Quick access to essential flight controls, right at your fingertips
What Are Widgets
Widgets are your personal flight assistants—floating buttons that appear in the corners of your screen, giving you instant access to the features you need most. Think of them as your customizable quick-access toolbar that adapts to your flying.
What makes widgets special:
- Always accessible from any screen
- Automatically show/hide based on your flight phase
- Fully customizable with drag-and-drop
Getting Started
Finding Your Widgets
Look for circular buttons in the corners of your screen while flying. Each widget has a unique color and icon to help you identify it quickly:
- Camera
- Replay
- Electronic Flight Bag
- Volume
- Ground Operations
- Flight Controls
- Simulator
Two Ways to Use Widgets
1. Single Tap — Opens the full widget interface
- A card appears in the center of your screen
- Shows all available controls for that widget
- Tap outside or tap the widget again to close
2. Long Press — Reveals quick-action accessories
- Hold the widget button for just a moment
- Additional action buttons appear above or below
- Tap any accessory for instant action
- No need to open the full interface!
Your Widget Toolkit
Camera Widget
Perfect for: Capturing stunning moments and finding the best viewing angles
Switch between cockpit and external views, adjust camera positions, and create cinematic shots without fumbling through menus.
Replay Widget
Perfect for: Reviewing your landings and capturing highlights
Record your flights, replay any moment, and use instant replay to review that butter-smooth touchdown (or the one that needs work!).
Electronic Flight Bag (EFB)
Perfect for: Accessing charts and flight documentation
Quickly pull up airport diagrams, approach plates, SIDs, STARs, and other essential documents without leaving the cockpit view.
Volume Widget
Perfect for: Adjusting audio on the fly
Control master volume, radio chatter, engine sounds, and environmental audio without diving into settings menus.
Ground Operations Widget
Perfect for: Pre-flight and post-flight operations
Only appears when you’re parked at the gate
This is your command center for everything that happens on the ground:
Pushback
- Plan your pushback route (with Better Pushback plugin)
- Start pushback in any direction
- Stop pushback when you’re ready to taxi
Services
- Configure Weight & Balance
- Set up your flight
- Request ground services
- Control jetways (with OpenSAM plugin)
Equipment
- Install/remove wheel chocks
- Connect/disconnect GPU (Ground Power Unit)
Flight Controls Widget
Perfect for: Quick control inputs without hardware
Adjust trim, deploy flaps, raise/lower gear, control spoilers, and disconnect autopilot—all with a single tap.
Simulator Widget
Perfect for: Simulator-specific features
Control time of day, adjust weather, trigger system failures, and access other X-Plane features.
Dashboard Widgets
Perfect for: Your custom commands
Any dashboard item can become a widget! Mark your favorite custom commands as widgets for even faster access.
Making Widgets Your Own
Adding Quick Actions (Accessories)
Want pushback controls without opening the full Ground Operations widget? Here’s how:
1. Open any widget by tapping it
2. Find the buttons you use most (look for customizable controls)
3. Drag a button out of the widget interface
4. Drop it onto the widget’s accessories area
5. Done! Now long-press the widget to access it instantly
Tip: You can add as many accessories as you need. The most-used actions should be accessories; everything else stays in the full interface.
Managing Your Accessories
Long-press any accessory to open the context menu:
– Execute — Perform the action
– Move Up/Down — Change the order
– Remove — Delete accessories you no longer need
Choosing Which Widgets Appear
To manually control visibility:
1. Open Settings
2. Go to Interface → Widgets
3. Toggle any widget on or off
4. Changes apply immediately
Automatic visibility is even smarter—widgets show and hide based on:
– Your current flight phase (parked, taxi, airborne, etc.)
– Your aircraft’s capabilities (some aircraft don’t support all features)
– Installed plugins (Better Pushback, OpenSAM, etc.)
Smart Features
Flight Phase Awareness
Widgets know where you are in your flight:
– **On the ground?** Ground Operations appears automatically
– **Taking off?** Ground Operations hides; Flight Controls stays visible
– **Cruising?** Minimal widgets to reduce clutter
– **Landing?** Flight Controls and Camera widgets ready to go
This means you only see what’s relevant right now—no distractions during critical phases.
Multi-Aircraft Configurations
Custom accessories are saved per deck, so you can have:
– Different setups for airliners vs. GA aircraft
– Specialized configurations for specific aircraft
– Separate workflows for different flight scenarios
Switch decks, and your widget accessories automatically switch too!
Plugin Integration
Widgets work seamlessly with popular plugins:
Better Pushback
– Plan pushback routes visually
– Execute planned routes with precision
– More realistic ground operations
OpenSAM
– Realistic jetway control
– Ground service coordination
– Airport-specific equipment
When these plugins are installed and enabled in settings, widgets automatically offer their features.
Pro Tips
Workflow Optimization
Before Flight:
1. Tap Ground Operations widget
2. Configure Weight & Balance
3. Long-press for quick access to services
4. Request services when ready
During Taxi:
– Ground Operations auto-hides
– Flight Controls appears for final checks
In Flight:
– Minimal widgets = minimal distraction
– Long-press accessories for quick actions
– EFB widget for approach charts
After Landing:
– Ground Operations auto-appears
– Quick access to services and equipment
– Wrap up with custom accessories
Performance
For the smoothest experience:
– Enable **”Reduce Animations”** in settings on older iPads
– Close widget interfaces when you’re not actively using them
– Let automatic visibility do its magic—it reduces the number of active widgets
Troubleshooting
“I can’t see my widget!”
**Check your flight phase**
– Ground Operations only appears when parked at the gate
– Some widgets auto-hide during certain phases
**Check visibility settings**
– Settings → Interface → Widgets
– Make sure the widget category is enabled
**Check aircraft capabilities**
– Some features (like pushback) aren’t available for all aircraft
### “Long-press isn’t showing accessories”
– Make sure you’re holding for at least a half-second
– Some widgets might not have accessories set up yet
– Accessories may be phase-dependent (only show in certain situations)
“My custom accessories disappeared”
– Custom accessories are saved per deck
– Did you switch decks? Different decks have different configurations
– This is intentional—it lets you customize per aircraft type!