flight sotware for iphone?

What is it about the SYM UI that you don't like?

I can say that what I do like is the flexible screen configurability and the efficient way you can perform common actions such as task setting, task changing, checking the details of waypoints or airspace and zooming.

I run an Oudie IGC alongside my LX9000 and consider it the gold standard in portable glide computing.

In both cases I know the software very well. I completely agree that the critical factor in flight software is familiarity.

On Monday, July 4, 2016 at 11:07:41 AM UTC-7, waremark wrote:
What is it about the SYM UI that you don't like?

I can say that what I do like is the flexible screen configurability and the efficient way you can perform common actions such as task setting, task changing, checking the details of waypoints or airspace and zooming.

I run an Oudie IGC alongside my LX9000 and consider it the gold standard in portable glide computing.

In both cases I know the software very well. I completely agree that the critical factor in flight software is familiarity.

UI is to some extent personal preference. Have you used iGlide Pro? The things you mention (task setting, task changing, checking details of waypoints or airspace, zooming) - are all *FAR* easier in iGlide.

I own and have used all of those I mentioned. My glider is set up to take either the iPhone with iGlide or Winpilot iOS, or the Avier with SYM, XCSoar, Winpilot, and a few others. I have flown many days with each. At the beginning of the day it is as easy for me to use one as another, just pick one. Until you use a better one, you may feel that what you have is great. It's going back to one that isn't as great, that the difference is really noted.. For the last two years, I have picked iGlide every time.

iGlide does not have a glide amoeba, it is a feature they have long promised but still not hear. I do not find the one on XCSoar very useful. With iGlide Pro you do get glide over terrain and a terrain profile (also not as useful as one might hope). I thought if you hit the home button it will stop, but will continue the log when you restart it, but I could be wrong.

I have a 1 yr old Oudie 2 for sale, if interested PM me. Also includes a case. Suction cup mount, original box and all accessories that came in the box as well.

Sean

No, I have not experienced the Pro version of iGlide. I do not see how those actions can be performed more easily than in SYM, can you explain the process of task setting for example on iGlide?

As well as personal preference on UI, other aspects which come into this are the type of tasks you fly and your level of willingness to learn and customise the software.

On Tuesday, July 5, 2016 at 6:09:30 PM UTC-7, waremark wrote:
No, I have not experienced the Pro version of iGlide. I do not see how those actions can be performed more easily than in SYM, can you explain the process of task setting for example on iGlide?

As well as personal preference on UI, other aspects which come into this are the type of tasks you fly and your level of willingness to learn and customise the software.

The best way to compare them is to own and use them both for awhile. I am probably in the top 1% of people willing to learn and customize the software. If you have to spend a lot of time learning and customizing, the UI isn't that great, is it?

I am now the proud owner of an iPad mini 4, and now I need to get a GPS receiver so I can use IGlide. It looks like there are two options. Sky pro xgps160 (uses blue tooth), or bad elf gps for lightning connector. Does anyone have any experience with these?

On Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at 10:21:54 PM UTC-4, wrote:
I am now the proud owner of an iPad mini 4, and now I need to get a GPS receiver so I can use IGlide. It looks like there are two options. Sky pro xgps160 (uses blue tooth), or bad elf gps for lightning connector. Does anyone have any experience with these?

I have the Garmin GLO and it works very well. 12 hour battery life, you can pair more than one device to it and it also receives GLONASS. Connection is wireless, so you can position the GLO where it can see the sky all the time and put the phone where you want.

I've also found that the iPhone 6 GPS works pretty darn well (east coast, U..S. flying)- within a couple hundred feet at worst, usually much better. Using just the iPhone I have lost the GPS signal from time to time -pretty infrequently, and it always reacquires after a few seconds.

In fact, the phone GPS works so well, I would only use the external GPS for flights I wanted to log accurately or lengthy XC flights that you want a stable GPS signal for. The advantage of the external GPS is, of course, you have two receivers instead of one. I'll point out that the glider I'm flying also had a 302 in it as a completely separate backup. The GLO has no screen on it, so you couldn't rely on it to give you heading info if you iPhone quit for some reason (say, it overheats because of sunlight and shuts down for awhile to cool off). If the Bad Elf has a way to guide you to a waypoint and you have no backup GPS device, that would swing the balance for me to the Bad Elf.

And +1 for iGlide. EASY to use and plenty of features. Once you swallow the Pro purchase price, you don't need to look back and each time you upgrade your phone, you get new hardware without needing to include new software cost in it. I've had no problems reading the screen in flight and use a suction cup mount from a GoPro with a phone holder for it.

I have added an external battery pack for the iPhone. I keep it in the side pocket and if the phone gets below 50%, I plug it in and it recharges the phone. Pretty simple. I've had no failures with the iPhone but that's the kind of thinking that lulls you into believing you'll *never* have a failure. I believe in planning accordingly, so always have backup systems (separate GPS and paper map) with me.

I ended up spending the extra bucks for the iPad cellular, which includes a GPS chip. Yesterday and today were the first flight tests for IGlide on the iPad mini 4. And wow is it fantastic!

Task planning, including in flight decisions about how deep to fly into a cylinder, is a breeze. You just touch the way point, move it, and IGlide instantly recalculates the task distance and ETA to finish. The map is easy to read, very detailed, and scalable in any proportion.

The only wrinkle that I didn't like is that the "glide ratio" to a waypoint is the ratio that puts you in the ground there, not the ratio that puts you there at your safety altitude. My other minor complaint is that I does not recognize a start out the top of the start cylider. But you can start the task manually, so it's a minor inconvenience, but I suppose the joy of starting out the top of the cylinder makes up for that!

Overall it's really fantastic. Maybe I'll be able to retire that old pocket pc after all.