iGlide

If you are an Air Avionics iGlide user, please share your evaluation.
Also interested in knowing if you are happy with the sunlight
readability of your iPhone. Is iPhone 6 brighter than iPhone 5?

I like it a lot! The terrain map is the best I've seen (as judged from the depiction of the ridges around Mifflin). Ease of use (moving turn points, menus) is very good, and customization is also very good (you can change practically everything using xml files). I don't know about an iPhone 5, but an iPhone 6 is much brighter than an iPhone 4. I highly recommend iGlide.

-John, Q3

On Tuesday, February 3, 2015 at 2:15:06 PM UTC-5, ben wrote:
If you are an Air Avionics iGlide user, please share your evaluation.
Also interested in knowing if you are happy with the sunlight
readability of your iPhone. Is iPhone 6 brighter than iPhone 5?

On Tuesday, February 3, 2015 at 2:15:06 PM UTC-5, ben wrote:
If you are an Air Avionics iGlide user, please share your evaluation.
Also interested in knowing if you are happy with the sunlight
readability of your iPhone. Is iPhone 6 brighter than iPhone 5?

Your experience is with iGlide Pro? What instrument generates your NMEA data and how do get it to the iPhone? Are you dependent on Air Avionics for maps, airspace, and contest turnpoint lists?

Yes, I use iGlide Pro. My Butterfly Vario sends me the NMEA data via WiFi, along with real-time wind data. Other iGlide users at my club get the NMEA data from the iPhone itself. I use the Air Avionics maps, but my airspace and contest turnpoints come from World Wide Turnpoint Exchange (iGlide uses OpenAir txt files for airspace, and cup or dat files for turn points).

-John, Q3


On Tuesday, February 3, 2015 at 3:38:20 PM UTC-5, ben wrote:
Your experience is with iGlide Pro? What instrument generates your NMEA data and how do get it to the iPhone? Are you dependent on Air Avionics for maps, airspace, and contest turnpoint lists?

Use it, love it. Have used it now for almost 2 years (Pro). When I first used it, I was surprised that it did not offer statute miles (US contests)! I asked fr them to add that and they put out an update within a week that solved the problem. As I don't have the butterfly vario, I have not experience the totally integrated system. I imagine the Bluetooth connect works well. The IGlide UI is far more intuitive than Oudie or XCSoar. Apple is very strong and the app uses the basic OS standards. Pinch to zoom, etc. The sunlight readability of an iPhone is not great but a simple change of angle in my hand and the problem is quickly solved. Direct sunlight on a fixed mount...your either going to have to move your head or take it off the mount to see it. I use it exclusively for cross country around home and when not flying a task. In contests I use it as a backup (along with Oudie).. I have always found it much easier to work out various possible combinations of turnpoints in a MAT. The TAT functions in Pro are very good and easy to use. Changing the target in the turn area and recalculating the finish time is fairly easy and reasonably accurate. The price is high and XC soar is very, very good. Apples to apples I would probably say take XC soar for free. But it really comes down to iPhone/Android. If your an Apple person and have 200? bucks laying around, it is an excellent, well supported app. If your not doing contests, or don't have $200 handy, skip Pro and buy the less expensive version. You can always upgrade later in seconds.

I don't like Oudie's but the work and Integrate nicely with my trustee SN10.. IGlide is much more fun to play with, view terrain, etc.

On Tuesday, February 3, 2015 at 11:15:06 AM UTC-8, ben wrote:
If you are an Air Avionics iGlide user, please share your evaluation.
Also interested in knowing if you are happy with the sunlight
readability of your iPhone. Is iPhone 6 brighter than iPhone 5?

I like it (pro version). The authoritative tests on the iPhone 5 vs. 6 indicate that the 6 might be very slightly brighter. But the 6 and particularly the 6 plus have a larger (and much larger) display, which contributes to readability.

On Tuesday, February 3, 2015 at 2:15:06 PM UTC-5, ben wrote:
If you are an Air Avionics iGlide user, please share your evaluation.
Also interested in knowing if you are happy with the sunlight
readability of your iPhone. Is iPhone 6 brighter than iPhone 5?

Does anyone have experience with both iGlide and WinPilot for iPhone? Please compare.

On Thursday, February 5, 2015 at 5:24:46 AM UTC-8, ben wrote:
On Tuesday, February 3, 2015 at 2:15:06 PM UTC-5, ben wrote:
If you are an Air Avionics iGlide user, please share your evaluation.
Also interested in knowing if you are happy with the sunlight
readability of your iPhone. Is iPhone 6 brighter than iPhone 5?

Does anyone have experience with both iGlide and WinPilot for iPhone? Please compare.

I have both at current release level, and have used both since they were first offered. Both have a much more advanced user interface than the other offerings available (I also have and have run Winpilot PDA, SYM, XCSoar, LK8000, SN10, GlideNav and some of their predecessors). Both will do stand-alone GPS or external GPS/barometrics (though they must be connected through WiFi). Here is my take:

WinPilot iOS:

Pro:

* Less expensive
* Better choice of graphics/fonts for small screen, improves legibility
* More flexible task editing
* Choice of map overlays/styles
* Integrated airport database similar to Winpilot PDA

Cons:
* Buggier, support often slow responding
* More complicated task editing
* Less configurability/accessibility to "nav box" information

iGlide:

Pro:
* Very slick and fluid full iOS user interface - easily a decade ahead of SYM, XCSoar, etc.
* Very good integration with the Butterfly Vario
* One touch task editing
* Very configurable presentation and style via XML style template
* Beautiful terrain maps
* When used with Butterfly vario, instantaneous wind driven thermal assistant is surprisingly good
* Good support and relatively bug free
* Instant access (finger swipe) to endless fully configurable nav box information

Con:
* More expensive, particularly pro version
* No free try-before-buy version
* Some fonts/graphics too small for small screen and middle aged eyes
* No barometric based thermal assistant
* Some US tasking features not implemented


That is what springs to mind in 10 minutes thought. I will continue to try to use both, a new version of Winpilot was just released (and seems nicely updated) and there is an update to iGlide coming this spring I am told. I would recommend an iPhone 6, and preferably 6 Plus for their larger screens. I have used these on a 5s the last two seasons and you either need young eyes, or bifocals and mount the iPhone closer to you than you would need to with say an Oudie class PDA. I will be getting a 6 Plus for the upcoming season, it has as big a screen as anything out there. The brightness of these is in the 550 nit range, vs. 800 or a bit more for the OudieII/Avier. However the screen resolution is maybe 5 times better which helps. You may want to consider one of the many anti-reflective screen overlays, as reflections are the worst problem. All of the iPads are down below 400 nits, and wash out pretty badly in the sun.

The phone will only run maybe 3 hours on its internal battery, so you need to supply ships power to it. The current draw for an iphone 5s isn't too bad, about 400 ma at full brightness. Another thing to consider is that all iPhones have thermal protection, in the bright sun on a hot day on the ramp at Truckee (80 - 90 deg F) and no air circulation I have had them shut down.. At 18000 ft and 20 deg F ambient it isn't a problem. You need to mount them where they can receive some air circulation and/or are shaded from direct sun.

Do you have any specific questions?

What US tasking procedures aren't supported by iGlide? I'm considering buying one or the other as XCSoar is ending their windows CE support.

1 or Zero turn MAT tasking is not supported, that is for sure.