View Full Version : Sentient Software AirNav
AussieNick
17th Dec 2010, 01:10
Hey all,
anyone had any experience with the AirNav program from Sentient?
I'm really liking the idea of the GPS moving map to run on my ST4121 for enroute and VFR stuff, but would still be using my paper jepps for anything IFR as i don't trust a computer to play nice if/when i'm IFR
Ixixly
17th Dec 2010, 08:06
Hey AussieNick,
Recently had this discussion with a guy at work as a matter of fact! He uses AirNav VFR on his laptop for flight planning and such and we were debating the merits of using said software on a Laptop with either a Built-In GPS or an External GPS attached!
Seems like a pretty cool idea in my opinion, you have all your Flight Planning Tools, it includes legal WAC Charts (Legal as in you can print them out and carry them as your charts) the program can take those Maps and use them in conjunction with a GPS and places your current position over the top along with the usual Magenta Line and voila, a moving map GPS!! Other benefits pointed out are a cheaper and reliable update service through AirNav and alot of the benefits of your High-End GPS but with a much lower price tag as Tablets are a lot cheaper in general and the Software isn't prohibitively expensive. You can also use it with a Telstra Wireless Broadband device (Or other company depending on your area and reliability!) and be able to get up-to-date weather radar as your flying along.
Personally I was looking at getting an ASUS T91MT as this incorporates the best aspects of a Tablet PC but with the added power of a laptop that Tablet PCs can't currently boast!!
Lots of options, definitely something i'm going to be looking into when I can get a little cash together!!
AussieNick
17th Dec 2010, 08:30
ixixly: the issue i see with the ASUS is it isn't daylight readable, and the ST4121 has HDD and ram upgrades available if I need more grunt.
Plus it was cheap so if im not happy with airnav i'm not out of pocket at all
thought you where in Darwin?
ConwayB
26th Dec 2010, 12:00
G'day,
I use it and it's pretty good. The champagne software has some better features but they don't have the legal and current charts that you can print.
One issue is viewing things like fuel plans or flight notifications on screen before printing. For some reason, this is not straightforward... But I recently figured out that if you publish them a s PDFs, then you can view them on screen before printing.
Cheers
Conway
Scion
26th Dec 2010, 18:55
Has anyone out there worked out how to use the software on an I-pad?
Ive phoned sentient but they say it cannot be done.
Ascend Charlie
26th Dec 2010, 20:12
Unfortunately the Sentient folks refuse to make Airnav compatible with the Mac platform, so i have to use mine in a Parallels window or else use a (ugh!) Windoze machine.
But a useful prog for printing IFR charts with track lines, and any track you put on any chart will also appear on any other VTC, VNC, WAC, TAC etc that you open.
sprocket check
27th Dec 2010, 07:22
If the Sentient people ported it across to the iPhone/iPad they would have a hell of a market lead... there are other people now coming online with nav software, such as AirNav Pro, which includes terrain maps and airspace boundaries. There are others I hear of licensing maps from ASA so the concept will get here sometime.
I wonder if it is a resistance to things Apple Mac... the port itself is not that difficult.
Could I please take this opportunity to ask whether anyone has been able to get the ERSA function to work under Vista?