Learn It in Five Minutes

Start a route, explore the globe, and share the finished map. This English guide follows the current controls on iPhone, iPhone Duo, iPad, and Mac.

Find Your Way Around

Route and Appearance are the two starting points on the globe. Their positions follow the screen, so the tools stay within reach as you turn an iPad or fold iPhone Duo.

  1. Tap Route to open airport search and the waypoint list on the globe.
  2. Tap Appearance to change the surface, projection, units, or map layers.
  3. Use Globe, History, and Settings to move between the map, saved routes, and preferences. On a wide iPad or the wide Duo inner display, History and Settings open beside the globe.
  4. On Mac, use the toolbar to switch between Globe and History, toggle the route sidebar, or open the inspector.
The Route and Globe Together in an Open iPhone Duo Device Frame

Rotate Anywhere

The globe has no fixed axis, so a drag goes wherever you point it, including straight over the poles. That is the whole reason this app exists.

  1. Drag in any direction to rotate. Nothing stops you at the top of the world.
  2. Start a drag just outside the globe and move around its edge to roll it like a dial and put any direction at the top.
  3. Scroll or pinch to zoom toward your finger or cursor.
  4. Tap the compass for north-up, drag its ring to roll precisely, and double-tap it to reset the view.
A Polar Route Crossing the Arctic

Add Airports

The search covers the full OurAirports database, so every strip with a code is in there.

  1. Tap Route and start typing an IATA code, an ICAO code, or a city.
  2. Tap a result to add the airport and center the globe. On Mac, select a result, then press Return to add it.
  3. Add the next airport and the great circle draws itself.
Airport Search Results for SIN

Read the Weather

Every waypoint shows its current conditions, temperature, and wind, courtesy of Open-Meteo.

  1. Add a waypoint and the weather line appears under it in the route panel.
  2. Wind reads as direction and speed in knots, the way you'd expect.
  3. Open Settings and turn off Weather at Waypoints in the View group if you prefer a quieter panel.
Weather Lines Under Each Waypoint

Tap to Add Waypoints

Routes are not limited to airports. Any point on Earth can be a waypoint.

  1. Double-tap an empty spot on the globe, or double-click on Mac, to create a waypoint.
  2. Double-tap a waypoint to delete it. On Mac, select it and choose Remove Selected Waypoint from the Route menu.
  3. Keep going. There is no limit on the number of waypoints.
Custom Numbered Waypoints Across Greenland

Distances and Units

Every leg is measured and labeled, and the total rides at the top of the screen.

  1. Leg labels slide along each arc to stay readable as you rotate.
  2. The route panel lists each leg's distance and initial bearing.
  3. Open Appearance, choose Units, and switch between km, nm, and mi. Everything updates at once.
Leg Labels and the Route Total

Save and Reload Routes

Routes save themselves as you build them, so a long multi-stop route never has to be typed twice.

  1. Build a route and it lands in History automatically.
  2. Select a saved route to inspect its waypoints and distance, then choose Open Route to put it back on the globe.
  3. Delete entries one at a time, or turn automatic saving off entirely.
The Route History List

Create and Share a Map

A globe is for exploring, and a flat map is for sharing. Create Map gives you the flat map.

  1. Choose Create Map beside the route total or in the Mac toolbar.
  2. The route renders as a flat projection centered on the route, polar legs unrolled cleanly.
  3. Choose Dark, Light, Satellite, or Relief in the preview's Map Style control.
  4. Drag the Points, Waypoint Labels, and Distance Labels sliders to size the markers and text on the map.
  5. Share it anywhere, save it to Photos on iPhone or iPad, or choose a folder on Mac.
The Route Map Export Modal

Appearance and Map Layers

Appearance opens a native menu for how the world looks. Surface, Projection, and Units show their current choices.

  1. Choose Dark or Light for the Natural Earth vector map, Satellite for NASA Blue Marble imagery, or Relief for the terrain map. Dark is the default.
  2. Toggle Borders, Cities, Airports, and Grid in the Layers group.
  3. Switch between the Normal camera and the flat Ortho projection, and pick your units.
The Appearance Menu Open Over the Globe

What Every Button Does

The Route Button

Route

Opens airport search and the waypoint list on the globe. On a wide iPad or Duo inner display, the route occupies a column beside the globe.

The Compass Button

Compass

The red needle always points north. Tap it for north-up, drag its ring to roll the view by hand, and double-tap it to reset the camera entirely.

The Fit Route Button

Fit Route

Centers and scales the globe to show the current route. It sits below the compass on iPhone, iPhone Duo, iPad, and Mac.

The Zoom In Button

Zoom In

Steps the camera closer. Scrolling or pinching does the same thing, aimed at your cursor or fingers.

The Zoom Out Button

Zoom Out

Steps the camera back, out to a full view of the globe.

The Appearance Button

Appearance

Opens Surface, Projection, and Units, followed by the Borders, Cities, Airports, and Grid switches. Create Map is a separate action.

The Create Map Button

Create Map

Renders the current route as a flat map image, with sliders for the size of its points and labels, and opens it with Share and Save buttons.

The Route Total and Its Actions

Route Total

The running distance of the whole route in your chosen units. Create Map opens the export preview, and Clear removes the current waypoints.

What Every Setting Does

Open Settings for map defaults and viewing preferences. Every change applies to the globe immediately and is remembered for next time.

The Map Style Setting

Map Style

Dark and Light are vector maps drawn from Natural Earth data, with roads and city names that appear as you zoom in. Satellite is NASA Blue Marble imagery, and Relief is the Natural Earth terrain map. The globe switches instantly.

The Projection Setting

Projection

Normal is a regular perspective camera. Ortho removes the perspective entirely and draws the globe the way charts do.

The Units Setting

Units

Kilometers, nautical miles, or statute miles, applied to every leg label, total, and history entry at once.

The Country Borders Setting

Country Borders

The Natural Earth country boundary lines drawn over the surface.

The Airports Setting

Airports

The major-airport markers around the globe. Tap one to add it to the route, or double-click it on Mac.

The Cities Setting

Cities

The city names on the Dark and Light maps as you zoom in.

The Coordinate Grid Setting

Coordinate Grid

A latitude and longitude graticule over the globe.

The Leg Distances Setting

Leg Distances on the Route

The distance labels that ride along each leg of the route.

The Exported Map Distances Setting

Leg Distances on Exported Maps

Whether the images Create Map produces carry the leg labels too.

The Weather at Waypoints Setting

Weather at Waypoints

The current conditions line under each waypoint in the route panel, and the app's only network request.

The Slow Spin Setting

Slow Spin When Idle

A gentle rotation whenever you leave the globe alone.

The Save Route History Setting

Save Route History

Automatic saving of every route you build. Turn it off and History keeps only what it already has.

The Route Line Size Slider

Route Line Size

The thickness of the route arcs, from hairline to bold.

The Label Size Slider

Label Size

The size of every label on the globe.

Get Great Circle Map

One App Store purchase brings Great Circle Map to iPhone, iPhone Duo, iPad, and Mac. Android is available separately on Google Play.

Download Great Circle Map on the App Store Get Great Circle Map on Google Play

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