Bluetooth GPS ?

[pierre smith]

Blue Sky fun has a GPS for $99.99 that will geo-reference an iPad that is not a 3G version. Do any of you guys have experience with this XGPS 150 of theirs?

I'm wondering if the unit will show your position on an approach plate on the iPad, during say, an LPV approach?

Thanks,

[rv7boy]

Pierre, isn't this the same one that Sporty's sells?

http://www.sportys.com/pilotshop/product/16597

[Mark Albery]

All it will do is enable the GPS referencing software.

If you are viewing your plates in the premium version of Foreflight, for example, then you will get your aircraft symbol overlaid on the plate. If it's just a PDF viewer, then you won't get anything extra.

You'll need to check the capabilities of your nav software.

[craigvince]

I've been flying with the XGPS 150 since Oshkosh and I love it. The battery lasts all day and it syncs perfectly with my iPad. I use it primarily with ForeFlight, but it also works well with the iPad street mapping and anything else that uses a GPS. In ForeFlight, it does in fact show my exact location on the approach plates. It's a huge safety benefit, (almost) completely eliminating the situational awareness problems.

http://www.amazon.com/Dual-Electroni...fatcityfour-20

It's on sale right now for $85.73 with free shipping on Amazon.

[pierre smith]

Say Craig...what format are the approach plates in Foreflight? They must not be PDF's, like the SkychartsPro. A poster on here said that you would not see your airplane on those approach charts.

Best,

[craigvince]

I'm not sure what format they're in, but they look exactly like the paper approach plate. Well, almost exactly. My paper doesn't have a little blue airplane moving around on it to tell me where I am.

[rwhittier]

Basic Foreflight has approach plates in it that I suspect are NACO ones. You do not see your airplane on those. If you pay like 75 bucks more a year to FF you get Seattle Avionics charts which then are geo referenced and you do see your location on the plate.

Originally Posted by pierre smith

Say Craig...what format are the approach plates in Foreflight? They must not be PDF's, like the SkychartsPro. A poster on here said that you would not see your airplane on those approach charts.

Best,

[Bavafa]

Originally Posted by rwhittier

Basic Foreflight has approach plates in it that I suspect are NACO ones. You do not see your airplane on those. If you pay like 75 bucks more a year to FF you get Seattle Avionics charts which then are geo referenced and you do see your location on the plate.

Yes, that is correct and for that you do not need any special type GPS. I get my geo-reference plate with Foreflight (added $75 a year) with the built-in GPS that comes with the 3GS.

I have never (so far) had my Foreflight not to lock up with GPS or showing any issues and the approach plates this way is very nice to have. With the upgraded version from Foreflight, you also get to display you on the Taxi way and I like that just as much if not more.

Often times I am more confused on the ground than in the air.

[craigvince]

If someone has a WiFi only iPad, they will need an external GPS receiver. While it is true that the 3G iPads do have internal GPS, I have found much better results using the external. Here's why:

In order for the internal GPS to be "on", airplane mode must be off. Not really a problem, unless you're flying above or beyond cell service coverage areas. See, the iPad (or iPhone) will be searching for a cellular data signal, which is a high battery consumption function. If it doesn't get a good cell signal, it will keep searching until it does, which uses a lot of juice. When I fly, after I download the current weather, I put my iPad (and iPhone) in airplane mode, which also turns off WiFi and Bluetooth. I then go into my settings and turn the Bluetooth back on so it can find my external GPS. I then get much better battery life out of the iPad, about 8 hours during the day or 12 hours at night (because I dim the display).

You can certainly use the internal GPS, and it works well even at high altitudes, but I'd rather save my battery and use the external GPS.

[gnuse]

Does anyone have any experience as to whether this unit will affect a compass on the glare shield?

Originally Posted by craigvince

I've been flying with the XGPS 150 since Oshkosh and I love it. The battery lasts all day and it syncs perfectly with my iPad. I use it primarily with ForeFlight, but it also works well with the iPad street mapping and anything else that uses a GPS. In ForeFlight, it does in fact show my exact location on the approach plates. It's a huge safety benefit, (almost) completely eliminating the situational awareness problems.

http://www.amazon.com/Dual-Electroni...fatcityfour-20

It's on sale right now for $85.73 with free shipping on Amazon.