What is a good (free) map to see Vatsim controller and aircraft activity?
SimAware - Real-Time VATSIM Flight Tracking is so slow and really falls behind. Sometimes i already am up in the air and this map still says i’m taxiing.
Also sometimes it says controllers are up, but there is nothing there
+1 for Vatspy. Of all the maps I have tried, this one is by far the fastest and simplest. It may not show weather or have other gimmicks, but it does the job. Most importantly it will update faster than every other map I’ve seen.
The obvious downside is that it’s an app, not a web service. So if you want to use it on e.g. a tablet, you can’t. If you want to run it on a remote machine, you have to install it first. That’s why I’m using Vatspy on MSFS’s PC, but Simaware’s web map and also VatScope on iPad (though you have to pay 3 EUR to have full VATSIM features or autorefresh).
Also for those who are after detailed features for their map such as topography, locations, weather/wind/precipitation/SIGMETs, events, nice graphics etc, won’t find any of these in Vatspy (although it can search for METAR data).
I also like SimToolKitPro’s implementation, but again it’s an app. And it doesn’t refresh as fast as Vatspy.
If you need an alternative to VatSpy, there is also VatPrism. Has some nice features in comparison to VatSpy. It’s still heavily in development, and you might be able to request a feature of your own via the Discord/GitHub.
+1 for VatSpy though as well, solid program!
Sounds (and looks) interesting, I’ll check this out.
I recommend the VatScope app for iOS.
+1 for VatScope.
I got an iPad recently so I tested several VATSIM maps, and VatScope stood out from the rest almost immediately. Not only its basic and most useful functions are free but all extra features can be purchased with a very small fee of 3 EUR (autorefresh, self-tracking, VATSIM ID stats, airport weather).
My only gripe with this app is the map itself, which shows only city names but not towns, villages or any other location labels. Obviously there are other non-VATSIM maps that can do that, but I’d rather have everything in one place and in a tablet app.
Yeah, and you can scroll into the airports to find out which gate is free to avoid going online on top of someone else. You can check the ATIS of every airport if a controller is online to plan your flight accordingly. Very useful.
TL;DR: There is nothing like “real-time” VATSIM map.
Explainataion:
Only to make it clear. All common VATSIM maps uses default vatsim info files as a resource. Those files are refreshed only once per approx 2 minutes, therefore the location of the planes in the map is not (and cannot) be realtime.
AFAIK, VATSIM does not offer any public source to access real time data exept the case you are logged in as an observer using your VATSIM credentials using some ATC-like client.
Here’s an interesting variation on the classic style of the map. It can show the airspace for the altitude you have selected. Good for complex airspace like above London.