Map App
The map app can show maps in various formats and keep track of your plane location. You can also use it as a moving map where the plane is always shown in the center. Without doing any manual steps, the Map App supports OpenTopoMap and the internal X-Plane map.
In order to make use of the other formats, you will have to download maps from somewhere.
The US provides official VFR and IFR maps in an excellent quality. You can download them as GeoTIFF from the FAA here: https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/flight_info/aeronav/digital_products/ (go to VFR Raster Charts or IFR Charts) After downloading a map, copy the TIF file from the archive into AviTab's MapTiles/GeoTIFFs folder.
Every country has different regulations regarding maps, but the OpenFlightMap project tries to integrate the maps of several countries. You can download maps for various countries on their website: https://openflightmaps.org/
They offer their map in several different formats, EPSG-3857 is the recommended one.
Their EPSG ZIP files contain multiple versions, I suggest using the merged\256@2 version.
For example, the ZIP file for Switzerland contains the directory clip\merged\256@2x\latest.
Copy that directory into the MapTiles\EPSG-3857 folder and name it "Switzerland" so that this folder contains the numbered directories. If you don't need zoomlevel 12, use the 256 directory to save disk space. 512 is not supported.
Sorted from best to worst.
This is a modern map projection invented for use on the web. It is used internally by Google Maps, OpenStreetMaps etc. Maps in this format are usually distributed as ZIP files containing multiple numbered directories, each containing PNG files with a size of 256x256 pixels.
Advantages:
- requires almost no RAM or CPU resources
- very fast zooming and panning
Disadvantages:
- a line between two locations becomes an arc on the map
- does not support coordinates north of 85°N or south of 85°S
Example map
This is an extension to the TIF format to include coordinates and projections in an image of a map. A GeoTIFF file always includes an image of a map and enough information to calculate the location of a point in the real world on the image and vice-versa. Since the format is from the early 90s, it does not support modern projections like EPSG-3857. This means that the GeoTIFF files from OpenFlightMaps are basically useless in AviTab. However, the FAA files are fully supported since they use a classic Lambert projection.
Advantages:
- Supports the Lambert projection that is commonly used for US maps.
- a line between two locations is always a straight line on the map (when using Lambert maps)
Disadvantages:
- needs a lot of RAM. Showing an US sectional map that is 85 MB in size requires about 1 GB of RAM.
- zooming is somewhat slow
Example map
This is an online variant of the EPSG-3857 format using map tiles from OpenTopoMap.org as source.
Advantages:
- doesn't require user interaction to work
- same as EPSG-3857
Disadvantages:
- requires an Internet connection
- not a flight map
Example map
A Mercator map has a grid with straight lines. If you have an image or a PDF of a Mercator map, you can import it into AviTab by telling it the coordinates of two arbitrary points. For hints about calibrating the map, see Calibrating Mercator Maps.
Advantages:
- RAM and CPU usage somewhere between EPSG-3857 and GeoTIFF depending on the format of the image
- you can use any map, e.g. a scan of an official VFR map
Disadvantages:
- manual calibration required
- a line between two locations becomes an arc on the map
Example map
This map uses data that comes with the X-Plane installation. It should only be used if you don't have an Internet connection and didn't download external map material.
Advantages:
- always works
- almost no CPU or RAM resources required
Disadvantages:
- low resolution
- very uncommon projection
- high disk I/O usage when using it while zoomed out far
Example map
