Users in Europe should now see fewer duplicated aircraft between the Open Glider Network and ADSB Exchange. Also, less chance of a "ghost" own ship appearing for ADS-B equipped aircraft being picked up by the Open Glider Network.
You can now get the METAR and Apple Weather for an airport by tapping on the airport symbol on the traffic view.
Please note that while Apple Weather is a useful indicator of ground conditions, it must not be used for making operational decisions.
The mute button now gives you a choice of 5, 10, 20 or 30 minutes for the pause time.
Caution, this should only be used when separation is being provided by ATC.
In a recent release, the ICAO hex code was added to the aircraft profile. This is now being used to positively identify your own ship rather than just relying on its callsign.
If you are seeing your own ship on the traffic display, please go to your aircraft profile and enter the ICAO hex code. For more information please visit the help page.
Other changes.
Internet status annunciations (Internet unavailable/restored) are now optional.
This feature added in V6.4 might be a good idea if you rely on the internet for monitoring and alerting but isn't necessary if you are using an ADS-B receiver. According to some pilots it's also a bit annoying.
As suggested, a switch has been added to the settings view to control whether internet status changes are announced or not.
Please note that the default for this setting is off.
Small improvements to the way incoming traffic is identified when matching by ICAO hex code.
The ICAO hex code has been added to the aircraft profile in order to help filter your own ship when incoming messages have a non-identifiable call sign.
Recognition of slower aircraft when detecting landing and takeoff. When you select ULAC (ultralight aircraft) as your type code, the speeds and heights used for this purpose are halved.
Apple weather on the System Status view. *
A one-line summary of surface conditions at your current location is now displayed under the nearest METAR. For example -
Wind: 270/10 Temp: 21°C QNH: 1020
Please note that this data is not aviation quality and should only be used as a guide. It is the same data you see in the Apple weather app, the source of which may vary from country to country. More about data sources can be found at Weather.
The System Status view is accessed from the Traffic view toolbar or menu.
* Requires iOS 16 or later.
This release affects some aspects of how annunciations are handled.
At AvTraffic, our commitment to enhancing air traffic awareness and ensuring the safety of pilots like you has always been our top priority. We are proud of the critical role our app plays in collision avoidance and air traffic management, and we are continuously striving to improve our services and features to support your flying experience.
The annual subscription price for AvTraffic will increase from US$13.99 to $19.99 and the monthly subscription will increase from US$1.49 to $1.99 or equivalent in other currencies.
This decision was not made lightly, and we want to share the reasons behind this change:
Your subscription is more than just a payment; it’s an investment in your safety and the continued development of tools that aid in the safe operation of your flights. The increase allows us to maintain and elevate the standard of service you expect and deserve.
We understand that price changes can be challenging, and we greatly appreciate your understanding and continued support. Your feedback and trust inspire us to keep improving and providing you with the best possible service.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our support team via the support page.
Thank you for flying with AvTraffic and for your unwavering commitment to safety.
Safe skies,
The AvTraffic Team
iOS 17.4 added a new permission request for apps that need to access the internal barometer.
AvTraffic needs this to determine your current pressure altitude and your altitude by applying the nearby QNH.
Apple has included this permission with the 'Motion and Fitness Sensors' section of the 'Privacy and Security' iOS Settings.
If you get asked to give AvTraffic permission to access the 'Motion and Fitness Sensors', please reply yes.
Understandably, you may wonder why AvTraffic needs to access the 'Motion and Fitness' sensors. But it is only the barometer that is being accessed.
The server will be down for an upgrade March 22 from 11:00Z for approximately 2 hours. ADS-B traffic will continue during this period.
*UPDATE*
The server is now running again after an outage of about 22 hours. This also affected the ability to send and receive support emails. The extended outage was due to a fault in our service provider's infrastructure.
Please accept our apologies for the extended outage.
This fixes an issue for premium users where the EFB status can show as 'inactive' and the GDL90 status as 'stopped' immediately after AvTraffic is launched.
This only happens occasionally but results in traffic not being fed to your EFB and traffic not being received from your GDL90 device if you have one.
It has become more apparent just recently and has affected many users.
Please upgrade to version 6.2 as soon as possible to avoid this issue.
With older versions you can work around this problem as follows -
The Traffic view has had some minor adjustments to the layout and the tap actions have been made more responsive.
The headings are now fixed in place while scrolling.
The Traffic View has been decluttered by moving all the buttons to a dedicated toolbar.
Further decluttering is available via four display options that now allow you to show or hide airports, tracks, the altitude/speed display and the trip meter.
GDL90 users (SkyEcho and the like) will now see a warning status if there is no Wi-Fi and you are in active mode, that is intending to fly.
Previously, this condition was considered to be normal and showed a green status.
A new setting "Direction" has been added that allows you to control how conflicts are announced. Choose one of the following three options.
Clock:
Announcements will be in clock points, for example "3 o'clock".
Clock is recommended for most users and is the default.
Compass:
Announcements will be in compass points, for example "north west".
Auto:
Announcements will be in clock points when tracking straight and compass points when turning or orbiting.
Auto is recommended for glider pilots.
The filter and map orientation buttons have been moved under a single menu button. The system status view can also be accessed from the menu.