We’re constantly being asked how we make the maps that show our crazy itineraries. Obviously they’re helpful for blog posts, but I know other people like them for showing to friends and family, adding to a photo album of a trip, etc., and as I was taking some screenshots for an upcoming post it occurred…
Continue reading: How To Make Flight Maps
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Very useful. Thanks! I've used that website before but never explored the advanced options.
I love GC Mapper - use it all the time!
Tiffany is awesome. Clearly it shows here, and in essentially every post she does.
@Tiffany - thank you very much for this post!
One question - generally speaking, how close are the Great Circle Mapper mileage estimates to the number of miles you'd actually earn by taking the given flight (assuming you earn 100% miles flown)?
I'm planning a surprise trip around the world and this will be a great thing to put under the Christmas tree! Thanks for the great detailed post!
I've used Great Circle Mapper before but never realized just how customizable it is - thank you, Tiffany!
@Michael C, if you're looking for a tool to help calculate mileage, I recommend Webflyer's Mileage Calculator as it even lets you add in different types of bonuses - class of service, elite, etc.: http://www.webflyer.com/travel/mileage_calculator/
@ endre - Yep, you can choose to show the country using the location drop-down.
@ Michael C -- Thanks! Generally pretty accurate, within a few miles either way in my experience.
Thank you @tiffany. What I meant is how to show every states and countries showing on map not just waypoints. Thanks
Great post!!! Is there a way to show every itinerary as a separate segment?For instance, i have 3 flights - day 1 has JFK-MIA, day 3 has MIA-UIO, and day 8 has UIO-MIA-JFK.
Even if I use colors, it does not really show UIO-MIA-JFK differently than JFK-MIA and MIA-UIO.
@ Endre -- Ah, not that I know of. You'd probably need a fancier mapping tool for that.
@ BlueMountain -- Yeah, it's tough when routes overlap like that. Not sure of a way around it.
Great post - I've always wondered how you guys do those maps. Might have a play myself today 🙂
Another great use is that it shows how "out of the way" a given routing is. For example, if you enter jfk-hkg,jfk-cdg-bkk-hkg, it will tell you that the later routing is 30.8% longer than a direct flight. This can be useful for programs like Aeroplan where you can piece together a route over the phone, as long as it doesn't go over the maximum permitted mileage. This gives you a good idea as to whether or not your routing will be legal.
Great post ! One thing I would like to see is the ability to show the order of the flights, e.g. by showing the direction of travel like adding an arrow in the flight paths. Don't think this is possible. Let's say the flight order is SAN-ORD-JFK-DFW-SAN, the map won't really tell the difference between that and SAN-DFW-JFK-ORD-SAN.
The closest I could get is to add a number label along the path, to show the order of the flights. But it's a hassle to look up the lat/lon of where's best to place the label. For example,
SAN-ORD-JFK-DFW-SAN,COLOR:PURPLE,"%T1"+@38.618542n102.054410w,"%T2"[email protected],"%T3"+@36.212521n89.226422w,"%T4"[email protected]
would get you a map of
which can better tell the order of the flights. Anyone has better ideas ?
@Tiffany Thank you so much for the link you provided today. This map making website is sooooo fun. I was stressed out but a few minutes of making maps calmed me down so I can re-start work.
This is a good, possibly great tool, as long as the system recognizes the ICAO. If not, and the airport doesn't have an IATA, you're out of luck.
I just signed on and am reviewing the main page. I do not see how one starts a map. I have a lot of flights to add and would like to return to mapping to continue where I left off.
Where do I begin the mapping?
Mike D Lancaster, Pa
Is there a way to define the center of the map? I want to map an around-the-world route beginning and ending in California. The map automatically puts North America at the center of the map. I'd like to put it at the far left side of the map, at it is the starting point.
MarkNick, California