REFLECTOR: Foreflight and ADS-B

Don Johnston numa at comcast.net
Wed Aug 21 08:45:37 CDT 2013


My view... FWIW

I've been using XM on a Garmin 396 and Foreflight on iPads since they first
came out.

I've looked at the ADS-B solutions to eliminate the Garmin but a couple
things keep holding me back.

1) XM has a much wider range of weather products than ADS-B. Some of the
missing products are "nice to have" others are REALLY nice to have.
2) ADS-B has dead spots. Although they are mostly out west.
3) Picking up ADS-B on the ground has problems.
4) The NEXRAD depiction on ADS-B doesn't have the same resolution as XM.

For now, I'm sticking with XM on the Garmin for weather. Hopefully the
ADS-B solution will improve.

There are two approaches to managing the cost of XM.

1) Switch to the "Master Mariner" version. This is $5 less per month with
most of the same products. (I haven't done this as I want some of the
missing products).
2) Pay an annual subscription instead of monthly. This gets you a free
month.

Don


On Wed, Aug 21, 2013 at 8:22 AM, Tom Cacek <hytec45 at aol.com> wrote:

> 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 "Steam Gauges", electronics are always outdated or not supported down the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.
>
> Sent from AOL Mobile Mail
>
>
>
> -----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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