W&B and search patterns - iFly Wish-List - iFly EFB

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9/8/2019 3:14 PM
 

I see that you've added some military customers.  I fly with the Coast Guard Auxiliary (CGAux) where we use our private aircraft in government service.  Although I've been with iFly way back to the round button days, I downloaded a copy of FlightPlan Go to my iPad to supplement my iFly to meet two CGAux requirements. These are:

1) Weight and Balance with the ability to email a copy of the completed W&B sheet.

2) Search patterns.

These might be good additions if you are interested in the military market.  You could have these downloaded as a supplement if you didn't want to include them in the standard product.

Fly safe,
Tony Dmond
1975 Grumman Tiger

 

 
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9/9/2019 9:24 AM
 

Tony, thanks for the info.  Search patterns is high on our list.  Question about W&B: We've discussed many times, but it keeps missing our feature plan - primarialy because it's not navigation related.  Also there tons of free W&B apps that look pretty good (googled up a few here...

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ifly-we...nce/id495597804
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/eflite-...nce/id877900602
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/aviatio...tor/id484865920
https://play.google.com/store/apps/de...wb&hl=en_US
https://play.google.com/store/apps/de...ge&hl=en_US

Perhaps I'm missing something obvious, is there a reason you feel the W&B function should be part of the navigation tool? 

Thanks!
Walter

 
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9/9/2019 11:28 AM
 

Having W&B in the product is not a big deal to me either way but I'll stick my nose in here because I feel that you're wrong in saying that iFly is just a "navigation tool".  It's EFB (Electronic Flight Bag) software.  It is a "flight tool", not just a "navigation tool".  For instance, online filing of flight plans has nothing to do with navigation.  It has to do with flight planning.  As does weather.  And briefings.  Doing Weight & Balance is just another flight planning task.

You are right in saying there are other apps that do this. A somewhat-similar flight task that has been requested to be included in iFly is checklists.  There are apps that do that too.  I can see both sides on this isse.  On one hand is iFly trying to avoid feature-bloat, and adding stuff that would not be best-in-class compared to other apps that do that one feature well.  On the other hand is the desire of users to not have to have more apps than necessary.

I personally think that W&B is probably a good idea, would not be that hard to implement, and would give additional (optional) data to Brian for calculating a Glide "Ring" (sorry, that reminder just snuck in there).


Powrachute PC 2000; Aventura II; Cherokee 180
 
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9/9/2019 12:08 PM
 

...how could I forget to bring up Real Plan in my examples of flight planning features in iFly?? "Plan" is right in the name!

I should've also added that I personally think checklists belong in iFly too, and would round in out as a flight planning (+ navigation) tool.  I know you have to draw a line around the product to define what it is (and what it's going to be) versus what it's never going to be, but I think you're drawing that line a little too close in.  I think it's an integrated set of tools that a pilot can use to plan and execute a flight.  Not just the "execute" part.

If the thinking at iFly is that some additional features would require too much effort to create/maintain, or would be beyond what the average user might want, then you ought to consider having an "iFly Pro" version with added features for added price.  Just a (maybe unpopular) thought.


Powrachute PC 2000; Aventura II; Cherokee 180
 
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9/9/2019 12:54 PM
 

I will ditto the comment that the pilot world talks about apps like iFly as "Electronic Flight Bags".  There are a lot of tools in my flight bag that are not directly nav-related.  I don't think pilots have an intuitive expectation that iFly is a "nav-only" tool, and I think AP does itself a disservice if it thinks that way.

 
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