SkyDemon GPS

[Lagentium]

Good evening, another question!
I'm looking into buying a GPS, and can't decide as there are so many, but I have been pointed in the direction of the SkyDemon GPS unit, my question is, has anybody has any experience with the flight planning software. I like the way NOTAM,TAFs and METARs can be uploaded before commencing flying incase a diversion is needed, which I think is quite smart, my mind isn't made up and I'm open to ideas too.
Many thanks, Jim:ok:

[Miroku]

I fly a PA28 and Cessna 172 (VFR) and in my view Sky Demon flight planning is brilliant.

I put all the routes in beforehand and on the day in question just input the flight times and a plog is produced, which includes every frequency I could possibly need, bearings for each leg together with times.

If it works for me it'll work for anyone!

Oh, and if you have any questions you can ask Sky Demon direct (to which you'll get a quick answer) or there is an excellent forum.

I don't think Airbox is anywhere near as good (and I've got both).

[LeeP-PA28]

James

You can pop round and have a look at the full software, I have it on my computer at home. Planning and interface is identical to the GPS - just that's on a smaller screen!

Lee

[JW411]

I run Sky Demon on a GPS I bought from Hong Kong for £60 and it works just fine.

[SDB73]

I have the sky demon device, and even though I have a full IFR panel, Garmin 430W, and a yoke-mounted Garmin 795, I still can't bring myself to leave the SkyDemon at home. The three things it does really well are NOTAMs, Airspace warnings and the fabulous side view nav which shows you airspace above and below you rather than just around you.

As JW411 alludes, though, you don't need to buy the actual device. You can try running it on pretty much any windows enabled GPS device - such as a GPS enabled laptop. But for me, I just liked the peace of mind that the device was specced specifically for the software, so I didn't need to think about it.

[BobD]

I am another fan of SkyDemon. Apart from the advantages mentioned by other contributors, one big plus for me was being able to use it with my HTC HD2 Windows Smartphone, without having to buy a specific GPS device. Planning is done on my PC, then I just Sync to my phone, and take it into the cockpit. I print out the plog from my PC, and use the phone for a moving map display. The windscreen mount I bought from E-Bay to attach the phone to the window must have cost me all of £5. This was another plus, as I could use it in any hired aircraft, before I bought a share.

[flybymike]

I gather that new HTC phones only run windows 7 or Android neither of which is supported by Skydemon.
Are there any phones currently produced which will run SD?

[Humaround]

Skydemon runs fine on Windows 7, certainly it does on my MacBook Pro running W7 under Parallels - I presume (though you might want to check with Tim) that it's also fine on a mobile device with W7.

[Dusty_B]

Think we need some clarification here:

SD (Plan) will run fine on Windows 7.
It won't (ever) work on Windows Phone 7.

The desktop software is bloody fantastic, especially considering the price/subscription fee.

[flybymike]

I already checked with Tim some time ago. Apparently SD will run on Win CE devices only, not Win 7. Just wondered whether anything had changed or whether perhaps they had now started supporting Android or Ios.

[flybymike]

Pprune is loading posts in the wrong order at the moment

[Dusty_B]

It's getting the post times wrong!

[Bobby Hart]

To clarify,

SkyDemon works just fine on Windows 7. It does not work fine on Windows Mobile 7.

If you have a Windows Mobile 6.5, then SkyDemon will run quite happily. I dont know exactly what Microsoft changed, but I wish they hadn't...

[flybymike]

And I wish Skydemon would accommodate the change what ever it was, and then crack on with Android and Ios.

[2high2fastagain]

Lag - I use Skydemon and I think it an astonishing piece of software which I would heartily recommend. Tim Dawson and his team have that rare knack of being able to write software that is both a pleasure to use and does the biz. The most cost effective config I think it to buy the PC/mobile version and then synch onto a cheap WinCE enabled GPS device. You can get oriental versions of these devices for about £60 from eBay. I think they offer a trial of 30 days on the software which you can download.

[flybymike]

Stop Press.
Skydemon to be launched for Ipad!

[dan_vector]

Yep, an iPad version is on its way. That's what I've been waiting for!

[manix]

An iPad version would be interesting, where did you see that? I can't find any mention on the SkyDemon website.

I bought a new HTC Touch HD2 (which runs Windows Mobile 6.5) a few weeks ago to replace my old HTC HD. I'd rather have an older model of phone that runs SkyDemon than a newer model that can't run it :)

Confirming the earlier posts, SkyDemon will not run on Windows Mobile 7 phones, but it runs happily on 32 and 64 bit Windows 7 on your PC/laptop/tablet. Tim has told me that they have no intention of porting SkyDemon to run on Windows Mobile 7.

