REFLECTOR: Foreflight and ADS-B

[Scott Baker]

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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