Free flight computer software for iPad/iPhone

Thanks for all the comments about the PNA version. Recently we have updated the aviation database for PNA and also the iPAQ for 2013. It includes combination of most recently available airspace files either from soaringweb..org, or from files that people responsible for maintaining airspace in given countries sent us.
The file for Europe is at: http://www.winpilot.com/AVDB/WP_Europe_Install_1301.exe
We also have an unpacked version of this file that can be copied directly into a PNA device at: http://www.winpilot.com/AVDB/Europe_1301.wa1 . People who see any errors or omissions should contact us with suggested corrections.

Regarding the discussion about which mobile hardware platform will win in the long term, of course nobody has a crystal ball to tell for sure what will happen, therefore, people must make their own assumptions. At this very moment the sales volume leaders in this market are Samsung and Apple, and they do not support the PNA platform. Everybody can see the future in a slightly different way, usually nobody gets it quite right, and the way we see it is that in a not too long of a time the in-the-pilot-bag instrument market will be dominated by two platforms: Android and iOS.
We understand that there are several companies developing flight software for Android already. Unfortunately, on the inside, Android is a very different from iOS, therefore, from the software developer point of view, maintaining one code base for both platforms seems like a difficult task. Given that we choose to support the iOS, mostly due to its superiority of the user experience (which is also very subjective), and quality and visibility in sunlight of its screens (especially the beautiful retina display). It was a risky decision because the Android market has a lot of traction as well, given that their devices are usually cheaper. It looks like the manufacturers of flight computers for power planes are jumping on the Android/iOS band wagon as well, as seemingly every week there is a new product coming out. It looks like introduction of the mini iPad was the turning point there.

Having said that, we understand that there are still several of you running WinPilot either on the iPAQ, or on one of the several PNA platforms. Some time ago we have published both ADV and PRO versions of WP for PNA version is 12, these are available at: http://www.winpilot.com/New_Download.aspx..
We are planning to release an updated version of the PNA version, it probably will not support every PNA device in existence, but we will focus on the most popular ones.
If you are considering buying a PNA device to run WinPilot, please send us an email which device are you considering. If you are running WP on PNA now, and are experiencing any issues, please email us the type of device, and what issue do you have. Please do not use this particular thread for this subject, as this thread is dedicated to the subject of testing the iOS version of WinPilot.

Regarding the iOS testing, thank you to all who replied, we still have a couple of spots left, so people interested in checking it out are welcome to send us a note. Unfortunately, the number of iOS testing devices we can have is limited, and the limit is set by Apple, so we cannot accommodate everybody. To be included, please send us the uuid number of your iPad/iPhone, and the country/state you are in.

Thank you for reading,
Winpilot team

I dont think there is anything wrong with going IOS at all, there is zero risk of iPhone use dropping over the next 10 years, if anything it's increasing.

I would love to use my iPhone for navigation, (aside from the possibility of calls and text messages). I have been using LK8000 lately and it's fantastic, but of course no iPhone version so I am forced to use my clunky PNA which I can barely see in sunlight.

My iphone is so much smaller and brighter, it would be a joy to use... and it's always in my pocket so snapping it into a mount on my glider would just be as simple as it gets. So in my opinion you have a hole to fill if you want to continue to try to fill it.

When will this new free version be available? Apple usually takes 1-2 weeks to approve an app from the time you submit the new version.

Is this the same WinPilot that is currently on the App Store for $50 per eastern or western US?

It's exciting to see the soaring manufacturers begin to write their software for iOS and Android. I think economically it will be better for all. Better software and likely more income for the development teams. It's a much bigger deal to buy hardware and software then just download an app. I would also suggest trial versions!

Thanks,

Sean

On Friday, May 24, 2013 9:53:16 AM UTC-7, Sean F (F2) wrote:
When will this new free version be available? Apple usually takes 1-2 weeks to approve an app from the time you submit the new version. Is this the same WinPilot that is currently on the App Store for $50 per eastern or western US? It's exciting to see the soaring manufacturers begin to write their software for iOS and Android. I think economically it will be better for all. Better software and likely more income for the development teams. It's a much bigger deal to buy hardware and software then just download an app. I would also suggest trial versions! Thanks, Sean

I think you will find that free is a very good price and so is $50.

What you may not understand is:

No support!
No support on connecting to devices!
Deaf ears when you want new features!

Richard

Hi Sean,

Thanks for your interest in the iOS version of WP.

The version that this thread was started about, and which people have been testing over the past couple of weeks, is different from the one currently in the App Store - it will be numbered 1.56.
At this point the testing has been successfully finished, and a couple of days ago the app has been submitted to Apple for review. Providing there are no surprises with the approval (which is always a real possibility with the Apple review team) it should be available in a few days - a free update for the existing users.

Thanks again to all who participated in testing and have submitted countless suggestions for new features, many of which have already been implemented, and more to come soon.

Given the recent progress with wireless transmitters of NMEA data suitable for in the cockpit use, we are also starting work on connecting to other devices, hopefully we will have an interesting announcement about it soon.

For those interested in the iOS version, the user's manual is at:
http://www.winpilot.com/ios/Manual_WinPilot_for_iOS.pdf

Even though the work on the current version has been completed, we definitely encourage people who have ANY (good or bad) ideas about new and useful features to send them in, unfortunately we cannot promise to implement each and every one of the ideas, but the ggod news is that at this point we are quite far away from reaching the full computational potential of the mini iPad or iPhone 5, so it is quite exciting to see all what's still possible.

