schrieb:
Are topo / terrain files for hand held flight computers universal, or
software specific? I am getting to know XCSOAR, and it appears to suit
my needs. Unfortunately I don't know where to get topo files for the
areas I expect to fly.


If you are a professional, you can get high resolution AGL Data from
http://srtm.csi.cgiar.org/SELECTION/inputCoord.asp and tranform them
into your needed format.

I tried it for GPS_Log with a program called "DEMtoMAP.exe". It is also
possible to create topographic maps with this data. It was rather
complicated, because in order to merge the data, it must me translated
into the right format with DEMtoMAP first. But for other Programms you
need other data manipulation software.

Andreas