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Aircraft Information Window

Getting detailed information about aircrafts

LiveTraffic can show aircraft information and updated flight data. Note that the current flight data (like position, speed, altitude and so on) represent the aircraft as shown in X-Plane. This is supposingly very close to reality, but LiveTraffic certainly needs to interpolate between available data points, so there is some degree of freedom. And it lacks the buffering time (see config) behind real time anyway.
Aircraft Info Window, showing N920DU flying DL822
​Data and Settings are explained below.
The 
 link symbol in the Tracking Data line opens a browser page on the channel's tracking site focusing on the aircraft.
The 
Camera button starts the External Camera View.
The 
Visible and 
Auto Visible buttons hide/show the aircraft.
Opening an A/C Info Window
All menu items mentioned here can be bound to keyboard shortcuts or joystick buttons. There are two relevant menu items:
Plugin > LiveTraffic > Aircraft Info... for a window inside X-Plane
Plugin > LiveTraffic > Aircraft Info... (Popped out) for creating a popped out window in a native operating system window, which could be moved anywhere.
It makes most sense if you have and use for this purpose a monitor, which is not filled by X-Plane, e.g. if you keep one monitor for flight planner, moving map or the like. Otherwise the popped out window would become hidden behind X-Plane once X-Planes gets the focus - just like any other window as well.
The initial position of any new window might not be optimal and you might need to drag it out of a corner to see it completely.
Or you can open an Aircraft Information Window by clicking the 
 symbol in the Aircraft List.
Several aircraft information windows can be opened in parallel, just select the above menu items as often as you like.
Icon
Action
Icon
Action
<Title Bar>
To move the window around drag it by the title bar.
​
 
Pop out into separate OS window
​
 
Close this window
​
 
Pop back in to X-Plane
​
 
Open this page
​
 
Move into VR
You can also hide/show all windows at once with the Aircraft Info Shown menu item and close all of them with Close All Windows.
AUTO and Locked Mode, Search
The "AUTO" checkbox in the first row switches between AUTO and Locked mode:
AUTO mode
A/C Info Windows always open in AUTO mode, i.e. they display information on the nearest aircraft roughly in the direction of the camera (even if it might not currently be visible on the screen because it is way below/above the camera).
Locked mode / Search for aircraft
In locked mode the currently shown aircraft will be retained no matter where the camera points to, as long as the aircraft is displayed in LiveTraffic.
Or you can select any specific aircraft for display by entering an id into the first field A/C key. Type in any one of the following and LiveTraffic searches for a match once you hit [Enter]:
transponder hex code
registration (tail number)
call sign
flight number
squawk code
index within LiveTraffic, which is just an arbitrary number starting with one up to the number of displayed aircrafts (and is not currently stable, i.e. with aircrafts appearing and disappearing one particular aircraft might have a different index any time), it is mostly meant to search around for something interesting.
Displayed Information
Note that some lines are split into two fields. The label is then divided by a vertical bar |.
ld
Example
Content
​
​
Aircraft Information
A/C key
ACBE88
Transponder hex code uniquely identifying an aircraft (strictly speaking: its transponder)
AUTO
​
Switches between AUTO and Locked mode
Registration
N920DU
Registration, aka tail number.
The link symbol at the beginning takes you to OpenSky's aircraft database where you can update the aircraft profile if needed.
ICAO Type
B739
Unique, ICAO-defined identifier for the type of aircraft, like A388 or SR20. See the ICAO DOC8643 aircraft type designators for a list.
This code is received from the tracking data and plays an important role in CSL model matching, i.e. influences heavily how the aircraft is rendered in X-Plane.
"?" if there was no ICAO type in the received tracking data.
Class
L2J
​ICAO-defined aircraft class:
L - Land plane, H - Helicopter, S - Sea plane, and others.
1,2,3,4... - number of engines
J - Jet, P - Piston, T - Turbo, E - Electric, and others
Manufacturer
Boeing
Human-readable, ie. non-standardized text
Model
787-900ER
Human-readable, ie. non-standardized text about the aircraft model
Operator
DAL: Bank Of Utah Trustee
ICAO-defined identifier of the operator of the aircraft, often an airline, plus its human-readable text
​
​
Communication / Flight
Call Sign
DAL822
Call sign used in radio communication. For airliners this often gives away the flight number, but this is just convention and no guarantee.
Squawk
2004
The flight's current squawk code.
Flight: Route
DL822: KLAX-KMCO
Flight number: Route
The route typically is "Departure Airport - Arrival Airport" but can in some cases include more stops.
All of this is community-maintained data from the tracking data or from OpenSky's route database and might be inaccurate.
The link symbol at the beginning takes you to OpenSky to maintain flight/route information for this callsign.
​
​
Position / Spacial
Position
4.6nm SW of KLAX
Relative position to nearest airport
Coordinates
33.9066 N
118.4918 W
Current aircraft position (latitude / longitude).
Altitude
2197ft
...in feet MSL.
AGL
2197ft
Height above ground level in feet, or GND_ON if on the ground.
Speed
241kn
knots over ground.
VSI
+680ft/min
ft/min vertical descend (negative) / climb (positive) rate.
Heading
224°
...in degrees relative to true north.
Pitch
1.7°
Pitch angle in degrees
Roll
0.0°
Roll/bank angle in degrees
Bearing
244°
Look into this direction to see the aircraft, based on your current camera position.
Distance
5.3nm
The plane is this many nautical miles away from your current camera position.
​
​
Modelling Information
CSL Model
BB_Boeing B739_DAL
Actual CSL model currently used for rendering this aircraft within X-Plane. This is one of those you installed with the CSL packages.
Simulated Time
2021-12-11 00:17:46.2Z
This is the ZULU time currently simulated, which should be current real time minus the buffering period.
Tracking Data
+78.7s, ADS-B Exchange Online
Number of seconds into the future (+) or in the past (-) of the last available position information. If this number is positive then there is future data available and the plane will keep moving at least until then. If the number is negative then we already ran out of tracking data and the plane will disappear soon if no more data is received.
Flight Phase
Climb
Current flight phase like Take Off, Climb, Cruise, Approach...
Gear
0%
Gear position: 0% - fully retracted, 100% - fully deployed
Flaps
0%
Flap position: 0 - fully retracted, 1 - fully deployed
Lights
nav/bcn/ strb/----/lnd
Indicates which lights are on:
nav - navigation lights
bcn - beacon
strb - Strobe
taxi - Taxi Lights (not all CSL models show taxi lights)
lnd - Landing Lights
Settings
...control the visual appearance of the Aircraft information Window. Click to open.
Both options are Drag Sliders: Click with the mouse somewhere in the bar and drag to the left/right to change the value. Why this type of control has been chosen becomes apparent when you drag the Font Scaling control...
Option
Default
Description
Font Scaling
100%
Changes the text size of all Aircraft Information and Status Information Windows, thereby influencing the window size, too.
Opacity
25%
Opacity of all transparent windows
0% - fully transparent, 100% fully black background

