FAQ
A feature-by-feature reference. New to the app? Start with the Getting Started guide, then come back here for details.
General
What is Box the Wind?
A map- and position-centric app for hot air balloon competition flying (BFA / FAI AX rules). It shows the day's tasks, your live position on street/aerial maps, navigation to the active target, wind drift and closest approach, declared goals, the contest area and prohibited zones, and live pilot-to-crew tracking — all working offline once maps are downloaded.
What devices does it run on?
iPhone and iPad running iOS 16 or later. iPad is the primary in-basket device; an iPhone works well for crew.
Do I need a network connection to fly?
No, for the map and navigation — download your area's maps ahead of time and everything renders offline. Live pilot-to-crew tracking does need a data connection on both devices, since positions travel over the internet.
What is the row of numbers across the top?
The glance strip. TGT = active target's 4/4. ALT = your altitude. BRG = bearing to the target. DIST = distance to it. MISS = how close your current drift will carry you (closest approach) and in how long. CTR = the 4/4 directly under the center crosshair.
What's the pill in the top-left corner?
The status pill. It shows your source and link state (e.g. REPLAY, CREW · LIVE, PILOT · GPS). In pilot mode it's also the Live toggle for recording and broadcasting (see Recording).
Maps & offline
How do I switch between street and aerial maps?
Tap the Map / Aerial button in the bottom bar to cycle between the OSM street map and USDA NAIP aerial imagery.
How do I download maps for offline use?
Settings → Offline Maps → “Download Offline Maps…” frames your 100 km grid as a 10×10 download grid. Tap the cells covering your contest area, then download. The app harvests both street (vector) and aerial (NAIP) tiles for those cells into local packs that render fully offline.
What are the follow modes?
The follow button cycles the camera: Center (keep the balloon centered), Track-up (rotate so your direction of travel is up), Frame (fit your whole track), and Free (manual pan/zoom — you drop into Free automatically when you pan the map). The compass sits below the glance strip; tap it to return to north-up.
How do I clear downloaded maps?
Settings → Offline Maps → “Clear downloaded maps.” Re-centering the grid also clears them, since they're tied to the old area.
The 4/4 grid & coordinates
What is a 4/4 coordinate?
The competition grid coordinate, e.g. 0280/8012 — an easting/northing within a 100 km UTM square, in 10 m units. The app uses 4/4 everywhere: targets, goals, the center readout, and the keypad.
What is the “grid center” and why set it?
It's the reference point that decides which 100 km square your 4/4 numbers live in. Setting it to your contest area makes every 4/4 resolve to the right place on Earth. Set it via Settings → Grid Center → “Use Map Center as Grid Center.”
What is the crosshair and the CTR readout?
A bright-blue crosshair marks the exact map center; CTR shows its live 4/4. It's handy for reading off a coordinate or for “Use Crosshair Location” when entering a target or goal.
Why do the 1 km grid lines move when I re-center?
The grid lines mark whole-kilometre 4/4 values for your current grid center, so they follow it. Lines fall exactly where a 4/4 ends in 00.
Zones & the contest area
How do I add prohibited zones and the contest area?
Settings → Zones. Import KML files per category: Red zone, Yellow zone, and Contest area. The app previews how many zones it found before saving.
Why can I only have one active contest area?
The active contest area is the boundary used to validate declared goals. You can import several and switch which one is active; only the active one gates goals.
Can I change zone colors or use holes/multi-part zones?
Colors are fixed (red / yellow / blue boundary). Every ring in a KML placemark is captured, so multi-ring zones display; inner-ring “holes” and KML-defined colors aren't applied yet.
How do I remove a zone?
Swipe to delete it on the Zones screen. The app starts empty, so nothing is bundled — you only ever see what you import.
Tasks & import
How do I load the day's tasks?
Tap Tasks, paste the WatchMeFly TDS link into the Import field, and tap Import. The app parses it into an editable list.
Can it read PDF task sheets?
Yes for many of them. Paste the link to a task-sheet PDF and the app auto-detects it, extracts the text, and parses the tasks. Scanned/image PDFs (no text layer) can't be read — add those tasks manually. As always, check the result.
What task types does it understand?
