Installation

This page describes how to install and set up AeroTrack, a post-flight analysis toolkit for processing aircraft trajectory data.

System Requirements

  • Python 3.10 or later

  • Operating System: Windows, macOS, or Linux

  • Internet access (required for first-time OpenAP use)

  • Optional: tkinter for GUI file dialog (usually pre-installed)

Python Dependencies

AeroTrack depends on the following Python packages:

  • openap

  • pandas

  • numpy

  • matplotlib

  • scipy

  • tkinter (for GUI input)

  • datetime, os, json, logging, time (standard library)

It is recommended to install all dependencies via a requirements.txt file.

Installation Steps

  1. Clone the Repository

If AeroTrack is hosted in a Git repository:

git clone https://github.com/YourUsername/AeroTrack.git
cd AeroTrack

  1. Create a Virtual Environment

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate   # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

  1. Install Dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

If you do not have a requirements.txt, you can install dependencies manually:

pip install openap pandas numpy matplotlib scipy

  1. Install Tkinter (If Missing)

Tkinter is required for the GUI file selection prompt:

  • Windows/macOS: usually included with Python.

  • Linux (Debian/Ubuntu):

sudo apt-get install python3-tk

Running AeroTrack

Once installed, run the main entry point:

python AeroTrack_MAIN.py

You will be prompted to select a project_config.json file using a file dialog.

Project Configuration File

The configuration file must contain the following keys:

{
  "input_folder": "path/to/csv_inputs",
  "output_folder": "path/to/save_outputs",
  "master_flight_list_folder": "path/to/masterlist",
  "project_name": "MyProject"
}

Folder Structure

The AeroTrack runtime expects the following folder structure:

project_root/
├── input_folder/                  # Contains raw flight .csv files
├── output_folder/                 # Destination for processed files
├── master_flight_list_folder/     # Contains master .csv with aircraft details
├── project_config.json            # Configuration file (selected at runtime)
├── AeroTrack_MAIN.py
├── AeroTrack_Modules.py

After selecting the config file, AeroTrack will automatically:

  • Process all .csv flight logs in the input folder

  • Annotate files with drag, fuel, and flight phase data

  • Save enhanced .csv files to the output folder

  • Optionally generate visualizations (if enabled)

Next Step

Once installation is complete, proceed to the Usage section to learn how to run AeroTrack and interpret outputs.