Little navmap Add-on
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 Little Navmap addon settings window | |
| Developed by | Sławek Mikuła (slawekmikula) |
|---|---|
| Written in | Nasal, Canvas |
| Platform | Tested on FG version 2024.1.3 |
| Development status | 100% |
| Type | Addon |
| License | GNU General Public License v2 |
| Website | |
The Little Navmap extension allows FlightGear to send real-time data to the Little Navmap software so that it can plot the aircraft's position on its map.
Little Navmap is a free and open-source flight planner, navigation tool, mobile map, airport search system, and airport information provider. It is compatible with Windows 7/8/10/11, macOS (High Sierra 10.13 or later), and Linux (64-bit only).
How does it work?
FlightGear exports its data in real time via a UDP network connection to a gateway program called FGconnect. FGconnect then relays the data to the Little Navmap software, also via a UDP network connection.
Thus, the Navmap map displays the aircraft's movement in real time in three dimensions.
Installation
Installing the add-on
The installation of this add-on is done as follows:
- Download the latest version of the Little Navmap add-on and extract it to a local folder.
- In the launcher, open the "Add-ons" tab. Click the "Add" button in the "Add-on Folders" section and select the folder extracted in step 1 (or add the following option in the command line:
--addon=/path/to/little-navmap-addon). - Click on "Fly!".
Installing Python
Download Python and perform a default installation.
Installing FGconnect
The FGconnect module consists of Python scripts and provides the link between the FlightGear and Little Navmap software.
- Download the latest version of FGconnect .
- Unzip the downloaded archive into a local folder that does not require elevated user rights (e.g., /home/my_user or c:\users\my_profile).
- Open a terminal window and navigate to this directory. It contains, among other things, the fgconnect.py file (Python script).
- Create a Python virtual environment there:
python3 -m venv venv - Activate this environment:
.\vev\scripts\activate - Install the Python modules required by FGconnect:
pip3 install wxpythonandpip3 install xmltodict
Preliminary checks
Before configuring anything, check that your operating system is not using the following network ports;
- 5400: This is the port used by FlightGear's HTTP server.
- 7755: This is the default port used by FlightGear to send its data to Little Navmap.
- 51968: This is the port used by Little Navmap to receive data from FlightGear.
To help you determine if these ports are in use, open a terminal (or console) window and run the following command:
- Linux / Mac :
netstat -an | grep <n° port> - Windows :
netstat -an | findstr <n° port>
If the ports are free, these orders should not return anything.
Use
Launch FlightGear.
The new " Little Navmap " menu appears in the menu bar displayed at the top:
Selecting it opens the Little Navmap dialog box:
Click on button 1 to configure the extension:
Verify that the " Enable export " checkbox is active.
If Little Navmap and FlightGear are running on the same machine, leave the default settings.
If Little Navmap and FlightGear are on different machines, replace " localhost " with the IP address of the machine where Little Navmap is running.
Confirm the configuration by clicking on Save then Close .
From the terminal window, once the virtual Python environment has launched, run:.\venv\scripts\python fgconnect.py -s
| Note The developer of this FGconnect module indicates in his release note [1] that he has only tested it on MacOS and that it should work under Windows and Linux.
On Windows, I found in a forum [2] that I needed to modify the fgconnect.py file and add the following after the IMPORT line 15: sys.path.append(os.path.dirname(__file__))
Of course, after making a backup of the original script. |
Open the Little Navmap software. In the Tools menu , click on " Connect to Flight Simulator... " and then go to the " Remote/Network " tab. If FlightGear and Little Navmap are running on the same machine, leave the default settings and click the Connect button .
Alternatively, replace localhost with the IP address where FGconnect and FlightGear are running. Then click connect .
Afterwards...
At this stage, the FlightGear and Little Navmap software communicate. FlightGear sends real-time data relating to the aircraft: its type, registration, magnetic heading, true heading, position, speed, altitude, etc.
Little Navmap takes this data and reflects the situation on its map.
This allows you to visualize the route followed in relation to the flight plan.
| References |