GPS Track & Map
Once telemetry data is imported, the GPS Track & Map panel displays your aircraft's flight path on an interactive map. The track is color-coded based on different flight parameters, and you can switch between color modes to analyze different aspects of your flight.
Importing telemetry data
From the flight detail page, click the Import Telemetry button to open a file picker. Select a CSV file (maximum 10 MB) containing your flight telemetry:
File requirements: CSV format (UTF-8 encoded), CRLF or LF line endings. The file is validated on the client side before upload. If validation fails, an error message describes the problem (invalid extension, file too large, empty file, header mismatch, or no valid GPS coordinates).
CSV format
The CSV file must have a header row with the following column names (order matters):
| Column Name | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
time | Yes | Timestamp in milliseconds |
GPS_numSat | No | Number of GPS satellites in view |
GPS_coord[0] | Yes | Latitude in decimal degrees |
GPS_coord[1] | Yes | Longitude in decimal degrees |
GPS_altitude | No | Altitude in meters |
GPS_speed | No | Ground speed in km/h |
GPS_ground_course | No | Ground course / heading in degrees |
VSpd | No | Vertical speed in m/s |
Pitch | No | Pitch angle in degrees |
Roll | No | Roll angle in degrees |
Yaw | No | Yaw / heading in degrees |
RxBt | No | Receiver battery in volts |
Curr | No | Current in amperes |
Capa | No | Capacity in milliamp-hours (mAh) |
RQly | No | Receiver (RX) link quality in % |
TQly | No | Transmitter (TX) link quality in % |
TPWR | No | Transmitter power in dBm |
Ail | No | Aileron stick input (-1000 to 1000) |
Ele | No | Elevator stick input (-1000 to 1000) |
Thr | No | Throttle stick input (-1000 to 1000) |
Rud | No | Rudder stick input (-1000 to 1000) |
Minimum requirements: time, GPS_coord[0] (latitude), and GPS_coord[1] (longitude) are required. All other columns are optional. If optional columns are missing, that data will not be displayed (e.g., no altitude coloring if GPS_altitude is absent).
Map display
Once imported, the GPS Track & Map panel shows:
- An interactive map displaying the aircraft's flight path as a polyline
- A departure marker at the takeoff location
- A landing marker at the landing location
- A color-coded track based on the selected color mode (see below)
- A color legend in the top-right corner showing the scale for the current color mode
Track Color By modes
Below the map, a Track Color By dropdown lets you switch between four color-coding schemes:
1. GPS Quality (Satellites)
Colors the track based on the number of GPS satellites:
- Green: 8 or more satellites (excellent signal)
- Yellow: 5 to 7 satellites (acceptable signal)
- Red: Less than 5 satellites (poor signal)
2. Altitude
Colors the track by altitude using a gradient from minimum to maximum altitude in the flight. Heights are automatically scaled relative to the data range, creating a smooth color transition from low (typically cooler/blue) to high (typically warmer/red) values.
3. Speed
Colors the track by ground speed using a gradient. Slow speeds appear in cooler colors, faster speeds in warmer colors, scaled to the min–max range of your flight.
4. Vertical Speed
Colors the track by vertical speed (climb/descent rate) with fixed thresholds:
- Dark: Descent > 5 m/s (rapid descent)
- Red: Descent 2–5 m/s
- Orange: Descent 0–2 m/s
- Yellow: Level flight (±0.5 m/s)
- Light Green: Climb 0–2 m/s
- Green: Climb 2–5 m/s
- Dark Green: Climb > 5 m/s (rapid climb)
No vertical speed data? If your CSV doesn't include a VSpd column, the Vertical Speed mode won't show a meaningful visualization. Choose another color mode instead.
Color legend
A legend box appears in the top-right corner of the map, showing the scale for the currently selected color mode. It updates automatically when you switch color modes.
Delete GPS Track button
At the bottom of the GPS Track & Map panel, a red Delete GPS Track button lets you remove all telemetry data from this flight. This action cannot be undone, but you can always re-import a different (or the same) telemetry file.
Re-import telemetry: If you need to replace telemetry data (e.g., you have a corrected CSV), first delete the existing GPS track, then import the new file. Each flight can only have one GPS dataset at a time.
Animation and playback
After importing telemetry, the Animation Controls panel becomes available in the second row. Use it to play the flight back in real time, scrub through the timeline, or adjust playback speed. See Animation Controls & Statistics for details.
Tips
- File format: Ensure your CSV is UTF-8 encoded with LF or CRLF line endings.
- Column order: The column order in the CSV must match exactly as shown above. Missing columns should be omitted entirely, not left blank.
- Data quality: Invalid or missing values in optional columns are skipped gracefully. The visualization will still work with partial data.
- Coordinate system: GPS coordinates must be in decimal degrees (e.g., 51.5074 for latitude, -0.1278 for longitude). The system does not support other formats.
- Timestamps: If your timestamps are in seconds instead of milliseconds, multiply them by 1000 before exporting to CSV.
Next: Learn about Flight Instruments.
See also: Animation Controls & Statistics for playback and analysis features.