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AviTab

AviTab is an open-source plugin for X-Plane 12 that displays a tablet in the cockpit — featuring a PDF viewer, moving map, and chart integration. It was primarily designed for VR but works equally well in 2D mode.

Background

  • Developer: Folke Will (fpw), contributors dave6502, mjh65
  • Repository: github.com/TeamAvitab/avitab (open source, AGPL-3.0; maintained fork of the archived fpw/avitab)
  • Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux (native binaries)
  • Compatibility: X-Plane 11.20+ and X-Plane 12

The original fpw/avitab repository is archived (read-only, issue tracker disabled) after Folke Will stepped back from maintenance. Development continues under TeamAvitab/avitab, which took over the project and publishes releases regularly.

Features

  • PDF viewer: Displays PDF charts and checklists from the charts/ subdirectory
  • Moving map: Online maps (OpenTopoMap, OpenStreetMap) and offline maps with configurable tile servers
  • Navigraph integration: IFR/VFR charts in the cockpit (requires Navigraph subscription, not available in self-compiled builds)
  • ChartFox integration: Free charts via Vatsim login
  • Airport app: Airport information, runway data, local charts
  • Route overlay: FMS files as overlay on the moving map
  • Aircraft integration: Some aircraft (e.g., Zibo 737) have a 3D tablet model with AviTab integration; panel integration for X-Plane 12 requires the aircraft to opt into the current integration mode
  • Standalone mode: Can also run as a standalone application outside of X-Plane

AviTab Browser (Companion Plugin)

The AviTab Browser plugin by rswilem adds a full web browser to AviTab. It uses the Chromium Embedded Framework built into X-Plane 12.

  • License: GPL-3.0
  • Features: Configurable homepage, hotkey websites, SimBrief flight plan download
  • Download: forums.x-plane.org

Value in Flight Simulation

AviTab solves the problem of needing to look up charts, checklists, or manuals during flight — especially in VR, where you would otherwise need to remove the headset to read external screens. Via custom maps, you can integrate your own tile servers (e.g., a local TileServer-GL). Aircraft integration provides a tablet built directly into the 3D cockpit for supported aircraft.

Installation

Download: github.com/TeamAvitab/avitab/releases or forums.x-plane.org

Extract the ZIP file and copy the Avitab/ folder it contains into Resources/plugins/. The Linux binary is at Avitab/lin_x64/Avitab.xpl.

All dependencies are statically linked — no additional system packages are required.

Placing PDF charts:

cp my_charts/*.pdf /path/to/X-Plane\ 12/Resources/plugins/Avitab/charts/

Subdirectories are supported and displayed as a folder structure in the plugin.

Configuring Custom Maps

Custom map sources are defined in the online-maps/mapconfig.json file in the plugin directory:

[
    {
        "name": "OpenTopoMap",
        "servers": ["a.tile.opentopomap.org", "b.tile.opentopomap.org"],
        "protocol": "https",
        "url": "{z}/{x}/{y}.png",
        "min_zoom_level": 1,
        "max_zoom_level": 17,
        "tile_width_px": 256,
        "tile_height_px": 256,
        "enabled": true
    }
]

Sources