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rv7charlie

Well Known Member
Is anyone using an Android tablet for aviation moving map & flight planning, & can you offer reviews for various Android aviation apps? With some of these tablets selling for well under $200 (even under $100 in some cases), they look like they have great potential as dedicated aviation devices, if decent apps are available.

Thanks,

Charlie
 
I just started using Avilution on my transformer. Make sure enable hardware acceleration in the settings if your device supports it. Without acceleration it was almost unusable for me.
 
A vote for Naviator.

I just made a 900+ nm trip and it works great. (Using Nook Color with bootable SD card and Android CM7 - bluetooth to GNS 5870 MFI for GPS feed.) Had all approach plates (I get these from Doug Ranz - including night versions) plus all sectional, TAC and IFR Lo charts. The Nook and the GPS had no trouble running 10+ hours.

The 30 day free trial is full featured. Documentation could be better, but they are quick to answer email and once you figure it out it's pretty good.

Dan
 
weather app

I found this free app, Metam, in the Google Play store a few weeks ago and it has become my favorite weather app. It's great for checking current METARs and TAFs and it also has all the prog, pirep, winds, satellite and radar charts. On the home screen you create a list of your favorite airports and it automatically updates their METAR info. It has an intuitive user interface and has been great for getting a quick look at the current weather conditions.

I'm in no way affiliated with these guys, I just think this is a great app.
 
Charlie

Your main issue with the hardware will be sunlight readability under the canopy of a rv7. Look at the tablet in the sun before paying for one you will not be happy with. I run an Asus TF700 with 600 nits brightness. Best option out currently for sunlight readability in an android.

For software I am a longtime user of anywhere map.
 
I've been using 'Avare' for Android the last several weeks. You can download any sectional, chart you want and I've been happy with the GPS tracking and moving map. For the VFR flying of my RV it is more than sufficient and best of all it is free! It doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles but it does have extended runway center-lines.
 
Scremm said:
I've been using 'Avare' for Android the last several weeks. You can download any sectional, chart you want and I've been happy with the GPS tracking and moving map. For the VFR flying of my RV it is more than sufficient and best of all it is free! It doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles but it does have extended runway center-lines.
Click to expand...

I have trialled Naviator and one other but I have settled on Avare for now. One reason. ITS FREE. :D The others are probably better but I'm just too cheap. :eek:

Every chart and plate I am interested in is available. They are georeferenced.
AF/D included. If connected to WIFI internet, you can get weather at a reporting airport by holding your finger on it.

The documentation for Avare is absolutely horrible. I struggled with it at first, but now that I am used to it and know how to do what I want, I find it quite handy. Been actively using it for 6+ months on a Samsung 7" tablet. I have not been able to do a multiple point flight plan yet. There are a few words about it in the meager documentation but I have not been successful yet. Its not a show stopper by any means. Changing destination is easy.

**EDIT Aug 13, 2013 ** I just updated Avare from 4.1.1 to 4.2.1 (10 revisions). The help file says how to do multi-point flight plans and it works.
I think I am going to uninstall all the other aviation apps that I had in test mode (now expired) and keep going with this one.

So, I'm happy. Getting much better at the paperless EFB. The Samsung is OK for sunlight. Probably same as the rest of the non-aviation tablets. I have to shade it with the canopy shade sometimes. But what I have come to realize is that the only time I am REALLY interested in it is when the weather is crappy. The sun ain't out then anyway. :rolleyes: The Samsung charges with no problem from the 12v car jack. Seems like there was a thread about IPads or something not charging right.

I have tried to give the AOPA FlyQ a benefit of the doubt but the PC version is terrible. It is abysmally slow to update and is extremely quirky to do things not commanded. It does integrate with the free android version but the portable version is so castrated for capability (no map) it is pretty much useless.

** EDIT** I saw evidence of FlyQ map on a portable screen recently . I'll dig a little more. Maybe my problem is operator error.
 
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I bought a 32gb Nexus 7 to use with a mapping/navigation program specifically to assist in bringing the RV-6 I bought in Alabama back to California. I've since used Garmin Pilot, Avilution AviationMaps and Naviator on this device IFR and VFR in the C-23 and the RV-6.

Each application has some nice features that the others do not. Each one has a very different interface and "flow" in use. If only you could cherry pick the best features of each and combine them into one app... But, you can't do that so it's going to come down to which one YOU like the best. I had all three apps on my device at the same time and used the trial periods to determine which I liked the best.

