I was pretty set on going AFS, but they torqued me off pretty good this year at Oshkosh with their $400/yr NACO plate subscription. The plates are free from the government!
I guess AFS has decided that they're big enough that they can start throwing themselves around as if they were Garmin. Oh well... the GRT stuff isn't as pretty, but at least the free data doesn't cost money.
We are not using the ?FREE? plates from the government we are purchasing and using Geo-Referenced approach plates from Seattle Avionics. All of the approach plates, as well as the larger airport diagrams, are geo-referenced. Currently, it takes a lot of work each month to build, test, verify and deliver the Geo-referenced data. We looked at using the free plates when we developed the system and we decided that it was better to provide a solution that increased safety at a reasonable cost. Once you have flown IFR we Geo-referenced approach plates, with their increased situational awareness, you will not want to go back. Another major benefit of having the plates Geo-Referenced is that we are able to draw the traffic on the approach plate.
Having your aircraft location displayed on the airport diagram makes taxing at large airports far safer and less confusing. After having the larger airport diagrams we started looking for a solution to provide them for all US airports, for which we are about to release a solution.
Advanced Flight Systems Now the First Avionics Manufacturer to Enable Geo Referenced Airport Diagrams from Flight Guide and Seattle Avionics
Broadest Coverage of Nearly 5,000 U.S. Airports - Easily and Affordably Available
Advanced Flight Systems, a leading provider of avionics systems for experimental aircraft, today announced it has expanded its agreement with Seattle Avionics to include new support for Geo Referenced Flight Guide Airport Diagrams. Pilots using Advanced Flight Systems products with this new capability will benefit from enhanced situational awareness at essentially every airport in the U.S where they are likely to operate.
Advanced Flight Systems had already been offering for its products, support for Seattle Avionics Chart Data electronic flight charting, which provides geo-referenced enroute VFR and IFR charts, approach and departure procedure diagrams, and FAA Airport Diagrams. The FAA Airport Diagrams cover approximately 700 U.S. airports with geo referenced charts of varying degrees of detail.
Today?s news dramatically expands the number of airports featured with geo referenced diagrams to nearly 5,000, and enhances the level of fidelity and useful details about each airport. Seattle Avionics provides the geo referencing technology and the ongoing licensing and update process for the Geo Referenced Flight Guide Airport Diagrams
Flight Guide, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary and is the nation?s leading VFR airport guide, has long been available in print form and more recently has become available in electronic format for PCs and handheld devices. This agreement marks the first time Flight Guide?s airport diagrams are to be integrated with and enabled for use on an aircraft?s built-in avionics glass cockpit display system with geo referencing to show the aircraft?s position on the diagram in real time, thus enhancing the pilot?s situational awareness and improving safety by reducing the risk of runway incursions.
Geo Referenced Flight Guide Diagrams will be offered for an annual subscription price of $79.00, with updates available every 28 days and coverage for all ~5,000 airports. Customers who have the S-series of CPU units from Advanced Flight Systems will be able to take advantage of this new offering. The S-series includes the AF-3400, AF-3500, AF-4500 and new AF-5000 glass cockpit systems from Advanced Flight Systems. The subscription and data update process is easy, automatic and familiar, as it is the same process Seattle Avionics is already providing for Advanced Flight Systems other Chart Data users.
Rob Hickman
Advanced Flight Systems Inc.
