Max-Trax: Powered by GlobalAir.com

A Fuel Route Mapping System

Max-Trax is a fuel route mapping system intended to pilots, corporate flight departments, carter operators, and schedulers and dispatchers for use in their pre flight planning, and most importantly, save on their fuel cost every time the system is used.

Planning Your First Trip

Entering your airport identifiers:

Before Max-Trax can start to plan your trip, some basic information is required. If you have already registered Max-Trax already has your home airport identifier. It will automatically place your home airport identifier in the departure field. If you do not wish to use your home airport identifier, simply change it. If you do not know the identifier, you can find it by using the "Planning your trip with searching options" feature.

If your itinerary includes multiple stops Max-Trax can accommodate up to four legs per trip. Waypoint fields are displayed for you to use. Enter your destination airport as the last airport identifier in the sequence. You should have three fields filled in at this point. The final input required from you is your aircraft’s maximum non-stop range in nautical miles, and the type of fuel (100LL, Jet A) your aircraft uses. After you have entered the required information, click [Plan this Trip]. Max-Trax will plan your trip based on the information that you have given. If you used the search option, please see below.

Planning you trip with search options:

If you do not know your airport’s identifier, Max-Trax has a built-in search option for you to use. Simply select the county and state in which the airport is located. The search option will conduct a search around the county in that state and display a list of all the airports within a 50-mile radius. Simply click on the appropriate airport identifier from the table on the left hand side of the screen, and Max-Trax will insert it into the correct field. After the correct information has been entered, click [Plan this Trip] at the bottom of the page. Max-Trax will plan your trip based on the lowest fuel prices reported from across the continental U.S.

An Overview of the Mapping System

Max-Trax is designed to provide you with maximum flexibility in planning your itinerary. Instead of limiting your route to a list of locations that you can use, Max-Trax will plan your trip based on the lowest fuel prices available along your route of flight. You can change your itinerary with the click of the mouse. If you decide to add or subtract a waypoint, Max-Trax can easily accommodate the change and re-calculate the distances between stops and revise your list of potential fuel stops on the fly.

Once you’ve provided the necessary initial inputs, Max-Trax responds by displaying an overview of the routing (Trip Route). You can choose to accept that or modify it to better suit your needs. If you need more detailed information on an airport along the route, Max-Trax will display it in a "mapping bubble" that will pop up whenever you roll your mouse over the airport on the map.

Options above the mapping system:

Above the mapping system on the left hand side of the screen, Max-Trax offers a "View map" selection which allows you to navigate between the trip overview [Trip route] and mini maps, which can be accessed by clicking on the airport identifiers. Also above the mapping system on the left hand side is the map’s Legend. Clicking on [Legend: Show or Hide] provides ready access to the information in the Legend and moves it out of sight when you’re finished referring to it.

Options in the mapping system:

In the Mapping system on the upper left hand side, there’s also a plus and minus button. This feature allows you to zoom in and out on specific map locations. You can also pan left, right, up, or down with the arrow buttons. On the upper right hand side of the mapping system, there are three buttons, [Map], [Satellite], and [Hybrid]. By choosing the appropriate one, you can select either a Google™ map, satellite photo, or a combination of both.

The Mapping Bubble:

One of Max-Trax’s most valuable features is the mapping bubble. It displays additional information on airports selected by rolling the mouse over its location on the map. If there’s a participating FBO located on the airport, information on it will also appear in the bubble along with data on the airport. Mapping bubbles for airports that do not have a sponsoring FBO will display the airport identifier, the airport name, and the length of its longest runway.

Clicking on Max-Trax’s [Airport Information] link activates a pop-up that displays information from GlobalAir.com’s Airport Resource Center for the airport selected. [Remove This Stop] will simply drop that waypoint from the route. If, by removing a stop from the routing causes you to exceed the maximum non-stop range of your aircraft, a red line will be replace the blue line that depicts your track. (This information is also noted in the Legend.) Choosing [Review All Airports] will take you to the mini map (a map with all airports within a 50 nautical mile radius around the airport that you selected).

