Guides

AO Quickstart: First 15 Minutes

Get from zero to a practical AO workflow in 15 minutes using search, selection, flight info, and range tools.

Published

  • quickstart
  • onboarding
  • search
  • flight-info
  • range-tool

This guide helps you get useful results quickly without touching advanced settings first.

In about 15 minutes, you will learn how to:

  • read the main AO layout
  • search and select a live aircraft
  • inspect core flight fields
  • measure distance with the range tool
  • react to page suggestions by altitude context

Before you start

  • Open AO in desktop browser at https://anobservatory.com.
  • Use the default light theme for this walkthrough.
  • Keep data source on ADS-B Exchange for consistency.

Step 1. Understand the main layout

Use this as your orientation point before interacting with traffic.

AO map overview

Focus on three areas:

  1. map canvas (center)
  2. toolbox and side panels (left/right)
  3. context menus and status overlays

Step 2. Search for an aircraft

Open the search panel, switch to Aircraft mode, and enter a callsign or identifier.

Search aircraft in side panel

Then click one result to center and select that aircraft.

Selected aircraft after search

Step 3. Read flight info fields

With one aircraft selected, open the flight info section and read these first:

  • callsign
  • altitude trend
  • groundspeed
  • heading / track

Flight info panel fields

Tip: do not interpret a single value in isolation. Watch short trend changes for better context.

Step 4. Use the range tool

Enable Range Calculator and place points to measure practical distances.

Range tool in action

Use this for quick sanity checks such as relative spacing and rough travel distance.

Step 5. Follow page suggestion logic

If a selected aircraft altitude fits another control context, AO can suggest page switching.

Page suggestion banner

Use this as an operational hint, not a hard rule. Keep your current page when your immediate task requires it.

Optional tuning: target preference

After the basic flow is comfortable, tune target behavior.

Target preference settings 1

Target preference settings 2

Recommended starting point:

  • keep smoothing moderate
  • avoid aggressive filter changes initially
  • change one option at a time and re-check behavior

Optional view aid: gridlines

Gridlines can help with quick visual positioning depending on your task.

Gridlines ON

Gridlines on

Gridlines OFF

Gridlines off

Common mistakes

  • Using too many toggles before learning base behavior
  • Judging traffic state from one snapshot instead of short trends
  • Forgetting to confirm selected target before measuring range

Next step

After this quickstart:

  1. check the latest product changes in Updates
  2. read deeper analysis examples in Research
  3. repeat this guide with another target and compare your workflow speed