How to use Flight Mapper

A complete walkthrough of every feature — from planning your first route to exporting a printable briefing. No prior knowledge needed.

1. Adding your first route

The fastest way to plot a flight is via Search mode:

1. Open Flight Mapper. The sidebar is on the left, the interactive map on the right.
2. In the Origin field, type an airport code (IATA like GRU, ICAO like SBGR) or a city name. Suggestions appear as you type — pick one.
3. Repeat for Destination.
4. Click Add Route. The great circle line is drawn instantly between the two points, with airport pins and labels.

The map auto-zooms to fit the route. The sidebar now shows a card with the route's distance (in nautical miles and kilometers), heading, and estimated flight time.

2. Multi-leg routes

For a trip with multiple stops, switch to Raw / Multi mode (toggle at the top of the sidebar):

Type a chain of airports separated by hyphens, like:

SBGR-KMIA-KJFK-EGLL

Click Add Routes. Three legs are added at once: SBGR→KMIA, KMIA→KJFK, KJFK→EGLL. Each leg gets its own color and is summed into a total.

You can plan multiple independent trips in the same view by separating them with commas:

SBGR-KMIA-KJFK, OMDW-UUWW-EFHL

This creates two route groups. Open the Route Briefing and you'll see them as Route 1 and Route 2 with independent subtotals plus a grand total — perfect for comparing trip options.

3. Searching for airports

Flight Mapper recognizes:

• IATA codes — three letters, like JFK, GRU, LHR. Familiar to passengers and travel agents.
• ICAO codes — four letters, like KJFK, SBGR, EGLL. The standard for flight planning.
• City names — type "Sao Paulo" or "London" and pick from suggestions.
• Country — type the country and browse a long list.
• Latitude/longitude — like -23.5,-46.6 to plot any point on Earth (useful for waypoints, FIR boundaries, or fictional points).

If two airports share a code (which can happen in remote regions), Flight Mapper opens a disambiguation dialog showing both options with city, country, and exact coordinates.

4. Range Rings

Range rings draw a circle of constant distance (or flight time) around an airport. Useful for:

• Visualizing fuel reserves and reachable destinations.
• ETOPS-style coverage — "what airports are within 60 minutes of my route?"
• Charter ferry analysis — "where can I deliver this aircraft on one tank?"

Steps:

1. Scroll to the Range Rings section in the sidebar.
2. Enter a distance (number) and pick the unit: nautical miles, statute miles, kilometers, or minutes (flight time).
3. Enter a circle center — same airport search as above.
4. Pick a line color and style (solid, dashed, dotted).
5. Click Add Circle. The ring appears centered on the chosen airport.

You can stack multiple rings of different colors and distances to compare scenarios.

5. Route Briefing

A Route Briefing is a printable summary of all routes currently on the map — perfect for sharing with crew, passengers, or filing for reference.

1. With routes plotted, click the Route Briefing button (bottom-left of the map).
2. A modal opens showing each leg in detail: airport names, IATA/ICAO codes, city, distance, heading, and flight time at the current cruise speed.
3. Multi-route briefings group legs by route, with subtotals per group plus a grand total.
4. Click Save PNG at the top of the modal. On mobile, it offers the native share sheet (WhatsApp, Mail, Photos). On desktop, it downloads a PNG file.
5. The briefing card uses the current theme — light or dark — and includes the Alexa Aviation watermark.

6. Sharing routes via URL

Want to send your route to a colleague? Click the Share button on the map. A URL is generated that encodes all current state: routes, range rings, cruise speed, map view, label format, and label preference.

The URL is automatically copied to your clipboard. Paste it into WhatsApp, Slack, email, or anywhere else. When the recipient opens it, the Mapper restores the exact same view they would see — no signup, no account, just the route.

The link is a self-contained permalink — anyone who opens it gets the exact same view of the routes, rings, and map without needing to install anything or sign up.

7. Cruise speed and flight time

The default cruise speed is 450 knots (typical mid-size jet). To change it:

1. On any route card, click the speed value (the "450 KT" text).
2. A popover opens with a slider and a unit selector.
3. Pick the unit — knots, Mach, km/h, or mph — and adjust the slider.
4. Conversions are shown live (e.g., Mach 0.78 = 447 knots).
5. Click outside to close. The flight time on every route updates instantly.

Range rings have an independent speed setting (only used when the unit is "Minutes"), defaulting to 330 knots — typical light jet hold/diversion speed.

8. GPS — using your current location

Click the GPS button (compass icon, top-left of the map) to share your location. The Mapper drops a pulsing blue pin and a precision circle.

Once captured, you can use the special token MYLOC in any airport input — Origin, Destination, range ring center, or in raw mode like MYLOC-KJFK.

The location is stored only in your browser session. Nothing is sent to any server. Refreshing the page clears it. Required: HTTPS — works on the live site, not on local file:// copies.

9. Map style and labels

Top-right of the map: a dropdown to switch between Satellite (default), Street, Topographic, and Dark map styles.

To change how airport labels are shown (IATA only, ICAO only, City + IATA, etc.), open the Settings modal (gear icon in the header) and pick a label format. Or click any label on the map to cycle through formats.

10. Light, Dark, and Auto themes

Top-right of the page: three buttons — sun, half-circle, moon — for Light, Auto, and Dark themes. Auto follows your operating system's color scheme and reacts in real time.

Pilot tip: Dark theme reduces glare in low-light cockpits. Light theme is easier to read in bright daylight.

11. Installing as an app (PWA)

Flight Mapper is a Progressive Web App. You can install it on your phone or tablet so it lives on your home screen like a native app.

iPhone / iPad (Safari): Tap the Share icon, then Add to Home Screen. A banner appears on first visits to remind you.

Android (Chrome): A native "Install" prompt appears automatically.

Installed apps run in standalone mode (no browser bar), launch faster, and work offline for the UI shell — though map tiles still need internet.

12. Keyboard shortcuts

While the map is focused, you can use:

• + / − — zoom in/out
• Arrow keys — pan the map
• Esc — close any open modal (briefing, settings, airport details)

13. Tips and best practices

Quote a charter quickly: type SBGR-KJFK, glance at the time, send to client.

Comparing two trips: use commas in raw mode, e.g. SBGR-KJFK, SBGR-KORD. The briefing shows both with grand total — easy to pick the better option.

Publishing a passenger briefing: open the briefing modal, set the theme to light, click Save PNG, send via WhatsApp.

Verifying a flight plan: enter the planned route in raw mode and check the total distance against your dispatch software — should match within 1-2%.

Need more help?

Visit the FAQ for common questions, the Glossary for aviation terms, or send us a message if you can't find what you need.