L

liaviator

I'm New Here
Hey,

Has anyone used this in-flight iPhone/iPad/iPod app? I put a post in 'Reviews' but I don't think many people monitor that forum: http://bit.ly/oBAYbA

The one guy that replied said it works well for him - I definitely agree, but I'm wondering if there are other ones I should consider looking at? So far this is the best one I've found that's not certified or installed.

Not affiliated with the seller...
 
it will be a sad day when someone dies of fuel exhaustion due to iphone battery exhaustion

there are much better methods of tracking fuel consumption than a cell phone
 
This app is an answer looking for the question. How about the watch on your wrist, the timer in your "glass", or if you are like me, that good old spring wound clock in the panel. Any of those combined with a little simple math wins every time. I've been at a while, but I can predict within a couple of tenths, how much fuel it will take to fill the tanks.

John Clark ATP, CFI
Aviator & Gearhead
FAAST Team Representative
EAA Flight Advisor
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA
 
Use everything..

Interesting points. I'm of the mindset that we should use every tool we can. Battery life shouldn't be an issue - these phones last for days when the antenna isn't active.

With regards to a solution looking for an answer.....I remember someone once telling me that GPS was a fad - VORs worked just fine. More recently someone else told me that glass panels were unreliable and would never work because they provided too much information.

I also think this could be a good training tool for instructors...
 
You know it is funny, how is it that people can build an RV, and yet an iPhone app is suddenly complicated? It is simple, plug the thing into your external power so you don't rely on the battery. Touch the screen when you start the engine, touch it again when you switch tanks. What's so hard about that? I have my iPhone in the cockpit anyway for music, might as well monitor my fuel too. Or should I ditch MP3's for a wind up victrola? :D
 
Counting Rivets said:
You know it is funny, how is it that people can build an RV, and yet an iPhone app is suddenly complicated? :D
Click to expand...

Didn't say it was complicated, and my music is all in iTunes and therefore on my iPhone. My point is that some people are throwing technology at the simplest tasks. My iPhone holds a bunch of worthwhile aviation apps, but mostly things that fall into the planning catagory. You will understand this graphically (pun intended) when you try to see an iPhone screen in the sun, under a bubble canopy.

John Clark ATP, CFI
Aviator & Gearhead
FAAST Team Representative
EAA Flight Advisor
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA
 
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Less is better...most of the TIME!

I use either my $9.95 digital Sunbeam timer velcroed to my instrument panel or my old Garmin 396 GPS to remind me to switch tanks every 30 minutes. When I fly, my iPhone is in my pocket, where I can find it if I make an emergency exit after landing. :)
 
A lot of people don't wear those wrist-watch things these days - they have that info on their cell phones.

While there are certainly many ways, and many redundant ways to accomplish this task, perhaps the pilot ought to decide for himself which he or she prefers. If the app fits, use it. If it doesn't but you like the concept, look for another or write your own.

But make sure the fuel gauges work and that there's another device, such as a fuel flow rate indicator, too. Fuel quantity is too important to rely on one device all by itself.

Dave
Who flies a plane with direct-reading gauges and a wrist watch and a clock on the panel and a fuel flow totalizer and a preflight dipstick. And darn it, they've all got to agree, more or less.
 
Perhaps, but there are a lot of interesting reports of lost aircraft and airspace violations that can be traced directly to reliance on GPS alone.
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While you will never solve 100% of navigation errors, I would argue that GPS has dramatically reduced the number.

While there are certainly many ways, and many redundant ways to accomplish this task, perhaps the pilot ought to decide for himself which he or she prefers. If the app fits, use it.
Click to expand...

Agreed
 
I built a very simple timer circuit using a circuit board for a home alarm that has a variable timer on it. You could set it to anything from 15 minutes to 1 hour. When the time expired, a light (and a buzzer if desired) turned on. Push the button, switch tanks, and the timer reset itself. As I recall, the timer board was cheap, less than $15.

Things get busy sometimes in the cockpt, especially after departure. That light saved me more than a few times from forgetting to switch tanks.

Rigging80.jpg
Rigging82.jpg


Wiring diagram is on the website if interested.
 
Counting Rivets said:
While you will never solve 100% of navigation errors, I would argue that GPS has dramatically reduced the number.
Click to expand...

And I'll argue that fact too!

Most GPS outages are causes by faulty equipment, & less than favorable antenna setups. For most, a GPS outage is very rare. My dedicated aviation Garmins have not lost a signal in 17 years. Many GA friends, acquaintances, and commercial airline pilots (flying with modern GPS) report the same success.

As to this thread, my timer is built into the Garmin 696 GPS. As part of my information screen above the map, it counts down & provides an audio warning if I don't pay attention.........as well as the flashing "switch tanks" that appears.

L.Adamson
 
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Fuel Timer

Ok, so this wasn't meant to turn into an argument. This was meant to ask a question, perhaps educate one or two of you about a new tool I found.

Have most of you forgotten that ideas, tools, take time to develop? Innovation is additive, the consolidation of many ideas, good and bad, over time.

And...to be tactical for a moment:
- The iPhone is perfectly readable in direct sunlight - I used it all of the time
- This software works in your pocket also (just set your phone to vibrate - you will notice the alarm)
 
Counting Rivets said:
GPS is doing a pretty good job of it....
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No, it's just creating a generation of pilots unable to do basic navigation when the box goes dark.

But back to the OP post - yes, it would be a neat tool for those of us that us their phones for various chores in the cockpit. I'm not in that crowd but I can still see the utility for those that are.
 
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airguy said:
No, it's just creating a generation of pilots unable to do basic navigation when the box goes dark.
Click to expand...

Which of course...........helps to offset those generations of pilots that slammed into all the mountains around here, doing it the "basic" way. I seen a map with red-spots, that signified all of the flight into terrain accidents in my state, since the 1920's. Unbelievable! It looked like the colorful poppy field in Wizard of Oz....

Yes I know, it's now getting way of subject............except for the "warning" part.

L.Adamson
 
This does bring up an interesting question. For those of us that have been away from GA for awhile, this is something I'm going to have to think about. We don't necessarly switch tanks on the big stuff. When I use to ferry airplanes, I use to use the 8 day clock on the panel. You set the time to 1200 when you start and change tanks on "the hour". You knew how much fuel you had, say 4hrs. I would flight plan for 3 hr. legs. It was always an easy reminder how much fuel you had at a glance.

Rick Maury
RV 7 about to hang the engine.
 
I use 10 gallons from the left tank...then 10 from the right.

Leaves about one hour in both. No timer. No IPOD. Just simple.
 
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