AirNav VFR Flight Planner is Closing

[Possum1]

I am advised by Sentient Software, the owners of AirNav VFR, that their flight planner is closing as of the Airservices May 2019 map update. This leaves us users still able to use this planner but with only the ability to plan off the WAC charts after the VTC and VNC maps expire.

I, for one, will miss the ease and simplicity of planning a flight over the digitised versions of Airservices maps, then, when I go flying, just printing off accurate to scale A4 route maps and just rotating them from top to bottom in a plastic sleeve as the flight progresses.

Another great thing with AirNav VFR was its compatibility with old computers, being able to run on every operating system from Windows 98 through to Windows 10 and any PC from a Pentium 1 onwards.

Now I am expected to go out and buy some fragile, heat-sensitive IPAD thingy with obsolescence already engineered into it.

Does anyone know of any flight planner that will do the above?

[thisishardtochoose]

Champagne 3000?

[Possum1]

Champagne 3000?

Thanks but I can't see any evidence that they provide digitised VTCs, VNCs, WACs or any Airservices Charts or an ability to print these with the fight track on them.

[cessnapete]

Wow you are missing out Down Under! See what we get here with SkyDemon for European use Haven't used a paper chart for ages, and my “fragile IPad thingy” perfect and extremely reliable for the job. Prob best not to leave in the sun though at 40 deg!!

[Ia8825]

Wow you are missing out Down Under! See what we get here with SkyDemon for European use Haven't used a paper chart for ages, and my “fragile IPad thingy” perfect and extremely reliable for the job. Prob best not to leave in the sun though at 40 deg!!

We have that with Avplan/ozrunways, the software is amazing. And I have not had any issues with the iPad.

While my personal preference is Avplan, I have used both and they are both amazing software.

[Possum1]

Still, my printed paper route maps have a 100% chance of working every time.

The first thing any purchaser of an Ipad does is buy a protective screen and case for it. Then they buy a suitable clip/mount for it.

I buy a packet of 100 plastic sleeves from Officeworks for $5 and use just one of them for my printed paper route maps which I can then fold, drop, scratch, use as a meal tray and slop coffee on to my heart's content.

Neither Avplan or Ozrunways will work on a PC, let alone one that is 20 years old. The first thing Ozrunways warns you is that they do not support older Ipads.

My aviation grade Lowrance AirMap 500 GPS is still working well 15 years on. The printer and PC I use are 10 years old. Any consumer grade Ipad/tablet will just about be dead after 5 years.

[wishiwasupthere]

And if you bought an iPad, you might not have room in your flight bag for your sextant either!

[Ia8825]

And yet the airlines feel comfortable going to iPads and EFB’s...... wonder if anyone has told them the iPad isn’t reliable. Worst case scenario my iPad is good for 3 years (realistically 5), so it’s costing me about $150 per year. A subscription to DAPS alone costs nearly that much. The chance of both my iPads failing during flight is about as likely as your paper charts failing. And the vast majority of pilots have gone to EFBs and we don’t seem to have every pilot in Australia getting lost. In fact they now have easy access to vast amounts of information to support their in flight decision making. I understand wanting a paper back up, but realistically that can be done by just carrying a WAC. The capabilities of all the EFBs these days is phenomenal and only getting better.

[Possum1]

My situation is an entry level GA aircraft, no autopilot and often rough air that makes it difficult to select a radio frequency or make a nav/com selection, This is not an environment for the feather touch required of a touch-sensitive screen.

Now enough of the thread drift. This is what I require:

"...the ease and simplicity of planning a flight over the digitised versions of Airservices' maps ... just printing off accurate to scale A4 route maps and just rotating them from top to bottom in a plastic sleeve as the flight progresses ... compatibility with old computers, being able to run on every operating system from Windows 98 through to Windows 10 and any PC from a Pentium 1 onwards."

I intend to continue to operate my aircraft under the KISS principle and not be a slave to a whole lot of marketing gimmicks that are simply not required for my operation.

I repeat, "Does anyone know of a flight planner that will do the above?"

[jonkster]

Could you just scan the portions of the charts you want, print them and cut to fit the plastic holders, draw tracks on them as required with thick pencil/marker, use traditional scale ruler and protractor etc for measuring? It would not need a new computer (so long as it can operate a scanner), no need for ipad, no need for paid subscriptions other than buying the paper charts you need.

[kaz3g]

Possum, I don’t think there is one. At one stage I know people were making their own with Ozzie Explorer but that fizzled out when Ozrunways provided such a cheap alternative.

i used the AirNav product for years before iPads became common. I changed to iPads with Ozrunways in the Auster about 5 years ago and regularly travel across much of the country without any problems using it.

