REFLECTOR: Foreflight and ADS-B
Tom Cacek
hytec45 at aol.com
Wed Aug 21 08:22:14 CDT 2013
Thanks Scott. ?Not having this myself, I lay awake wondering how I managed to make it to my destinations over the last 41 years of flying safely. ?I guess I'm like Wiley Coyote who has ran off the edge of the Clift years ago, but since I haven't looked down yet, I don't know I'm in trouble.?
I have been looking at the Forflight and the Stratus 2 also, but unlike "Steam Gauges", electronics are always outdated or not supported down the road. ?I'm very computer literate as I used them from CAD to Accounting and did my own IT (not having to pay some pimple faced gamer punk to fix things paid for my Velocity) in my company, and that is probably why I have the "flash in the pan" attitude towards Electronics. There is always something better that has already been designed and being tooled up for as I type this. ?But like stocks, when do you pull the trigger. ?I'm sure I'll bite the bullet and get this.
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-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Baker <scottb33333 at gmail.com>
To: Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list <reflector at tvbf.org>
Sent: Wed, Aug 21, 2013 07:47 AM
Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: Foreflight and ADS-B
Hi Terry,
I have happily been a Foreflight/iPad user for years.? For a while
now I have tasted the weather features offered by the Stratus(1)
receiver when sitting right seat/safety pilot in his Baron.? As
you know, the Stratus unit picks up its weather data from ADS-B
ground stations.? Florida is blessed with wall-to-wall ADS-B
coverage at low altitude, and in fact Sebastian Airport hosts one
of the ground stations.? This means that for Sebastianites, ADS-B
weather pops up almost immediately, even during taxi operations.?
Like you, I have been debating the merits of keeping my satellite
weather subscription (in my case, XM Weather).? I love the XM
Weather service product - great stuff!? However the $50/month
subscription plan adds up over time.? So - having sampled what the
Stratus(1) had to offer in the way of in-cockpit weather, I took
the plunge and purchased a Stratus(2) at Oshkosh this year.? Here
are my thoughts about the Stratus(2), iPad Foreflight after flying
back from Oshkosh and several follow up flights into Georgia and
central Florida ...
*??? Love it!? Stratus(2) integrates flawlessly with the iPad
wi-fi and Foreflight program
*??? Stratus(2) GPS WAAS receiver worked great - no issues -
positions and data cross checked 100% with certified GNS480
*??? Weather radar does not appear until ADS-B unit receives
ground based data.? During my flights, ADS-B weather typically
appeared within first 5-minutes of flight.? I guess this is a
function of gaining the required altitude to receive ground
stations.? Weather radar is broken down/data processed to develop
"local" radar and "national" radar.? The local radar picture
develops first, followed a minute or two later with a national
radar picture.
*??? Positioning of the Stratus(2) unit affects how well it picks
up ADS-B ground stations.? I noticed that holding the antenna next
to the side window of the aircraft captured more ADS-B stations.?
I understand that only 1-station is required to receive ADS-B
data.? I wonder if the unit does better when receiving 3, 4, or
5-stations (which mine did when holding the antenna next to the
side window)?
*??? Traffic Information is sooooooo cool!? Stratus literature
warns that it's traffic information may not paint all aircraft in
your vicinity.? However, from what I observed, it does a great job
pointing out traffic (height above/below your aircraft; traffic
vector arrow; traffic speed; and if the traffic has Mode-S, the N#
of the traffic).
Bottom line - very happy with the Stratus(2), Foreflight, iPad
combination and recommend it anyone who lives and operates in
ADS-B coverage areas.
Additional thoughts to share ... my wife enjoys the
get-to-where-we-are-going-fast-versus-driving benefit of flying,
but could care less about the technical aspects of flying the
machine.? Whenever ATC calls out traffic, she is very good at
looking for traffic and usually spots aircraft before I do.? Pansy
recently has shown an interest in looking at the Foreflight
program in action on the iPad - comparing the chart to the scenery
that is out the window.? Now, with the Stratus(2) showing traffic,
her interest in being 'tuned in' to where we are and who is around
us - has grown.? I read this as greater enthusiasm for flying; but
maybe she looks at it at self preservation!? Regardless, I think
it's cool that she is choosing to be more involved with what I
call the flying experience.
So - with all of this in mind - I have decided to sell the Garmin
GPSmap496 with XM Weather in favor of using the Stratus(2)
ADS-B/GPS WAAS receiver - and adding an iPad Mini with yoke mount
- so that I can have a front-row-center display of Foreflight,
with Pansy free to use the iPad to read, do crossword puzzles, and
keep track of our progress on Foreflight.
Best,
Scott B.
On 8/20/2013 9:51 PM, Terry Miles wrote:
Foreflight and the
Stratus2 for ADS-B Rec'r
Hi all,
I think I did already, but here's my thanks for everyone
who helped put together and run this years OSH cookout.
While at OSH, I bit the bullet and bought that Status
ADS-B receiver. They sell for $900. Currently I use a
Sirius aviation subscription that is $55 per month into
a GRT. My hope is to drop the Sirius and save some
operational costs. I have already dropped my $550 per yr
Garmin GNS480 Jepp subscription, and use instead the
Foreflight subscription at $175.
I hope it's OK to raise this question since it is not so
much a build question and more a panel design and
operation question. Anyway I just wanted to pass along
my observations so far, and ask how others might be
using the Foreflight stuff and/or this latest Status
box.
Regards ForeFlight map thing: It requires a cockpit
mounted iPad and it is really nice, and works great both
for preflight planning and for enroute chart and
approach plate depictions in the cockpit. One downside,
of course, is during the arrival stage, updating the
iPad becomes a burden when updating your in-panel
navigation gear keeps you busy enough. Your experiences
might be different.
Here is what I think of my $900 Status so far: The
weather radar service cannot be ground checked. I have
only flown with it once, and I am trying to see how fast
or slow it is to present storm cells immediately after
takeoff. I know it cannot be used to pick your way
between cells due time between updates, but this weather
depic feature is why I bought it, and it is a big loss
not to see stuff on taxiout.?
I have also found it eats battery life pretty fast on
less powerful apple devices like the iPod touch, or
first generation iPads. The other thing essential to its
eventual usefulness is finding a rock solid iPad mount
that will articulate some, but not come so loose with
re-positioning and inflight vibrations such that the
damn thing gets loose in its swivel socket right when
you need it in view. My bracket is from Mount Boys and
not RAM.?
Right now, I say the Foreflight is great, but the jury
is still out on if the Stratus2 receiver is a good
substitute for Sirius. I will keep you posted. Again,
I'd be happy to hear what others are doing.
Terry
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