The right hand side (My Trip):

On the right hand side of the screen you will see a selection called [My Trip]. It displays the total mileage of the trip and offers three additional options: [Start a New Trip], [Save This Trip], and [Delete This Trip].

Below the trip functions is a list of airports from departure to destination. You can click on the [+ Local Airport Fuel Prices] link to expand and collapse a list of FBOs on the field who have reported their fuel prices. By clicking on an FBO’s name or logo, you can bring up detailed information about it from GlobalAir.com’s Airport Resource Center. This option displays fuel pricing information and the last date on which it was updated.

Map Flexibility:

With Max-Trax, you can left-click and hold the mouse button on the map to move it. This allows you to expand your search for alternate waypoints or gain a perspective on the proximity of a new destination to your original track.

If you are trying to view multiple airports, especially on a mini-map, and the bubble gets in your way, simply clicking on the [x] button in the upper right hand corner of the bubble will close it and remove it from view. Click on any airport identifier and the bubble will pop back up and move the map so you can have a clear view of the information and options in the bubble. If the airport that you have selected is included in your itinerary, it will also be highlighted on the right hand side of the screen.

Clicking once anywhere on the blue or red route of flight line will bring up the distance in nautical miles between the two airports connected by it. This can be of critical importance, especially if the line is red, indicating that this leg of the trip exceeds your aircraft’s maximum non-stop range. In that case, adding a fuel stop along the route to alleviate the problem can be accomplished easily.

An Overview of the Mini Map

Changing Airports:

On the main map or your [Trip Route] view, clicking [Review All Airports] in the bubble or [Review All Airports In This Area] on the right hand side under [My Trip] will bring up a mini map and initiate a 50 nautical mile search for all airports listed from that location. In the map, you will see all the airports within that radius. On the right hand side of the screen, all FBOs reporting fuel prices at the selected destination airport will be listed from the lowest reported fuel price to the highest.

Also on the right hand side, scrolling the mouse over an airport’s identifier will activate a pop-up bubble that will depict its location on the map. If the selected airport is not on your current route, clicking on [Switch to this airport] in the airport bubble will allow you to replace the previously selected airport with this one.

Quick track mapping features:

On both the main map and on mini maps, you will find the [View Map] option in the upper left portion of the screen. There are also links to [Trip Route] and [airports identifiers]. The [Trip Route] link will take you to the main map and provide an overview of your trip. The [airport identifiers] will take you to mini maps of specific airports (the 50 nautical mile search display) where you can select and load a different waypoint or examine fuel prices.

Adding and Deleting Airports and Waypoint

If you decide to eliminate a stop from your itinerary, simply select its icon and click [Remove This Airport]. Max-Trax will remove it from the routing. If the removal of this waypoint causes you to exceed the maximum non-stop range of your aircraft for the newly-defined leg of the trip, Max-Trax will either suggest a stop along your route of flight or display a red line telling you that you have exceeded your max leg distance.

If you need to add a waypoint, you can double click anywhere you believe that an airport may exist. Max-Trax will initiate a 50-nautical mile search from that point and display a mini map and a list of FBOs reporting fuel prices on the right hand side of the screen ranked from lowest to highest in fuel price.

To select an airport, you can scroll on the airport’s identifier along the right side of the screen and a bubble will display its location with a few options. As an alternative, you can simply click on the airport’s identifier on the map and a bubble will appear with the same options. To add the airport to your trip, click [Add To Trip]. You will be directed back to the main map (Trip Route).

Starting, Saving, and Deleting Trips

Saving a trip is easy. All you have to do is click on the [Save This Trip] button. You will be directed back to the initial [Plan Trip] routing screen. On the right hand side of the screen, Max-Trax will display your saved trips so that you can use them again later if you desire.

If you wish to plan a new trip while your current trip is in progress, click [Start a New Trip]. Caution: Selecting this option will delete the data of the trip in progress. If you’ve completed a trip or don’t wish to save its itinerary for future use, click [Delete This Trip]. It will do so and take you back to the [Plan Trip] page.

For a full overview of what Max-Trax can do for you, please check out the attached videos.