I no longer spend a fortune on the required paperwork, I have all the current charts at my fingertips, I lock the screen to avoid finger problems and the map automatically self-centres. It provides me with ground speed, ETR, frequency changes and a heap more. I’ve never had a failure but carry a back-up. I can get NOTAMS, weather overview, and other useful information on the wing and call a taxi and motel when I arrive.

While the gps is not approved and I am old-fashioned enough to enjoy map-reading, I continue to be amazed at the accuracy of the iPad gps. And I’m a Warbird, too.

I would never go back to to Air Nav. Time to change, mate.

kaz

[Ia8825]

Could you just scan the portions of the charts you want, print them and cut to fit the plastic holders, draw tracks on them as required with thick pencil/marker, use traditional scale ruler and protractor etc for measuring? It would not need a new computer (so long as it can operate a scanner), no need for ipad, no need for paid subscriptions other than buying the paper charts you need.

If I was going to do this then rather than scanning I would just download the electronic PDF available on the Airservices website. Print the parts you need. Probably use that and a combination of Champagne flight planner. It won’t quite be what you had before, however it’s the closest you will get. The market has largely spoken and the software you want just isn’t that sought after in the day of EFBs.

[djpil]

Before AvPlan and iPads I used UltraNav and then drew the lines on the paper charts that I bought. UltraNav ceased when the cost of ERSA data became excessive but I see that the author is still around Aircraft Performance Software by Ultra-Nav (http://www.ultranav.com/)

Seems to me that a lot of ink would be used in printing charts every time I went somewhere so I wouldn't contemplate it.

[junior.VH-LFA]

The future is now. I fail to understand the justification for resistance when literally all of the military and commercial industry are using EFB's to great success. I'm sorry, but there is simply no way that what you're describing is easier, safer, cheaper (even in printing cartridges alone) or more efficient.

[josephfeatherweight]

compatibility with old computers, being able to run on every operating system from Windows 98 through to Windows 10 and any PC from a Pentium 1 onwards.
Yeah, this is an unrealistic desire... Sorry, old Possum!

[Possum1]

Thanks, Jonkster. In the short term, I certainly do intend to scan and print the maps.

Kaz3g, thanks. The ability to lock the screen had not occurred to me as I have never owned an Ipad. I have just had to learn how to operate one on the run while assisting primary school students.

Yes junior.VH-LFA, djpil, a lot of ink is used. I recommend www.inkstation.com.au (http://www.inkstation.com.au) for very inexpensive ink and very quick delivery. Just don't expect it to stand up too well to UV light.

IA8825, thanks but I have tried one of the pdf files of Airservices' maps. The file is so large that my computer finds it almost unmanageable to manipulate without jerkiness and hanging.

Thanks, Josephfeatherweight, but I do remember the incredible hysteria surrounding the introduction of the Pentium Chip and how absolutely fantastic this was, and that there was nothing faster or ever likely to be. I also remember similar hysteria surrounding the introduction of the Windows 95 operating system and the queues outside shops in order to acquire the multiple floppy disks required to load this incredible new system onto their 386DX computers. Then more queues when Microsoft fixed Windows 95 and introduced Windows 98. I am a bit weary about the re-invention of the wheel and how wonderful this new wheel will be.

I automated my own weight and balance tables and graph 15 years ago by using Microsoft Excel. Now I am expected to give thanks that Ozrunways etc. can give me the same thing - I only have to load the same details that I loaded into my own program 15 years ago! Useful revision, I suppose.

[Stickshift3000]

I automated my own weight and balance tables and graph 15 years ago by using Microsoft Excel. Now I am expected to give thanks that Ozrunways etc. can give me the same thing - I only have to load the same details that I loaded into my own program 15 years ago! Useful revision, I suppose.

If you were willing to see what the latest applications are capable of you would realise they are capable of far greater than this. As a recent ‘returnee’ to flying, I am genuinely astounded by the capability of EFBs and what they can offer the average GA pilot (I even reluctantly bought an iPad).

Unless you’ve tried the modern alternatives, you simply can’t have an informed opinion of them. Many EFBs offer free trial periods, no strings attached.

[Car RAMROD]

Put your excel W&B file on the iPad. There are free apps that will let you use it.

See if you can borrow someone’s iPad with OzRunways one day, get a bit of a run down on how to use it, and give it a go when you go flying. You never know, you might enjoy it.