Dynon Avionics and ForeFlight bring wireless mobile device connectivity to SkyView
 

Recently, mobile flight planning and in-cockpit tablet connectivity have been two of the most-requested SkyView features. Today, we’re excited to announce that SkyView can now connect to ForeFlight Mobile via Wi-Fi. This connectivity makes flight planning and preparation easier and more efficient for those of you who fly with ForeFlight, and also allows your ForeFlight device to benefit from SkyView’s GPS position and attitude indication.




Seamless Flight Planning



Plan your flights at home using ForeFlight Mobile’s comprehensive flight planning features. Once at the airplane, save time by sending the planned route to your SkyView system via W-Fi. Flight plans sent from ForeFlight can be edited on SkyView and flown by the SkyView Autopilot. You can transfer updated flight plans between the devices at any time.

Wi-Fi Adapter for SkyView and SkyView 12.0



SkyView to ForeFlight connectivity is enabled by a new Wi-Fi Adapter for SkyView that is installed in any of SkyView’s USB ports. The Wi-Fi Adapter costs $35 and can be purchased from Dynon Avionics dealers or Dynon directly. One is required for each SkyView display installed in an aircraft, maintaining system redundancy. Once configured, ForeFlight connects to SkyView through a secure WPA2-protected Wi-Fi link.

Support for the Wi-Fi Adapter is already built into the recently-released SkyView 12.0 Software. In addition to Wi-Fi and ForeFlight connectivity, SkyView 12.0 has over 40 new features and improvements, including Autopilot Auto-Trim, OBS Mode, customizable aircraft icons, and a new optional in-air magnetic heading calibration.

WAAS GPS and SkyView Attitude for ForeFlight

Customers also benefit from SkyView’s built-in WAAS GPS, which can drive aircraft position in Foreflight. This is great for those with Wi-Fi-only iPads, and provides an additional high-availability GPS source for GPS-equipped devices.

When connected to SkyView, ForeFlight’s attitude indicator is driven by the same IFR-capable ADAHRS installed in every SkyView aircraft. This allows your ForeFlight attitude indication and Synthetic Vision display to show the same depiction for the best possible in-flight situational awareness.



Wireless connectivity between Dynon SkyView and ForeFlight requires SkyView 12.0 Software, a Wi-Fi Adapter for each SkyView display, and a ForeFlight Mobile Pro subscription. Instructions for configuring and using these features are in the updated SkyView System Installation Guide and Pilot’s User Guide.

For additional information, visit the Dynon Avionics website or ForeFlight's "how to" page.

Michael Schofield
Marketing Manager
Dynon Avionics

Frequently-Asked Questions

Q: Do I need more than one Wi-Fi Adapter in my airplane?
A: Each SkyView display in the aircraft must be equipped with a Wi-Fi adapter. If you have two displays, you need two adapters. A benefit of having two adapters is that it maintains system redundancy, just like our redundant data and power lines in SkyView Network.

Q: How Secure is the connection between ForeFlight and SkyView?
A:The link between SkyView and your iOS device is protected with secure, password-protected WPA2 encryption. This ensures that only iOS devices that you specifically authorize can communicate with your SkyView system.

Q: Besides flight plans, what SkyView information is sent to ForeFlight?
A: As of ForeFlight 6.7, SkyView attitude and GPS information is used by ForeFlight Mobile.

Q: What level ForeFlight Mobile subscription do I need?
A: You will need a ForeFlight Mobile Pro subscription in order to access the Wi-Fi connectivity with Dynon SkyView.

Q: What do I need to connect SkyView to ForeFlight?

A: You’ll need:
A "Wi-Fi Adapter for SkyView" for each SkyView screen you have installed
SkyView version 12.0 or later
ForeFlight Mobile Pro version 6.7 or later

Q: Are other devices or apps supported?
A: At this time, SkyView’s Wi-Fi only works with ForeFlight Mobile Pro on Apple iOS devices.

Great upgrade!

Do you see this technology coming to the AFS 5000 platform?

garmin, catch up!

unfortunately i think they are going to force usage of their app and not recognize that the superior foreflight even exists

Awesome.. Nice job Dynon.

My new large Dynon touch screen arrived yesterday drop-shipped from the factory.

I wondered what the "Wi-Fi Adapter" was that popped up in the configuration menu last night...:)

Very cool! Now can we get SV to connect to a mobile hotspot and update its databases?

Sorry Gil,
I was sworn to secrecy. :o

THIS IS AWESOME!!!

Quick questions:

1) How many iOS devices can connect at a time?
2) Do weather and traffic get passed to Foreflight from the SV-ADSB-470 if installed?

Yes PLEASE !!!! If while it's doing that also uploads it's logs to Savy things would be complete.... . I hate walking around with a USB stick after every flight ... .

If one already uses a Stratus ADS-B receiver, is this an either-or proposition?

I am going to guess that is a slow proposition, as my monthly SV database and chart updates take hours if I go ahead with all charts and all 50 states, so the SV would have to be powered up for an awfully long time.

I just checked the on line store and can't find the adapter.... .

Pick up that old relic the telephone. Worked for me.

Only downer is the need/annual expense to upgrade to ForeflightPro (didn't see a need to do so before)

Yes, either Stratus or Dynon Skyview, but not both simultaneously on the same device. But you can connect separate iPads or iPhones to each... ;-)

And ADS-B data isn't currently passed to ForeFlight.

- Josh

I continue to be happy with my Dynon purchase!

I think this option was only available through Gx3 using Garmin Pilot, but not sure.

I have an AFS 4500 in my RV8 and recently got Foreflight.

I'm looking to upgrade the AF 4500 to something, maybe a AF 5600 Touch or?