[dublinpilot]

Good evening, another question!
I'm looking into buying a GPS, and can't decide as there are so many, but I have been pointed in the direction of the SkyDemon GPS unit, my question is, has anybody has any experience with the flight planning software. I like the way NOTAM,TAFs and METARs can be uploaded before commencing flying incase a diversion is needed, which I think is quite smart, my mind isn't made up and I'm open to ideas too.
Many thanks, Jim

Hi Jim,

Don't know if your "so many" has included PocketFMS....the Origianal and still the best :8

There is a 30 day free trial available too. PocketFMS (http://www.pocketfms.com)

(I should point out in the interest of clarity that I'm a Beta Tester for PocketFMS, but have no financial links.

If you're looking for something cheaper and simply want a GPS system which will help you avoid unintended airspace incursions then you might consider Airspace Avoid for iPhone/iPad/Android. It's just €13!
Airspace Avoid (http://www.AirspaceAvoid.com)

dp

[flybymike]

An iPad version would be interesting, where did you see that? I can't find any mention on the SkyDemon website.


Apparently they had a trial version running at the Flying Show at the NEC. Nothing official announced yet but I gather it is on its way.

[Rod1]

dublinpilot

Are NOTAMS available on PFMS now?

Rod1

[manix]

Apparently they had a trial version running at the Flying Show at the NEC. Nothing official announced yet but I gather it is on its way


That's good news, looking forward to seeing it in the wild :)

[Phil Histine]

I've been using Pocket FMS for many years now, but I have recently and reluctantly had to concede that Sky Demon is in another league in terms of usability and functionality. PFMS is showing its age, and its interface is bogged down by its evolutionary history. Compared to Sky Demon, its maps are crude, its PLOGs overly-fiddly and complex, and it lacks the excellent implimentation of NOTAMs and weather of SD. True, PFMS is much more configurable (for those that like to fiddle) and it has a Terrain mode like a panel-mount Garmin, which SD lacks. But SD has a vertical elevation view, which is far more useful day-to-day, especially in navigating controlled airspace; it has an excellent position facility - '5 miles NW Le Mans' - which is constantly updated and a great face-saver when ATC unexpectedly asks you where you are, and a printout on the clear, colour-coded PLOG of all the required frequencies. Apparently this last can be achieved by PFMS, but seems to involve more fiddling than I am capable of.

I had hoped that PFMS would rise to the challenge of the new SD upstart but I see no sign that they can make up lost ground, so when my subscription expires I will be heading over to the competition.

[Lagentium]

I couldn't agree more with you Phil, I think it's a brilliant piece of kit, the only thing I was let down with was the suction cup for mounting, which wasn't very good. One of the lads from SD gave me a hand sourcing a decent yoke mount from RAM mounts and its easier all round to use now! Happy landings!
Jim:ok:

[CharlieDeltaUK]

Second attempt to submit this post...the website failed to respond last time, so apologies if I end up with two posts.


I was saying that I would buy SkyDemon right now but I'm holding back to see if the rumoured iPad version is going to appear. So, if others are like me, I wonder whether SkyDemon is losing sales for a well-liked product while there is no official announcements (one way or another) on the iPad version.


I can understand suppliers not wanting to prejudice sales of current products by prematurely announcing new ones, but now that the speculation is out there, I suspect that SD could be losing sales anyway. I'm using AirNav Pro in the meantime, but I don't think it's as nice as SD.


There was talk of an iPad version being on show at the NEC - was that rumour or fact? Surely, if it was on show, they were expecting to say something about it.

[Lagentium]

Charlie Delta, I'd like to see how it would work on an iPad to be honest, because it will be considerably larger! I'm surprised they haven't wrote anything on here, as that was how I got my answer about the yoke mount and one of the team members replied

Cheers, Jim:ok:

[flybymike]

SD Beta version for Ipad definitely being test flown. I'm sure they will make any announcement only if and when they are good and ready.

[BabyBear]

and almost all functions are available:

SkyDemon for iPad (http://www.skydemon.aero/plan/ipad.aspx)

BB

[CharlieDeltaUK]

Well, like I said in my earlier post in this thread, I'm going to sign up forthwith.

[WorkingHard]

Lagentium would you mind telling which mount you actually used from RAM? It will save a lot of guessing.

many thanks

[Lagentium]

WorkingHard PM sent mate