BTW. On the subject of the PNA, as we had mentioned in our previous note, we were working on producing a version of WInPilot that supports one of the current PNAs, and now we have a PNA version for Avier on our web site, with a working TASK competition editor page. This version works on Avier and similar devices only - for example like the one sold by wingsandwheels.com, where we got our device from. The Oudie devices seem to be slightly different, and at this time are not supported, but if there is enough demand from the potential users, we can definitely consider producing a version for that device as well.

have a good day,
winpilot team

�убота, 20. април 2013. 18.21.37 UTC+2, WinPilot је напи�ао/ла:
Hi all, Before we submit the new version of WinPilot for iOS to the AppStore, we would like to find the last few remaining bugs, and give the new features the final tweak.



In exchange for trying the software and providing us with your feedback, the software will be yours to keep for free.



Here is the list of features that are new in this version:



- Final Glide calculation around all task waypoints

- Custom Polar import

- Ability to import Turnpoints, Airspace Files, Polars, IGC logs directly from an email message into your flight computer (no iTunes necessary)

-In addidion to vector maps, now we also have ability to use tiled satellite and terrain (relief) maps. In fact, it is possible to have both the satellite map and relief map loaded at the same time, and switch between them with a touch of a button.

-Added support for AAT turnpoint zones, as well as DAEC sectors and start and finish lines, in addition to 90 FAI and cylinder zones.

- Added IGC log viewer superimposed on a Satellite/Terrain map that opens directly from an email message





If you would like to give try it on your iPad / iPhone, you will need to send us the identifier of your device, and we will reply with a link to the software and a User’s Manual. Here is how to get the 40 digit uuid:

1. Launch iTunes.

2. Connect your iOS device to your computer.

3. Select the device in the Devices list.

4. In the Summary pane, click the Serial Number label. It changes 
to uuid Identifier.

5. Choose Edit Copy.

6. Email your device identifier to



Thank you,

Winpilot team

USB\VID_05AC&PID_12AB\0C0A63FDAFE3A97BF9E922C2A56E 5FAE82FB1186

�убота, 20. април 2013. 18.21.37 UTC+2, WinPilot је напи�ао/ла:
Hi all, Before we submit the new version of WinPilot for iOS to the AppStore, we would like to find the last few remaining bugs, and give the new features the final tweak.



In exchange for trying the software and providing us with your feedback, the software will be yours to keep for free.



Here is the list of features that are new in this version:



- Final Glide calculation around all task waypoints

- Custom Polar import

- Ability to import Turnpoints, Airspace Files, Polars, IGC logs directly from an email message into your flight computer (no iTunes necessary)

-In addidion to vector maps, now we also have ability to use tiled satellite and terrain (relief) maps. In fact, it is possible to have both the satellite map and relief map loaded at the same time, and switch between them with a touch of a button.

-Added support for AAT turnpoint zones, as well as DAEC sectors and start and finish lines, in addition to 90 FAI and cylinder zones.

- Added IGC log viewer superimposed on a Satellite/Terrain map that opens directly from an email message





If you would like to give try it on your iPad / iPhone, you will need to send us the identifier of your device, and we will reply with a link to the software and a User’s Manual. Here is how to get the 40 digit uuid:

1. Launch iTunes.

2. Connect your iOS device to your computer.

3. Select the device in the Devices list.

4. In the Summary pane, click the Serial Number label. It changes 
to uuid Identifier.

5. Choose Edit Copy.

6. Email your device identifier to



Thank you,

Winpilot team

USB\VID_05AC&PID_12AB\0C0A63FDAFE3A97BF9E922C2A56E 5FAE82FB1186

Please support the Oudie.

Some day I may buy an Oudie, but for now, my $100 Streak and FREE software
kinda beats the snot out of it.


wrote in message
...
Please support the Oudie.

On Sun, 08 Dec 2013 11:52:24 -0700, Dan Marotta wrote:

Some day I may buy an Oudie, but for now, my $100 Streak and FREE
software kinda beats the snot out of it.

IIRC the Oudie runs under Windows Mobile 6: the Vertica V2 and
GliderGuider certainly do, as does the Mio S3747, which uses a
transreflective display.

Since M$ has discontinued all support for WM 5 and 6, almost every PNA
using it has vanished from the market as the last units in the last
production batch been sold. AFAICT there are none available in the UK
except on eBay and similar sites. They are still advertised in some
places, but these ads are all marked 'out of stock' with no indication of
when new stock might appear. Some sites let you ask to be notified if/
when it does.

The Binatone series of satnavs are no longer even mentioned on the
Binatone website. I suspect the same applies to other makes as well. IOW,
any WM 5/6 device and the software that runs on it is now in the zombie
zone.

As nobody has announced ot released anything that uses the Win 7 or 8
equivalents of WM6, I guess that M$ either don't support satnavs or have
priced their software too high for this market. I haven't so far heard of
or seen any Android based replacements, so it could be that we've seen
the end of commodity PNAs and will be expected to run our navigation
systems on Android-based smartphones or tablets.

Consequently, sooner or later XCSoar, LK8000, Oudie and equivalents will
no longer be supported on devices running WM 6. XCSoar already runs under
Android and I hear that an Android version of LK8000 will be out next
year. SYM? I don't know what they're doing. Can anybody enlighten us?


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |