VFR flight planning and navigation software I've written
I've been following this & trying the home based prog. from the start on this forum. It's great !
Could you kindly alter the strip height for Jackrell's Farm to 230 ft. pls, next time you have the opportunity.
Thanks,
mikehallam.
Could you kindly alter the strip height for Jackrell's Farm to 230 ft. pls, next time you have the opportunity.
Thanks,
mikehallam.
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I can't personally, but the data for non-AIP airfields comes from FlightNav.co.uk. If you spot an error in that data, that's the place to go to get it corrected.
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SkyAngel 0.9.9 Released!
Hi Guys,
It's that time of the week again. This build adds a great deal of polish as we work towards the full version 1 release. Here's a breakdown of what's changed and new:
InFlight
---
Cut down data loading time by roughly two thirds, compared with previous release
Added "inspect" context menu item for examining all the information about any item on the main map
Approaching Features instrument enhanced with inspection capabilities, better warnings and more features drawn
When you exit the software, if the GPS was active it is automatically started next time
Follow mode (north/heading up) is now in Options, simplifying the menu item under the Chart menu to a simple check box
The map position and zoom level is now remembered
Warning thresholds are now adjustable, like they are in Plan, via the Options window
Route and track log folders have been changed to reside within the SkyAngel directory, because many devices were discarding the contents of the My Documents folder
Plan
---
Enroute Features view improved with better drawing and more helpful weather tooltips
PLOG format improved with more usage of colours to denote differences between waypoint types, radio aid types etc
The TAS for a route now comes from the aircraft default speed unless a route TAS is explicitly specified
User Waypoints window added for centralised management of user waypoints
User Waypoints are now exported to InFlight along with a route
Planned fuel is now saved along with a route
The last-used aircraft is now selected when the application is next started
Fixed a bug introduced two builds ago that would prevent SkyAngel from working on 64-bit Windows
Enjoy.
It's that time of the week again. This build adds a great deal of polish as we work towards the full version 1 release. Here's a breakdown of what's changed and new:
InFlight
---
Cut down data loading time by roughly two thirds, compared with previous release
Added "inspect" context menu item for examining all the information about any item on the main map
Approaching Features instrument enhanced with inspection capabilities, better warnings and more features drawn
When you exit the software, if the GPS was active it is automatically started next time
Follow mode (north/heading up) is now in Options, simplifying the menu item under the Chart menu to a simple check box
The map position and zoom level is now remembered
Warning thresholds are now adjustable, like they are in Plan, via the Options window
Route and track log folders have been changed to reside within the SkyAngel directory, because many devices were discarding the contents of the My Documents folder
Plan
---
Enroute Features view improved with better drawing and more helpful weather tooltips
PLOG format improved with more usage of colours to denote differences between waypoint types, radio aid types etc
The TAS for a route now comes from the aircraft default speed unless a route TAS is explicitly specified
User Waypoints window added for centralised management of user waypoints
User Waypoints are now exported to InFlight along with a route
Planned fuel is now saved along with a route
The last-used aircraft is now selected when the application is next started
Fixed a bug introduced two builds ago that would prevent SkyAngel from working on 64-bit Windows
Enjoy.
Hi Tim
I just loaded the new version of Plan and found that I had lost all my user waypoints. No problem to load them again but I thought I would try to load them from a saved route. Now here's a strange thing - if I highlight a waypoint in the old route, then right click to create a user waypoint it ends up a long way from where the old waypoint in the route was. Tried it with a few and they all seem to be 1 or 2 miles from where I expected.
Tone
I just loaded the new version of Plan and found that I had lost all my user waypoints. No problem to load them again but I thought I would try to load them from a saved route. Now here's a strange thing - if I highlight a waypoint in the old route, then right click to create a user waypoint it ends up a long way from where the old waypoint in the route was. Tried it with a few and they all seem to be 1 or 2 miles from where I expected.
Tone
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The user waypoint should end up in the exact position of the mouse cursor when you right-click; is this not happening?
We changed the user waypoint storage medium in this version. They're all stored in your My Documents folder under SkyAngel now, in a simple XML file so it's easy to share/edit/transfer/backup all of them without worrying that a future version might not find them (as has occurred here). Previously they were stored alongside the software's general settings.
We changed the user waypoint storage medium in this version. They're all stored in your My Documents folder under SkyAngel now, in a simple XML file so it's easy to share/edit/transfer/backup all of them without worrying that a future version might not find them (as has occurred here). Previously they were stored alongside the software's general settings.
A little less conversation,
a little more aviation...
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There are graduated levels of self-description and validation of XML, and editors which take this into account and ensure your changes are validated, but in the first instance try notepad....or vi.....
Last edited by eharding; 5th Nov 2009 at 23:41.
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Yes notepad will do it just fine. XML isn't that strict; as long as the elements are there (between the angle brackets) it will read the data just fine. Don't worry too much about carriage returns or other whitespace. You'll see that there's just one waypoint per line.
Having said that, it shouldn't be necessary to edit the file manually when you can use SkyAngel to do it. But, if you wanted to import a load of waypoints from a friend, pasting them in to the file would work just fine.
Having said that, it shouldn't be necessary to edit the file manually when you can use SkyAngel to do it. But, if you wanted to import a load of waypoints from a friend, pasting them in to the file would work just fine.
Hi Tim
I have tried this again by setting up a new route to include Bottesford VRP and Hucknall. With this route loaded I right clicked on the Bottesford and Hucknall boxes and created user waypoints. Both turned out to be some distance from where I expected them to be.
From the route data;
<Hint Location="N525753.00 W0004654.00" Name="Bottesford" />
<Hint Location="N530052.00 W0011306.00" Name="Hucknall" />
and from the user waypoints;
Bot N525804.00 W0004644.00
Huc N530027.00 W0011048.00
The cursor was in the middle of the descrition box when I right clicked. This oddity only occurs if you try to create user waypoints from an existing route and the only reason I was trying to do this was because I thought I had lost all my user waypoints.
Perhaps not serious but you should be aware of it.
Tone
I have tried this again by setting up a new route to include Bottesford VRP and Hucknall. With this route loaded I right clicked on the Bottesford and Hucknall boxes and created user waypoints. Both turned out to be some distance from where I expected them to be.
From the route data;
<Hint Location="N525753.00 W0004654.00" Name="Bottesford" />
<Hint Location="N530052.00 W0011306.00" Name="Hucknall" />
and from the user waypoints;
Bot N525804.00 W0004644.00
Huc N530027.00 W0011048.00
The cursor was in the middle of the descrition box when I right clicked. This oddity only occurs if you try to create user waypoints from an existing route and the only reason I was trying to do this was because I thought I had lost all my user waypoints.
Perhaps not serious but you should be aware of it.
Tone
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Tone, I'm pretty sure this is happening because you're expecting the new waypoint to be created in exactly the same position as the centre of the turningpoint box. This isn't the case; it'll be created in the position of the mouse cursor which is likely off by a few pixels, which will translate to a few seconds of accuracy.
Thanks for bringing it to my attention though. In the future it might be possible to detect the case where you're clicking on an existing turningpoint and enforce the exact position of the turningpoint, rather than getting the current mouse cursor position.
Thanks for bringing it to my attention though. In the future it might be possible to detect the case where you're clicking on an existing turningpoint and enforce the exact position of the turningpoint, rather than getting the current mouse cursor position.
Tim
Thanks for the quick reply. The thing that brought this to my attention was the fact that the user waypoints I created were well ouside the turning point box, up to a mile or more. If it were only a few pixels different I would't have noticed.
Tone
Thanks for the quick reply. The thing that brought this to my attention was the fact that the user waypoints I created were well ouside the turning point box, up to a mile or more. If it were only a few pixels different I would't have noticed.
Tone
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I love being able to insert custom NOTAMs for my home FIR.
However, there's a bug in the implementation. It will only work when copying the NOTAM list in IE. When using Google Chrome, you get all the NOTAMs parsed as one giant NOTAM.
