Flight computer

19XC Guide

Free flight cross country guidance: plans, modes, the guidance card, sectors and the custom target point.

Works offline

What the XC Guide is#

In a task, the app knows where you have to go. In free flight it does not, so the XC Guide asks you what you are trying to achieve and then helps you achieve it: when to turn, whether the triangle still closes, how much further you need, and what glide that will take.

Note

The XC Guide only runs when no task is loaded. Competition and task navigation are left completely untouched, which the app states as Keep competition/task navigation untouched and only enable XC guide when no task is loaded.

Fig. 19.1The XC guidance card during a triangle attempt.

The four plan modes#

Mode Goal Best for
Straight Maximum open distance in one direction. A day with a following wind and a long valley system.
Flat A flat triangle, closed back to near your start. Days where you want a closed shape without the FAI leg constraints.
FAI An FAI triangle, where no leg is shorter than 28 percent of the total. Record and league flying, where the shape is worth more than the distance.
Auto The app picks and adapts as your track develops. Days you cannot call in advance. This is the default.

Tip

Auto is a genuinely good default. It watches the shape you are actually flying and tells you when a triangle has become possible, rather than making you commit at launch.

Setting a plan#

When you start a free flight with the guide enabled, the app asks What is your plan for today? and then What distance would you like to achieve?

  1. Choose a mode: Straight, Flat, FAI or Auto.
  2. Choose a target distance, or type one into Custom distance (km).
  3. Optionally tick Remember this choice or Use as my default.
  4. The guide arms itself and begins watching your track.

Note

You can reopen the plan at any time in flight with Edit XC plan, as long as Allow mode switch in flight is on.

Reading the guidance card#

The card is the guide talking. The headline is the action, and the row of statistics below it is the evidence.

TTG
Time to go for the current action.
Req L/D
The glide ratio needed to complete it.
Closure
How far you still are from closing the triangle.
Progress
How much of your target distance you have flown.
Shortest
The length of the shortest leg, which is what constrains an FAI triangle.
Plan
The mode and target you are working to.

The action line is short and directive.

Action Meaning
Build track first Not enough track yet to say anything useful.
Continue north Keep going the way you are.
Continue to first turn / second turn You are on a leg toward a turn the guide has planned.
Turn soon The turn is approaching.
Turn now Turn.
Extend shortest leg Your shortest leg is too short for a valid FAI shape. Lengthen it.
Close triangle Head back to close the shape.
Triangle closed safely Your triangle is closed.
FAI triangle closed safely Your FAI triangle is closed and valid.
Triangle possible later The shape you are flying could become a triangle. Not yet.

Alongside these you may see conversion hints: Triangle possible, Flat triangle possible, Flat -> FAI possible and the warning FAI validity at risk.

The validity states#

The card carries a state that tells you how seriously to take it.

State Meaning
Off The guide is not running.
Standby Running, but waiting for the activation thresholds to be met.
Armed Active and watching, with a plan in place.
Safe The shape is comfortably valid.
Watch The shape is valid but the margin is small.
Closing You are on the closing leg.
Done The shape is complete.
Abandoned The plan is no longer being pursued.

Settings#

Where Settings › XC Guide
Enable XC Guide
On or off Default: Off
Allows the free flight XC guide on the live flight page. Turn it on if you fly cross country without a task. Leave it off if you only fly tasks, since it will never appear anyway.
Ask before free flight
On or off Default: On
Opens the plan sheet when you enter a free flight with no task. Turn it off if you always fly the same plan and find the question a nuisance.
Remember last XC plan
On or off Default: On
Reuses the last mode and distance next time.
Use stored plan as default
On or off Default: Off
Makes the stored default mode and distance the fallback when the plan sheet is dismissed.
Default mode
Straight / Flat / FAI / Auto Default: Auto
The mode used when no remembered plan applies.
Default target (km)
Kilometers Default: 100
The target distance used when no remembered plan applies. Set it to a distance that is ambitious for you on a good day. Progress means nothing against a target you always beat by lunchtime.

Activation thresholds#

The guide stays in standby until you are genuinely on your way, so it does not start planning triangles while you are still scratching above launch.

Activate after distance (km)
Default: 5 km
Minimum separation from takeoff before the guide leaves standby. Raise it at sites where you often spend a long time working the local ridge before committing.
Activate after minutes
Default: 5 minutes
Minimum airborne time before the guide starts making active recommendations.

Display and controls#

Show XC map overlay
On or off Default: On
Draws the plan geometry on the map.
Show XC top card
On or off Default: On
Shows the guidance card at the top of the flight screen.
Show XC sectors
On or off Default: On
Draws the sectors that show where a valid turn can be made. Turn it off if the map gets too busy. The card still tells you when to turn.
Show XC labels
On or off Default: On
Labels the plan geometry on the map.
Allow mode switch in flight
On or off Default: On
Lets you change the plan without landing.
Enable custom map target point
On or off Default: On
Allows one custom target point that overrides the guide's next action.

Note

Remembered free flight plan shows the stored plan as mode and distance, or No remembered plan stored yet. You can clear it there.

The custom target point#

Sometimes you know better than the guide: a cloud street heading somewhere, a landing you want to reach, a friend you want to join. The custom target point lets you say so.

  1. Long press the map at the point you want. The app confirms with XC custom target updated.
  2. The card switches to Fly to custom target and shows the distance.
  3. Long press somewhere else to move it, as the hint Long press the map to replace the point. suggests.
  4. When you arrive, the card reads Custom point reached.

Note

There is only ever one custom point. Removing it returns guidance to the plan and confirms with XC custom target removed.

XC routes#

Separately from the guide, you can plan a route on the website and fly it. Routes live in the XC tab and are covered in XC routes, challenges and leagues.

  1. Plan the route in the XC Planner on the website.
  2. In the XC tab, open Routes and press Save to device.
  3. On the Flight tab, choose it under Route before you start.

Note

A loaded route and the XC Guide are different things. The route is a shape you chose to follow, the guide is advice about the shape you are actually flying.