The standard BFA/FAI AX codes — HWZ, FIN, JDG, PDG, FON, HNH, WSD, GBM, CRT, RTA, ELB, LRN, MDT, SFL, XDT, XDI, XDD, MDD, ANG, 3DT, APT and more. Unknown codes still import; they're just labeled generically and you can correct them.
What happens when I re-import?
Re-importing replaces the whole list with the new sheet. Any active-target selection resets.
Can I build a task list by hand?
Yes. Tap + to add a blank task, then edit it. Useful when a sheet is a scanned image or isn't online yet.
Targets & navigation
How do I pick which target I'm flying to?
In the task list, tap a task's A / B target chips. That target becomes active and drives the glance strip and the on-map lines.
What do the colored lines on the map mean?
The green line runs from your balloon to the active target. The purple line is your drift (where the current wind is carrying you), with 5-minute tick dots and a marker at the closest approach to the target.
Can I set a target that isn't in the task list?
Yes — tap anywhere on the map to drop an ad-hoc target. Tap Clear target to remove it. A dropped target and a task selection override each other (last action wins).
What does MISS mean exactly?
If you held your present drift, MISS is how close you'd pass the target (closest approach), and the time until you reach that point. It's a quick read on whether you're on line.
Declaring goals
How do I declare a goal in flight?
Tap Declare Goal, choose the declared-goal task (PDG or FON), and enter the goal's 4/4 on the keypad — or tap “Use Crosshair Location.” Confirm to stamp it onto the task as the active target.
Why is my goal pin red, and why won't it confirm?
The ghost pin is green inside the active contest area and red outside it. A goal outside the contest area is blocked — you can't declare one off-area. Make sure you've imported and activated the correct contest area.
Why are only some tasks offered for Declare Goal?
Only pilot-declared goals (PDG, FON) appear. A judge-declared goal (JDG) is set by the judges, not by you, so it isn't in the Declare Goal picker.
Source & live tracking
What are the source options?
Replay (play back a recording), Crew (receive the pilot's live position), Pilot · GPS (this device's GPS), and Pilot · BLS (Balloon Live Sensor — coming soon, uses GPS for now). Set it in Settings → Source.
How does live pilot-to-crew tracking work?
The pilot broadcasts position over a private channel; the crew subscribes to it. The channel is derived from a Flight code + Password that both set identically, so only your team sees the balloon. We run the link ourselves — no third-party tracking feed.
What if the link drops?
The crew sees a stale indicator with the balloon held at its last known spot — never a frozen balloon shown as if it were live. A stationary pilot still reads as LIVE thanks to a periodic heartbeat.
What does “solo” mean?
If no flight code is set, you're flying solo: the app still records and navigates, but doesn't broadcast. The pill shows · solo.
Is my position private?
Yes. Only devices that know your exact flight code and password can join the channel. See the Privacy page for details.
Recording
How do I record a flight?
In pilot mode, tap the status pill (“Go Live”). Recording starts immediately (and broadcasting too, if a flight code is set). Tap again and confirm to stop.
Does recording keep going if the screen locks?
Yes — the app uses background location, so it keeps recording and broadcasting with the screen off.
Where are my recordings and what can I do with them?
Settings → Recordings: rename, delete, Share (as GPX), Replay (load it as the replay source), or Import an external GPX. Recordings are written incrementally and crash-safe — an interrupted flight is recovered on next launch.
Appearance & units
Can I hide overlays I don't want?
Yes. Settings → Appearance has per-layer visibility toggles (grid, contest boundary, PZs, target line, drift line, and more).
Metric or imperial?
Settings → Appearance → Units switches the display between metric and imperial (altitude in metres or feet; distance in metres/km or feet/miles). It's display-only — coordinates and the grid stay metric.
Troubleshooting
My targets are in the wrong place.
Your grid center is probably set elsewhere. Re-center it on your contest area (Settings → Grid Center), then re-check the tasks.
The map is blank or grey.
Give online tiles a moment to load, or download offline maps for your area. If you're offline outside your downloaded cells, there's nothing to show there.
“No tasks found” when importing.
The link may be a results sheet, a scanned-image PDF, or a page with no tasks yet. Double-check the TDS link, or add tasks manually with +.
The crew can't see the pilot.
Confirm both devices use the exact same flight code and password, that the pilot has tapped Go Live, and that both have a data connection.
Still stuck?
Email support@boxthewind.com with your device, iOS version, and what you were doing.