Since AFS is afflliated with Dynon, maybe we will see a FF - AFS compatible setup. Time will tell.

This is an awesome trend. I hope others will partner like this.

Charlie

location, location, location
 

Can the WiFi adapter plug into the rear panel USB connections? I have the one included in the wiring bundle mounted in the panel to hold the thumb drive with all the charts and plates. No connectivity issues with a panel and SkyView between the adapter and my iPad?

Bubblehead - Yes it can.

1) A bunch. The technical limit is some base 2 number, maybe 255. Bandwidth becomes a concern at some point before that. But practically speaking, you can have more iPads connected than there are seats in any RV :)
2) They don't in this release. That's not a promise that they ever will, but you and others are imagining possible future expansion features that are within the realm of possibility. Make sure to let ForeFlight know what you'd like to see too!

Should be updated now

Yes, the adapter comes with an optional stand-off usb cable that's a few inches if that helps orient things.

Any chance that the "ForeFlight" database / mapping from the iPad will be made available on the Skyview. It would be nice to just purchase one data subscription and would help justify going to ForeFlight Pro...

AFS AF-5000 WiFi
 

We've been flying with the iPad running ForeFlight connected to the AF-5000 EFIS screens in the RV-10 for over a month. The next release of AF-5000 software is in Beta testing and has the WiFi interface, Dynon Autopilot and $99 Seattle Avionics data format.

Notice the Dynon Autopilot Interface above the AF-5600T EFIS.


I think I am in the running for the most screens in a plane....




You need to have one $35 Dynon WiFi adaptor in the plane to talk to the iPad, available now.

Rob Hickman
Advanced Flight Systems - A Dynon Avionics Company
N402RH RV-10

Thanks, Dynon--this is a great update!
 

I have two panel mount usb ports for my two displays. These hold the thumb drives with the Seattle Avionics maps/plates. Can I also plug in the Wi-Fi adapters in the back of the displays to be used at the same time? If not, how would the displays read the maps?

See post 18 and 19 - the wifi adapter can plug into the USB ports on the back of the SkyView. That leaves the one on the long cable, which most of us panel mount, open for the thumb drive with maps, plates etc.

The WiFi adapters work fine plugged into the back of Skyview and even come with a short extension which can make installation easier in some cases.

Will Dynon be expanding any capability to support any of the apps running on Android devices? Air Nav Pro, Naviator, or the completely free FltPLanGo?

Right now it's either or. There's a technical way to solve it, and it's a possibility, but no promises at this point.

This is a really nice update ! Hope the other manufacturers follow suit.

Future support for other apps is a possibility, but we can't make any promises right now. The app maker needs to add support, not just Dynon, so it always helps for you to voice your request to your favorite app vendor so they know there is demand.

Dynon is not locked into the Apple platform. I think 90% of the engineering team at Dynon uses Android...

I regularly ask all three what EFIS and portable ADS-B units they support integration with. I'm hoping I haven't been added to their spam filters by now. :)

That alone is encouraging and suggests that your design team alone might be motivated to find a solution. :)

Congratulations to Dynon by evolution , I am in Brazil and we have no maps to be updated, the possibility of using AirNavigator is great evolution for all outside the usa .

Think about it.

Flew with Dynon WiFi for first time today
 

Went up in my RV-12 with the Dynon Wifi device today for the first time and had some fun. Fairly easy to setup once I figured out how to add a password in the Skyview setup menus (didn't take the time to read the installation instructions but it was not hard to figure out eventually)

Really neat thing is the ability to update active flight plans while flying with the autopilot. I was flying near Philadelphia airspace on my way back to New Jersey today and my flight plan would have taken me into a corner of class B airspace. I found a GPS waypoint ahead of me on the iPad that would just keep me outside of controlled airspace and added it in Foreflight. As soon as I sent the updated flight plan (two touches on the iPad) to Skyview the autopilot instantly redirected me. SkyView woman's voice informed me that a new flight plan had been loaded. Basically I was steering the RV-12 using my iPad! Something to get use to.

Hi everybody. I flew today with the Foreflight / Skyview wi-fi setup. It was dead simple to setup and works immediately after logging onto the wi-fi signal. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to get working, right out of the box!

It was also very easy to send flight plans (and flight plan changes) from Foreflight to the Skyview. I was expecting some latency, but there's no noticeable delay at all. I hit the "panel" button on Foreflight, and "Miss Dynon" announces the flight plan update instantly.

The ADAHRS signal to my iPad is also really nice. I did not notice any delay, and the attitude movement on the Foreflight display is smooth and crisp. I have no idea what the data rate is, but it's obviously sufficient to provide a smooth display on my iPad Air. My backseaters will now enjoy having some usable instrumentation, rather than staring at the back of my head!

Thanks for the great product Dynon! This one is a real home run!

Me too...
 

as Brent and Gash, worked like a charm today. My GIB had our flight plan layed in from the back seat while I taxied to run-up, with no prior experience. So much easier...
I will have to keep an eye on this new power from the back seat, or else we may be making more trips to visit the inlaws. :eek:

For those of you flying now with this setup: when viewing the PFD on Foreflight, does it display the same indicated altitude and airspeed from the pitot-static system that your Skyview does? Or does it still display GPS altitude and ground speed? I personally feel that indicated would be much better for a second pilot or GIB.

Yes, GPS ground speed and altitude is displayed. See Brent's screen shot.

I couldn't tell at first from Brent's pic if that was GPS-derived ground speed and altitude, or indicated airspeed and pressure altitude from the Dynon AHRS. I should have looked at the labels :o. It would be much more useful if it displayed the AHRS data instead of the GPS-derived data.

Just wanted to put another voice forward requesting air data!