The culprit is the end-of-line detection. IE copies the NOTAMs as
ESAA (SWEDEN FIR) Top
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A0377/09 NOTAMN Q) ESAA/QXXXX/I /NB /E /000/999/6156N01713E999 A) ESAA B) 0910160838 C) 0911192359 E) NEW CFMU AFTN ADDRESSES EUCHZMFP AND EUCBZMFP ARE OPERATIONAL. OLD CFMU AFTN ADDRESSES ARE PLANNED TO BE DISCONTINUED WEF. 22 OCT 2009. REF AIC A10/08 AND ENR 1.11 AIP AIRAC AMDT. 121/09
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A0382/09 NOTAMN Q) ESAA/QANCH/I /NBO/E /285/460/6156N01713E999 A) ESAA B) 0911190000 C) PERM E) RNAV ROUTE UP850 FL285-FL460 CHANGE OF FLIGHT LEVEL ALLOCATION AS FLW: NORTHEASTBOUND SUTOK-BAKIL ODD, SOUTHWESTBOUND BAKIL-SUTOK EVEN. REF AIP PAGE ENR 3-3-32 WEF 19 NOV 2009 F) FL285 G) FL460
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A0388/09 NOTAMR A0340/09 Q) ESAA/QKKKK/K /K /K /000/999/6156N01713E999 A) ESAA B) 0911011014 C) 0912011014 EST E) CHECKLIST YEAR=2008 0285 YEAR=2009 0014 0236 0237 0302 0329 0366 0374 0376 0377 0382 LATEST PUBLICATIONS AIP AIRAC AMDT IFR 121/2009 EFFECTIVE DATE 19 NOV 09 AIP AIRAC SUP IFR 003/2009 EFFECTIVE DATE 09 APR 09 AIP SUP IFR 023/2009 EFFECTIVE DATE 15 OCT 09 AIC IFR A008/2009 EFFECTIVE DATE 28 MAY 09
while Google Chrome enters the same NOTAMs on the clipboard as
Cut and paste into Word to replace each carriage return with a double carriage returns solves the problem, so apparently SkyAngel expects double CRs for some reason.
Yet another item on the to do list, but a rather small one I'd say.
If you want more of a challenge, make it possible to present the full text of each notam when double clicking them. As it is, there are plenty of notams which are not easily deciphered when truncated to only the text portion and the position.
Cheers!
/Fred
However, there's a bug in the implementation. It will only work when copying the NOTAM list in IE. When using Google Chrome, you get all the NOTAMs parsed as one giant NOTAM.
The culprit is the end-of-line detection. IE copies the NOTAMs as
ESAA (SWEDEN FIR) Top
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A0377/09 NOTAMN Q) ESAA/QXXXX/I /NB /E /000/999/6156N01713E999 A) ESAA B) 0910160838 C) 0911192359 E) NEW CFMU AFTN ADDRESSES EUCHZMFP AND EUCBZMFP ARE OPERATIONAL. OLD CFMU AFTN ADDRESSES ARE PLANNED TO BE DISCONTINUED WEF. 22 OCT 2009. REF AIC A10/08 AND ENR 1.11 AIP AIRAC AMDT. 121/09
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A0382/09 NOTAMN Q) ESAA/QANCH/I /NBO/E /285/460/6156N01713E999 A) ESAA B) 0911190000 C) PERM E) RNAV ROUTE UP850 FL285-FL460 CHANGE OF FLIGHT LEVEL ALLOCATION AS FLW: NORTHEASTBOUND SUTOK-BAKIL ODD, SOUTHWESTBOUND BAKIL-SUTOK EVEN. REF AIP PAGE ENR 3-3-32 WEF 19 NOV 2009 F) FL285 G) FL460
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A0388/09 NOTAMR A0340/09 Q) ESAA/QKKKK/K /K /K /000/999/6156N01713E999 A) ESAA B) 0911011014 C) 0912011014 EST E) CHECKLIST YEAR=2008 0285 YEAR=2009 0014 0236 0237 0302 0329 0366 0374 0376 0377 0382 LATEST PUBLICATIONS AIP AIRAC AMDT IFR 121/2009 EFFECTIVE DATE 19 NOV 09 AIP AIRAC SUP IFR 003/2009 EFFECTIVE DATE 09 APR 09 AIP SUP IFR 023/2009 EFFECTIVE DATE 15 OCT 09 AIC IFR A008/2009 EFFECTIVE DATE 28 MAY 09
ESAA (SWEDEN FIR) Top
A0377/09 NOTAMN Q) ESAA/QXXXX/I /NB /E /000/999/6156N01713E999 A) ESAA B) 0910160838 C) 0911192359 E) NEW CFMU AFTN ADDRESSES EUCHZMFP AND EUCBZMFP ARE OPERATIONAL. OLD CFMU AFTN ADDRESSES ARE PLANNED TO BE DISCONTINUED WEF. 22 OCT 2009. REF AIC A10/08 AND ENR 1.11 AIP AIRAC AMDT. 121/09
A0382/09 NOTAMN Q) ESAA/QANCH/I /NBO/E /285/460/6156N01713E999 A) ESAA B) 0911190000 C) PERM E) RNAV ROUTE UP850 FL285-FL460 CHANGE OF FLIGHT LEVEL ALLOCATION AS FLW: NORTHEASTBOUND SUTOK-BAKIL ODD, SOUTHWESTBOUND BAKIL-SUTOK EVEN. REF AIP PAGE ENR 3-3-32 WEF 19 NOV 2009 F) FL285 G) FL460
