout Switches to the next layout page for the current orientation.
Photo Opens the capture sheet and saves to your gallery. Photos taken in flight can be attached when you upload.
Level 1 Message Sends the L1 level message. Only during task recording with live tracking on.
Level 2 Message Sends the L2 level message.
Level 3 Message Sends the L3 level message.

Tip

Control buttons are what make Touch gestures safe to switch off. Put zoom and pan where your thumb naturally rests and the map only ever moves when you meant it to.