Friends Instrument

The current friends instrument is contextual. It does not appear on every flight screen by default.

When the widget appears

Gaggle only shows the nearby-friends widget when both of these are true:

• nearby pilots are visible on the map
• one or more nearby flyers are either your friends or members of one of your groups

When that happens, the compact widget shows a people icon with a count of nearby relevant pilots.

The widget is hidden on a location-masked competition flight.

Opening the nearby-friends panel

Tap the widget to open the current nearby-friends panel. This panel helps you keep track of who is close to you while flying without leaving the recorder.

The live panel is organised into grouped sections such as:

• Friends
• My Groups
• Nearby

Selecting a pilot updates the highlighted detail area at the top of the panel.

Messaging in flight

You can message nearby pilots without leaving the recorder.

Broadcast Message

Tap Broadcast Message at the bottom of the panel. The sheet lists quick message cards. Tap a card to send it at once to every nearby pilot who is your friend or in one of your groups. You can also type your own message in the box at the bottom.

The cards include Heading Back, Bumpy Air, Smooth Air, What Route?, Where To?, What Frequency?, Landed Safely and Go with a compass point. On a powered flight, 🚨 Engine Out! and Low Fuel are added. When you fly a route, cards also tell others the route name and your next waypoint.

Message one pilot

Tap a pilot in the list, then tap the chat icon or Message. The Messages sheet opens with that pilot’s name and your conversation. Read their messages and type a reply. The quick reply icon next to the box opens the same quick message cards, and a tapped card goes to that pilot only.

An incoming message also appears briefly on the flight screen. Tap it to dismiss it.

Tips

• If the widget is missing, first confirm that nearby pilot visibility is enabled in your map or display setup.
• Group membership matters. A nearby pilot who is not your friend and not in one of your groups may not surface in this widget.
• The panel is designed for quick in-flight awareness, so it may show a compact subset of people instead of your entire wider network.