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Competition Maps and Offline Maps

Choose the map layers on a competition map, measure on it, and set up offline map downloads so pilots can fly an event without a connection.

CommunityCompetitions

Competition Maps and Offline Maps

Community > My Groups > Select your competition > Competition manager > Overview > Offline maps

Competition maps are built for navigating by landmarks. This article covers how organisers set up offline downloads, and what pilots see on the map and in the download status.

Set up offline maps (organisers)

Offline maps let pilots fly the event with no mobile signal. Gaggle downloads the course maps to each pilot’s device by itself. Pilots do not press anything.

  1. Open the competition manager and tap Overview, see Competition Manager.
  2. In the Offline maps card, switch on Download for flying offline. It is off until you switch it on.
  3. Choose the Map scale and the Base maps, as described below.

The card says that pilots’ devices download the course maps by themselves, from 3 weeks before the event.

Map scale

Map scale sets the scale the course is drawn and flown at. It sets the map detail and how far pilots can zoom in. The choices are 1:25,000, 1:50,000, 1:100,000 and 1:200,000. 1:50,000 is marked Default.

The row appears in events that score a competition. Tap it to open the choices.

Base maps

Base maps and Download per device appear once Download for flying offline is on. Base maps are the maps pilots can use offline. Offline, pilots fly with only these maps, and the default one opens first.

  1. Tap Base maps.
  2. Tap a map to switch it on or off.
  3. Tap Make default on the one that should open first.
  4. Tap Save.

The choices are Terrain, Satellite, Competition and Sectional. Competition is the default. Sectional charts only exist where the chart covers, in the USA.

Download size

Download per device says how big the download is, and how many course images come with it. Until a leaderboard has a course it says Nothing to download until a leaderboard has a course. Check it after you change the scale or the base maps.

Check the download (pilots)

On the Home screen, a ring shows while Gaggle is downloading. Tap it to see Downloading offline maps. Keep the app open until it is done. The screen stays on while it downloads.

Each leaderboard’s About section has an Offline maps row with the status:

  • Getting ready
  • Downloading with a percentage
  • Ready with the size on your device
  • waiting for a connection, paused while flying, not enough storage, or will try again

The row only shows on devices that download the event, and not before the downloads begin. On the web there is no download.

Map layers

On a leaderboard map, tap the Map layers button in the top right corner.

  • Satellite, Competition, Terrain and OpenStreetMap change the base map.
  • On an obstacle course, group admins also get All organiser data, Public route and Private scoring. These choose what organisers see, including hidden scoring data that pilots never see. See Obstacle Course.

Measure

On an obstacle course map, tap the measure button to measure distances.

  1. Tap the map to add points. On a touch screen, move the map so the cross sits on the point and tap Add point.
  2. The panel shows the Total and each point with its distance From start.
  3. Tap Distance limit to set a limit. It shows None until you do.
  4. Each point has actions to Copy coordinates and Remove point.
  5. Undo takes back the last point, and Clear points removes them all.
  6. Tap Save as a line to keep the path as a line on the course.
  7. Tap Stop measuring to leave the tool.

Annotations

Signed-in pilots can tap Add annotation on an obstacle course map. It opens the course editor on a new annotation. A pilot’s annotation is their own. Organisers can add annotations for everyone. The button is not shown on a page embedded on another website.