Building your cockpit
12Offline maps
Download map regions at home so the flight map still works where there is no coverage. Covers how regions are selected, the size limits, the detail levels, and what still needs a connection.
Why you want this#
The flight map normally streams its tiles from the SkyTrackPro servers. That is fine on a launch with coverage, but it fails exactly where you least want it to: deep in a valley, behind a ridge, or abroad with data roaming turned off.
An offline region is a package of map data for an area you choose, stored on the phone. Once it is downloaded, the flight map draws that area with no connection at all. Everything else on the map, your track, the task, airspace, obstacles and the glide line, already works offline.
Caution
Without an offline region and without a connection, the map falls back to a plain background. Your position, track, task and airspace still draw correctly, but there is no terrain, no roads and no labels underneath them.
How a region is built#
You select cells on a one degree grid. The app sends that selection to the server, which cuts a package covering exactly those cells. The app then downloads the package piece by piece and stores it. A region includes the base map, the contour lines, the hillshade terrain layer, and the seasonal thermal layers if you use them.
- You select cells and press download.
- The region appears in the list as Requesting / preparing package while the server cuts it.
- The status changes to Processing / downloading with a percentage as the app pulls the files.
- When it reads Ready with a size, the region is on the phone and in use.
Note
Downloads resume. If you lose the connection or close the app halfway through, the download picks up from where it stopped the next time it runs, rather than starting again.
Selecting an area#
- Open Settings, then Maps, then Download maps.
- Pan and zoom the world map to the area you fly.
- Tap a land cell to select it. Turn on Drag to select to sweep across several cells with one gesture.
- Keep adding cells until the shape covers your flying area. The button at the bottom shows the running size estimate.
- Choose the detail level, then press the download button.
Two rules govern which selections are valid, and the app tells you when one of them is broken.
Caution
Cell count is a poor guide to size. Mountain areas hold far more map data than flat terrain or coastline, so ten cells over the Alps can be several times larger than ten cells over open farmland. Watch the size estimate on the download button, not the cell count.
Tip
The question mark button at the top right opens Region rules, which shows worked examples of shapes that are accepted: a single cell, a valley line, an L shape and a block.
What the app tells you#
| Message | What it means |
|---|---|
| Selected cells must touch by side | Part of your selection is separated, or only joined at a corner. Fill the gap or deselect the stray cells. |
| This selection would exceed the 1.5 GB download limit | Reduce the area, or drop to a lighter detail level. |
| You can select up to 60 connected land cells per region | You have hit the hard cell ceiling. Split the area into two regions instead. |
| All selected cells are already downloaded | Everything you picked is covered by a region you already have. |
| already downloaded | Shown on an individual cell that an existing region already covers. |
If an area is too large for one download, split it. There is no penalty for having several regions side by side, and the map uses them together.
Choosing the detail level#
Detail is the maximum zoom stored in the package. Zooming in further than the stored level still works, the map simply stops adding new detail and the labels get larger.
Note
A detail level that would push the selection over the limit is shown as over the 1.5 GB limit and cannot be chosen. Reduce the selected area to unlock it.
Tip
A practical pattern: standard detail over the flying site and its landing options, light detail over the wider area you might reach on a long cross country.
Managing stored regions#
Everything you have downloaded appears under Stored offline regions, each with its cell count, status and size.
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Requesting / preparing package | The server is cutting the package. Nothing is on the phone yet. |
| Processing / downloading 42% | The package is transferring. The figures show what has arrived out of the total. |
| Ready | Fully downloaded and in use by the map. |
- Swipe the region left to delete it.
- Confirm in the dialog. Deleting a region that is still downloading also cancels the download.
- The space is released immediately and the map stops using that area offline.
Caution
Download on Wi-Fi. A standard detail region over mountainous terrain can approach the 1.5 GB limit on its own, which is a large amount of mobile data and takes a long time on a weak signal.
Maps over mobile data#
The map picks one of three modes automatically from your connection and this setting.
| Mode | When | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| Combined | There is a usable connection and it is allowed | Downloaded regions plus streamed tiles, so you have detail everywhere. |
| Offline only | There is no connection, or mobile data is not allowed | Your downloaded regions only. Outside them the map is empty. |
| No tiles | No connection and nothing downloaded | A plain background. Track, task, airspace and obstacles still draw. |
What still needs a connection#
Downloading a region makes the map work offline. It does not make everything else offline, and it is worth knowing the difference before you rely on it.
| Still works with no signal | Still needs a connection |
|---|---|
| The map inside your regions | The map outside your regions |
| Your track, task and optimized route | Live tracking upload and buddy positions |
| Airspace and obstacle warnings from installed files | Downloading new airspace or obstacle files |
| Terrain height inside a downloaded region | Terrain height outside your regions, which drives arrival height and the side view |
| Thermal maps for downloaded seasons and areas | Weather station observations |
Tip
Before flying somewhere without coverage, work through the checklist in Internet connection. It covers maps, airspace, obstacles, tasks and waypoints in one pass.