In my opinion Garmin has the most mature app for the Android platform right now. That's the one that I seemed to default to in the airplane. It's got the most airfield and services information of the three by far if you want that. It just got an update this morning adding some new features I'll have to try out.

I really liked some of the little details in both Naviator and AviationMaps, and it was close, but I went Garmin for the subscription finally.

* While tracking your position, AviationMaps and Naviator will both give you a 1/3 - 2/3 screen, where your airplane symbology is not centered on the device screen, but in the aft 1/3 based on your direction of flight. This is a big advantage, especially on the small 7" screen. Garmin does not do this, yet.

* I "think" it was Naviator that provided a user customizable flight path extension, indicating where you will be in say, 5 minutes. Since the map size changes as you zoom in or out on the tablet, it's a nice reference point.

* I really liked Naviatior but the lack of continuous chars turned out to be a huge pain both IFR and VFR. If you are along a chart border or you want to look ahead you have to constantly switch back and forth between charts.

* Garmin has the best map/procedure download selection method, it's graphical just like looking at the back of a chart or plate book.

* I normally plan and file with fltplan.com, but I've used the Garmin app for that as well, it's getting better with each update.

Good luck!

Doug
 
Just an FYI

Avare is getting better and adding more features fast

And its still free. :)

I am definitely sticking with it.
 
I still think Air Navigation Pro is the most mature Android app, been using it for a long time now on both iPad and Android. Avare shows a lot of promise, but is lacking on the Canadian data (which matters to me). If Avare could somehow connect in to the same basemap setup that ANP has for Canada, I think it would be a clear winner due to the price.
 
I "second" the recommendation for Garmin Pilot. We've been running it on a Nexus 7 tablet with the Garmin GDL-39 bluetoothed to it for over a year, now, and with each update it has gotten better and better.

Just think -- for less than 0.25 AMUs, we now have a device that gives us a moving map navigational system, live fuel prices, weather, and traffic! This was all Star Trek stuff just two or three years ago!
 
Free & low cost are factors, but how do these apps compare with the functionality of ForeFlight & Seattle Avionics? From the comments they all have a way to go.

What Android app is comparable in capability & functionality? Is anyone using the Android version of ForeFlight? How does it compare to the iOS version?

Enquiring minds want to know?
 
chazking said:
Free & low cost are factors, but how do these apps compare with the functionality of ForeFlight & Seattle Avionics? From the comments they all have a way to go.

What Android app is comparable in capability & functionality? Is anyone using the Android version of ForeFlight? How does it compare to the iOS version?

Enquiring minds want to know?
Click to expand...

I have been a Naviator user for the last two years and love it. The develper is extremely responsive and constantly adding features. The one drawback of this program which I'm sure is in the works to be fixed is the stitched charts. I've also been playing with Avalution since they now have a free 30 day trial. Also a very good program and very smooth. You can't go wrong with either of them. Both have 30 day full function trials so try them out and decide which you like better. I have not tried Garmin and per rzbill's response I checked out Avare. I'm not impressed enough on it in comparison and free just doesn't cut it to make a decision on which apps have the best features especially if you will use them for IFR.

Foreflight does not have an Android version and I doubt they will anytime soon. The few times I've sat next to a Foreflight user in the air and compared our programs, to say Foreflight is any better than Naviator is not accurate. Don't buy into the hype that Foreflight far exceeds the Android programs, this just isn't the case. Sure, they each have some unique features but the differences are in bells and whistles, not core necessities. If I had an iPad (and I won't) then Foreflight is a great program for that platform. But....why spend $600+ on a tablet when you can spend only $220 on a Nexus 7 2nd Gen and get amazing functionality.
 
Snowflake said:
I still think Air Navigation Pro is the most mature Android app, been using it for a long time now on both iPad and Android. Avare shows a lot of promise, but is lacking on the Canadian data (which matters to me). If Avare could somehow connect in to the same basemap setup that ANP has for Canada, I think it would be a clear winner due to the price.
Click to expand...

You are right that Avare currently is best for US users due to the available maps (which are all US VFR and IFR maps, plates, AF/D and terrain). Their first recent entry into CAN has been CAN terrain.

chazking said:
How do these apps compare with the functionality of ForeFlight & Seattle Avionics? From the comments they all have a way to go.

What Android app is comparable in capability & functionality? Is anyone using the Android version of ForeFlight? How does it compare to the iOS version?
Click to expand...

