How to Set & Use Flight Ops Messaging Module

The following guide explains how to use Flight Messaging, including enabling the module, sending and receiving messages, managing users and aircraft.

There are 3 main stages to setting up Flight Ops messaging successfully. All of these are covered in the following article.

This support page will now walk you through setting this up. Choose a Section to Skip to:

• Flight Ops Overview

• How To Activate Flight Ops Module, Quick Messaging & Aircraft (1)

• Managing Aircraft Messaging Setup (2)

• Managing Members and Flight Ops access (3)

• Viewing Threads in Spidertxt (Web)

• Viewing Threads in Spidertxt (Mobile)

• Message Delivery and Coverage

• Notification Muting

• Troubleshooting & FAQs

 

Flight Ops Overview

Flight Ops Messaging enables aircraft-based communication between flight crew and operations teams within Fleet Manager. Each aircraft has a dedicated messaging channel that persists with the aircraft, keeping communication centralised, structured, and auditable.

Messaging is available across web and mobile apps and supports real-time communication during and between flights

Flight Ops Messaging creates one persistent conversation per aircraft, so flight crew and ground teams can coordinate around a mission in a single, shared thread. 

Why it matters
 

• Keeps communication centered on the aircraft/mission, not individual DMs.

• Reduces “whole-team chat spam” while keeping the right people in the loop.

• Maintains a clear operational record for handoffs and post-flight review.
   

How It Works

The Flight Ops panel is found on the right side of your screen. It can be opened via the Spidertxt thread or clicking the Spidertxt icon in the flight panel. 

This expanded panel enables you to:

1	Monitor key system events - Monitor key system events in real time, including flight start and end. The panel also shows who is currently paired with the Spider, such as the pilot or a crew member. You can open the Flight Ops Panel from the Spidertxt messaging page or by clicking the Spidertxt icon.
2	Easily see communications history for this aircraft.
3	Send Messages. Please note; messaging works during and between flights.
4	Send Quick Messages.
5	Expand or collapse the panels to maximise your screen space when needed.
6	Ops Assist - coming soon!
7	Mute conversations to prevent browser chime when not assigned to Watch a flight.

How To Activate Flight Ops Module, Quick Messaging & Aircraft Setup

This page is where most of your setup will take place, starting with how to:

• Activate / Deactivate Flight Ops

• Quick Message Set up

• Aircraft Messaging Setup

Activate / Deactivate Flight Ops

It is important to note that only organisation owners can activate or deactivate this module.

1. Select Admin.

2. Select Organisation.

3. Select Modules.

4. Select Flight Ops.

5. Select Activate / Deactivate.

Quick Message Set Up Overview

• Quick Messages allow Crew and Ops teams to send predefined operational responses with one tap. 

• Admins can configure up to 8 messages per role, each up to 32 characters. 

• Crew and Ops message sets are mutually exclusive.

• Crew remains associated until next flight.
   

Set up to 8 Quick Reply messages that will be available to your ops team and aircraft crew.

1. Click Add Message.

2. Create Message.

3. Click Add Message. 

This will then appear under either Crew or Operations depending on which was selected.

Aircraft Messaging Setup

To do this:

1. Click on Aircraft you wish to enable. 

2. Update the Audience.

3. Update Status.

4. Click Update. 

Once activated, your aircraft will display as below:

A	Aircraft	Can be searched or sorted alphabetically.
B	Contributors	Contributor roles are configured in the user setup section. These roles determine who can send and receive flight messaging communications for this aircraft. In this section it shows who can send and receive messages in aircraft threads. Shows who will receive notifications.
C	Viewers	Shows who has Read-only Access to messages.
D	Status	Shows whether the aircraft has been activated for Flight Ops.

You must enable the aircraft to be part of Flight Operations Messaging. If your aircraft is not set up, you will see this message:

 

Managing Aircraft Messaging Setup

Contributor and viewer roles are configured in the user setup section. 

These roles determine who can send and receive and view flight messaging communications for this aircraft.

Please Note: Only Contributor access is setup here. Viewer access is managed on the module page, with the only option being "None" or "those with visibility"

 

Status	Role	Ability
Contributors	(Ops / Dispatch / Flight Followers)	Can send and receive messages in aircraft threads. Receive notifications.
Viewers (Optional)	Support Staff / Managers	Read-only Access. No Notifications. Great for managers or support staff who need context without noise.

 

Managing Members Flight Ops access.
 

1. Click the Member's name or the magnifying glass icon to search for them.

2. Select their name to manage Access to Flight Ops access.

3. Enable Flight Operations 'Contributor'. This roles determine who can send and receive flight messaging communications for a particular aircraft.

 

4. Click Save.

Viewing Threads in Spidertxt (Web)

1. Aircraft threads appear alongside your normal messages.

2. And can be filtered under Flights.

3. Clicking the dropdown will show you the group. 

4. You will also be able to check what roles each user holds.

5. Mute Conversations sounds. 

6. Quick Message, Quick Messages allow Crew and Ops teams to send predefined operational responses.

Crew	Paired with Spider.
Viewer	Able to view Flight chat and events.
Contributor	Able to engage through messaging with crew.

Viewing Spider Pairing Status

In the Flight panel, expand the section to view the Spider pairing status. Hover over the Spidertxt icon to see who the Spider is currently paired with.

• No active pairing - The icon appears greyed out and displays the message: “Spider not paired.”

• Paired with a user - The icon appears blue and shows the name of the paired user.

Viewing Threads in Spidertxt (Mobile) 

A dedicated Flight Ops thread appears at the top of the list when the module is enabled.

1. Paired, messaging active.

2. Not paired yet (tap to pair).

3. If you are a contributor or viewer to other conversations, they will show up like a normal group thread, but with the aircraft icon and name (same as web Spidertxt page).

More information on using Spidertxt can be found here.

 

Message Delivery and Coverage

Conversation works through most flight phases (latency will vary depending on network). Messages route automatically via the best available network:

1. The banner at the top will alert the person connecting as to whether they are using:

• Mobile Wi-Fi / cellular data

• Spider X cellular with Iridium satellite fallback
   

   2. A banner will alert crew to whether the Spider messaging connection is still being established.

• Or if the Spider X has dropped offline (but messaging may still work using the Mobile data).

Notification Muting

Notification Muting lets you silence Flight Ops (aircraft) conversations while keeping messages accessible. Muting
applies only to Flights, not Groups or Direct Messages. System messages are also muted when a conversation is muted.
 

A muted conversations in Spidertxt conversations view.

Muted Conversation flag on Flying Page.

Muting Conversations Flight Ops Panel.

Troubleshooting & FAQs

Spidertxt is not enabled	Please refer to this article on How to Enable the Spidertxt module.
Flight Ops is enabled, the aircraft is active but I am not able to message	If the Spider is powered up during the setup phase, Flight Ops will only become active on the next power cycle.
How many users can pair with a Spider?	Currently, this is limited to 1 person.
I am an Admin in the account, why can't I see the Module to activate it?	It is important to note that only organisation owners can activate or deactivate this module.
Crew is not appearing	Confirm Crew is paired to Spider X in that aircraft. Confirm they’re correctly set up in your org.
Thread not visible	Check the module is enabled. Verify Contributor permissions and aircraft visibility.
Messages delayed	Likely routed via satellite. Check current network state (Wi-Fi / cell / satellite).

If you require further assistance, please reach out to us at [e-mail].