Where is NAVBOX?

[stevelup]

Deleted... This is pointless.

Back to talking about Navbox? Something which has nothing to do with mobile operating systems!

[Rod1]

“The PocketFMS software suite works on Windows PCs, Windows CE/Mobile Devices such as many affordable car navigation devices and smartphones, Android phones and tablets, iPhones and iPads including the iPad Mini - all conveniently linked via the PocketFMS Cloud.”

http://www.pocketfms.com/

Now if you look at the posters above who have been saying that what PFMS has done is impossible…

I should state that if SkyDemon were compatible with my MGL I would consider it, but as it does not and PFMS does, one offers a complete solution and one does not. I have £3k+ and considerable install time invested in the HW, so this dictates the s/w. PFMS does an ok job with very very good mapping for all of Europe.

Rod1

[low&slow]

Sky Demon will run on an Oudie.

[dublinpilot]

Does PocketFMS cope with IFR flight routes in airways too?

Hi Johnm,

PocketFMS is designed as a VFR system. All airways are part of the database as blocks of airspace (indeed it was the first system to include airways as airspace in the UK) and are neatly joined up & merged as appropriate. However PocketFMS does not know airways as a routing. So you can't tell it to route you along L795 and expect it will make the appropriate turns along the airway.

It does however have all the airway intersections as part of its database, all across Europe (and far beyond). So it you can easily route from intersection to intersection (eg LIFFY GINIS LYNAS), though I don't think that's what you're looking for.

dp

[Ben]

Anyway, back to Navbox/IOS or whatever...

I don't think writing a fancy app is at all hard. What is really hard is getting hold of the databases. Everything "quality assured" is copyright and costs money, and you can easily price yourself out. AFAICT, Navbox is not paying anybody for data (they get it from the AIPs, and maybe other sources).

Peter
So why won't you join Peter M. and write the NavBox App.? Then I will buy a tablet, as it is at the moment I don't see a need for one as I don't want an iPad.
I still use an old Navbox, write my own flight plans and draw lines on the map.

Ben

[pb6797]

“The PocketFMS software suite works on Windows PCs, Windows CE/Mobile Devices such as many affordable car navigation devices and smartphones, Android phones and tablets, iPhones and iPads including the iPad Mini - all conveniently linked via the PocketFMS Cloud.”

http://www.pocketfms.com/

Now if you look at the posters above who have been saying that what PFMS has done is impossible…

Didn't say impossible Rod, just of dubious commercial viability.

PocketFMS is a tremendous achievement (and as you say does show up what can be achieved - particularly the 3D View that I have seen) but I am still somewhat scarred by several years of buying ever more powerful hardware to try and make it run reasonably and a very finicky User Interface (I tried running it on an Axim x50, fastest PDA you could buy - it went a bit wonky as the screen res was too high). Eventually I ended up with a Q1 Ultra which wasn't ideal in the cockpit. It's quite possible that hardware has now caught up with it, together with the rewrite they did a while back. If there are any more "latest Skydemon release has fallen over" type threads it may be necessary to review the situation again.

[Tim Dawson]

As far as I am aware, there has only ever been one SkyDemon release for iPad (2.4.3) which actually let down a substantial number of people, due to last-minute changes in iOS 6 between our beta tests and when it was released that stopped us detecting a change in the APIs provided.

Let's all calm down, shall we?

[mossie]

I was enjoying a nice chat about SD over a fantastic bacon, egg and sausage doorstep sandwich at Sleap this afternoon [recommend !]...

It was with an avid SD user..(not me.. 296, 430 or Aware are my tools - although I did use an android phone and the Fly is Fun app for recent nav around NZ...didn't get lost..)

In the end we settled on..

SD runs on Windows and IoS.. so if you want to use it get the specified platform and smile.or at least grit your teeth...

We got here by digging back in our computer past of how things were before PC's....let alone tablets or smartphones (or for that matter mobiles !).

Not much help to the thread - but I feel better.

[peterh337]

Didn't say impossible Rod, just of dubious commercial viability.

It's probably harder to develop for Android than for IOS but it's going to be easier to develop an Android app which delivers a rich functionality.

Let's take something really trivial. A moving map GPS app which saves your track log to a file. On an Ipad, there is no way to get that file out of the device, other than by emailing or some other mobile-internet-based function (often hardly practical when travelling), a transfer to a laptop/PC with Itunes, or jailbreaking. If the developer is generous and saves it in the app's Documents directory then it can be got at with Iexplorer.

In reality, the time it takes to write a piece of software depends mostly on

- how good a programmer you are
- how much previous expertise you are building on

A clever developer can write great apps for Symbian. Nobody is doing that now, of course, but that's for commercial reasons, not because it was a particular problem and despite Symbian wanting c. £18k for the developer kit which was outrageous.

What I find depressing are the vile comments from IOS fanbois. Totally uncalled for and I am suprised the mods here leave them in place.

[Peter Mundy]

The answer to the original question is we are stil here, alive and kicking and still developing. Olof Bakker who writes the code was out of the running with health problems for much longer than we expected but he is back at work, burning the midnight oil. I have no time frame for release of a new version but it is the works. We do not intend to replicate the work of others but rather to fill a slightly different market segment.

More in the fullness of time.

Happy New Year to all.

[Oxo147]

In reality, the time it takes to write a piece of software depends mostly on

- how good a programmer you are
- how much previous expertise you are building on

Well, that's only part of the story. You have missed out the most important thing

- complexity of the application.

This is self evident. Also it may be so large that it needs several programmers to work on it. This adds a massive overhead.

- quality of the software tools available

And not forgetting

- The hardware environment. As has been previously noted by others, developing for multiple platforms is a right nightmare. It's no surprise that existing products go for the cleanest platform.

[The Westmorland Flyer]

The answer to the original question is we are stil here, alive and kicking and still developing.

That's very good to hear Peter. In its day, Navbox Proplan was ground breaking stuff and I hope the new version will continue that tradition. I look forward to seeing the results!

[GrahamB]

The answer to the original question is we are stil here, alive and kicking and still developing.

That's very good to hear Peter. In its day, Navbox Proplan was ground breaking stuff and I hope the new version will continue that tradition. I look forward to seeing the results!

+1

[Rob P]

On an Ipad, there is no way to get that file out of the device, other than by emailing or some other mobile-internet-based function (often hardly practical when travelling), a transfer to a laptop/PC with Itunes, or jailbreaking.

Before I derail the thread can I just say to Peter M how pleased I am that Navbox, which assisted the Colt and I to cross Europe on many occasions, will re-emerge. Android please Peter!

Now to the other Peter's quote. What I hope will be a simple question for iPad SD users, can you not simply squirt information to and from a PC? Routes to and tracks from?

Rob P

[Rod1]

My employer gave me an Ipad 2 which was not tied down to just work apps. I investigated using it for flying but hit a significant number of road blocks and came to the conclusion it was no use to me.

The first issue is that when touring I carry a number of other devices. The most important of these is my EFIS which gets its plog and map updates by SD card. My camera, SD card, my phone, my mobile internet and some other bits of kit – USB. The IPad would have sat in splendid isolation, being completely incompatible and unable to talk to any of the stuff.

I then took a friends “fully loaded” Ipad for a flight. This showed up two more issues. Firstly, the screen was unreadable under the canopy in bright sunlight and secondly, it was too big to fit properly.

I have gone back to using an old netbook which works with all the other bits and spits a nav or map file straight out of PFMS, straight to an SD card and then into the EFIS.

I know others (Ian ) use the Ipad, but you must need an Iaircraft and an Ilife to go with it!

Rod1