In my opinion, there is going to be a REALLY small set of people that can answer (meaning a person that has actually used all of the apps you mention). I cannot comment on the pay services you mention because I have not used them. I think a restatement of the question might be "Does a free app supply everything I want in an electronic flight bag?" For me, as a US flyer, Avare does, so it does not "Have a way to go". It has all the data I would have carried in paper form and adds flight planning, moving map, geo-referenced plates and geo-referenced airport diagrams, and automated internet weather (on the ground for internet of course).

In regards to inflight weather. Avare supposedly has some ADS-B input functionality too but I cannot report on it since I do not have ADS-B in the craft yet and I do not plan to connect it the to 2020 compliant gear on order.

Mike, I tried Naviator, Avilution and Avare at the same time. They were all so equally bad I did not pull the trigger to buy any. By default, I stayed with Avare because it was free. Avare did enough and the map transitions are good. I stuck with Avare for $ and have been pleasantly rewarded with the fast development which means I will not be looking elsewhere (especially not Ipad/Garmin). The point of my post yesterday was to say Avare has improved to the point of viability for a larger set of people. Lastly, I do not agree at all with the denegration of Avare for IFR use. Unless you have used it in that environment recently, it is an unfair comment.

Y'all use what you wish. I'm not saying everybody should use Avare. Just the cheapskates :)
 
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Certainly didn't want to come across as denegrating Avare. I hope it becomes a player. My observiations are based on reading through what I could find about it and some functionality it lacks (unless I missed them) more specific to some functions that work for IFR planning and execution. These included flight planning using airways, flight plan storage, aircraft and pilot profiles, DUAT or DUATS connection, user waypoints, geo-referenced approach plates, ADS-B capabiltiy, weather, and something I use all the time is filing a flight plan. I hope it gets there, competition is good and it keeps the developers on their toes to out do eachother and in the end we all get a choice of some excellent programs to choose from.
 
Sorry for taking it the wrong way, Mike
You are absolutely correct that Avare currently does not do the preflight activities you mention automatically. You have to tell it where to go (type in each waypoint). I use other stuff to augment that (such as direct connection to DUAT, or the abysmal AOPA Fly-Q).

I think it depends on what one wants in the cockpit. I do not require this system to provide preflight planning. As mentioned previously, it has replaced all the paper and the use of the charts/plates is quite easy. I was pleasantly surprised a few months ago, when on an approach, to see that the plates were georeferenced and also the airport diagrams after landing.

From the plain chart management standpoint, I think Avare is fine for IFR.
 
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chazking said:
Free & low cost are factors, but how do these apps compare with the functionality of ForeFlight & Seattle Avionics? From the comments they all have a way to go.

What Android app is comparable in capability & functionality? Is anyone using the Android version of ForeFlight? How does it compare to the iOS version?

Enquiring minds want to know?
Click to expand...

The developers of ForeFlight have made it clear that they do not intend to make an Android version of their app. Foolishly, IMHO, given the sales of Android vs. iOS, but that's a whole 'nother thread.

That has left the Android market wide open for the 600 pound gorilla, Garmin. And fill the void they have, with their Pilot app doing everything ForeFlight does.

Being an early adaptor (1+ years -- basically since the Nexus 7 was created) has been a wild ride. Garmin has released many updates during that time, taking the app from a VERY basic navigator to one that does things we never even dreamed of, just a few years ago.

I recommend it. It has really made the back hole of our RV-8A into a little RIO station. :D
 
Correct on ForeFlight / Android. I meant WingX.

Essentially, users of Android-related flight planning products are seeing the same or better functionality as ForeFlight / Seattle / Wingx for the iPad/iPhone

Switching to Android on the phone / tablet is a big leap that has been hindered by support. That seems to be addressed (particularly by Garmin?)
 
i have the garmin pilot on a nexus 7 and like it mostly because of the complete info available, airports, notams etc. i also keep it on my smart phone without the maps downloaded. a gripe about garmin is that statute miles is not an option.
for navigating i use avare. it is so simple that it is a snap to set up. one downside on avare is that if you update info but not the map your position can move by several miles on the map compared to reality!. this happened to me. this is how i learned about it. your course line misses the airport by miles!. the inventor said he was going to program in some flag to let you know in your info does not match the map download.
bob noffs
 
Ah, that's good information on Avare, thanks! I use it on the phone as a backup. Like right now as my Google Nexus 7 died. The other day I aligned the approach to the extended runway indicators...but found myself a few miles off.

Holger
 
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