Icon	Action	Action
<Title Bar>	To move the window around drag it by the title bar.	Pop out into separate OS window
	Close this window	Pop back in to X-Plane
	Open this page	Move into VR

ld	Example	Content
		Aircraft Information
A/C key	ACBE88	Transponder hex code uniquely identifying an aircraft (strictly speaking: its transponder)
AUTO		Switches between AUTO and Locked mode
Registration	N920DU	Registration, aka tail number. The link symbol at the beginning takes you to OpenSky's aircraft database where you can update the aircraft profile if needed.
ICAO Type	B739	Unique, ICAO-defined identifier for the type of aircraft, like A388 or SR20. See the ICAO DOC8643 aircraft type designators for a list. This code is received from the tracking data and plays an important role in CSL model matching, i.e. influences heavily how the aircraft is rendered in X-Plane. "?" if there was no ICAO type in the received tracking data.
Class	L2J	ICAO-defined aircraft class: L - Land plane, H - Helicopter, S - Sea plane, and others. 1,2,3,4... - number of engines J - Jet, P - Piston, T - Turbo, E - Electric, and others
Manufacturer	Boeing	Human-readable, ie. non-standardized text
Model	787-900ER	Human-readable, ie. non-standardized text about the aircraft model
Operator	DAL: Bank Of Utah Trustee	ICAO-defined identifier of the operator of the aircraft, often an airline, plus its human-readable text
		Communication / Flight
Call Sign	DAL822	Call sign used in radio communication. For airliners this often gives away the flight number, but this is just convention and no guarantee.
Squawk	2004	The flight's current squawk code.
Flight: Route	DL822: KLAX-KMCO	Flight number: Route The route typically is "Departure Airport - Arrival Airport" but can in some cases include more stops. All of this is community-maintained data from the tracking data or from OpenSky's route database and might be inaccurate. The link symbol at the beginning takes you to OpenSky to maintain flight/route information for this callsign.
		Position / Spacial
Position	4.6nm SW of KLAX	Relative position to nearest airport
Coordinates	33.9066 N 118.4918 W	Current aircraft position (latitude / longitude).
Altitude	2197ft	...in feet MSL.
AGL	2197ft	Height above ground level in feet, or `GND_ON` if on the ground.
Speed	241kn	knots over ground.
VSI	+680ft/min	ft/min vertical descend (negative) / climb (positive) rate.
Heading	224°	...in degrees relative to true north.
Pitch	1.7°	Pitch angle in degrees
Roll	0.0°	Roll/bank angle in degrees
Bearing	244°	Look into this direction to see the aircraft, based on your current camera position.
Distance	5.3nm	The plane is this many nautical miles away from your current camera position.
		Modelling Information
CSL Model	BB_Boeing B739_DAL	Actual CSL model currently used for rendering this aircraft within X-Plane. This is one of those you installed with the CSL packages.
Simulated Time	2021-12-11 00:17:46.2Z	This is the ZULU time currently simulated, which should be current real time minus the buffering period.
Tracking Data	+78.7s, ADS-B Exchange Online	Number of seconds into the future (+) or in the past (-) of the last available position information. If this number is positive then there is future data available and the plane will keep moving at least until then. If the number is negative then we already ran out of tracking data and the plane will disappear soon if no more data is received.
Flight Phase	Climb	Current flight phase like Take Off, Climb, Cruise, Approach...
Gear	0%	Gear position: 0% - fully retracted, 100% - fully deployed
Flaps	0%	Flap position: 0 - fully retracted, 1 - fully deployed
Lights	nav/bcn/ strb/----/lnd	Indicates which lights are on: nav - navigation lights bcn - beacon strb - Strobe taxi - Taxi Lights (not all CSL models show taxi lights) lnd - Landing Lights

Option	Default	Description
Font Scaling	100%	Changes the text size of all Aircraft Information and Status Information Windows, thereby influencing the window size, too.
Opacity	25%	Opacity of all transparent windows 0% - fully transparent, 100% fully black background

Last modified 6mo ago