A0388/09 NOTAMR A0340/09 Q) ESAA/QKKKK/K /K /K /000/999/6156N01713E999 A) ESAA B) 0911011014 C) 0912011014 EST E) CHECKLIST YEAR=2008 0285 YEAR=2009 0014 0236 0237 0302 0329 0366 0374 0376 0377 0382 LATEST PUBLICATIONS AIP AIRAC AMDT IFR 121/2009 EFFECTIVE DATE 19 NOV 09 AIP AIRAC SUP IFR 003/2009 EFFECTIVE DATE 09 APR 09 AIP SUP IFR 023/2009 EFFECTIVE DATE 15 OCT 09 AIC IFR A008/2009 EFFECTIVE DATE 28 MAY 09
A0377/09 NOTAMN Q) ESAA/QXXXX/I /NB /E /000/999/6156N01713E999 A) ESAA B) 0910160838 C) 0911192359 E) NEW CFMU AFTN ADDRESSES EUCHZMFP AND EUCBZMFP ARE OPERATIONAL. OLD CFMU AFTN ADDRESSES ARE PLANNED TO BE DISCONTINUED WEF. 22 OCT 2009. REF AIC A10/08 AND ENR 1.11 AIP AIRAC AMDT. 121/09
A0382/09 NOTAMN Q) ESAA/QANCH/I /NBO/E /285/460/6156N01713E999 A) ESAA B) 0911190000 C) PERM E) RNAV ROUTE UP850 FL285-FL460 CHANGE OF FLIGHT LEVEL ALLOCATION AS FLW: NORTHEASTBOUND SUTOK-BAKIL ODD, SOUTHWESTBOUND BAKIL-SUTOK EVEN. REF AIP PAGE ENR 3-3-32 WEF 19 NOV 2009 F) FL285 G) FL460
A0388/09 NOTAMR A0340/09 Q) ESAA/QKKKK/K /K /K /000/999/6156N01713E999 A) ESAA B) 0911011014 C) 0912011014 EST E) CHECKLIST YEAR=2008 0285 YEAR=2009 0014 0236 0237 0302 0329 0366 0374 0376 0377 0382 LATEST PUBLICATIONS AIP AIRAC AMDT IFR 121/2009 EFFECTIVE DATE 19 NOV 09 AIP AIRAC SUP IFR 003/2009 EFFECTIVE DATE 09 APR 09 AIP SUP IFR 023/2009 EFFECTIVE DATE 15 OCT 09 AIC IFR A008/2009 EFFECTIVE DATE 28 MAY 09
Yet another item on the to do list, but a rather small one I'd say.
If you want more of a challenge, make it possible to present the full text of each notam when double clicking them. As it is, there are plenty of notams which are not easily deciphered when truncated to only the text portion and the position.
Cheers!
/Fred
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Where's that requirement found? Not saying I doubt it exists, I just can't locate it from a quick browse through Annex 15/Doc 8400 and I'm curious by nature.
Regarding the copying algorithms, you'll have to blame Naviair (which you link in SkyAngel) and not Google Chrome. It's the Naviair site which (re)publishes the NOTAMs without any newlines at all, as the NOTAM page is an HTML table rather than raw text. This gives browsers a lot of freedom to implement the copying any old way they please, regardless of what ICAO says.
As a user, I kindly request this feature in order to be able to use my standard browser in conjunction with your software. ICAO compliant or not, the current implementation hampers the usability of the software.
Ideally, we'd have access to the raw NOTAM feeds for every FIR in the world but looking at it realistically, you'll have users copying NOTAM text from pretty much any source they can get their hands on. Strict enforcement of the data format will mean lots of frustrated users around the world. This far, it's just luck that IE copies tables in a (non-ICAO-compliant) format which the parser can handle.
Cheers,
/Fred
Regarding the copying algorithms, you'll have to blame Naviair (which you link in SkyAngel) and not Google Chrome. It's the Naviair site which (re)publishes the NOTAMs without any newlines at all, as the NOTAM page is an HTML table rather than raw text. This gives browsers a lot of freedom to implement the copying any old way they please, regardless of what ICAO says.
As a user, I kindly request this feature in order to be able to use my standard browser in conjunction with your software. ICAO compliant or not, the current implementation hampers the usability of the software.
Ideally, we'd have access to the raw NOTAM feeds for every FIR in the world but looking at it realistically, you'll have users copying NOTAM text from pretty much any source they can get their hands on. Strict enforcement of the data format will mean lots of frustrated users around the world. This far, it's just luck that IE copies tables in a (non-ICAO-compliant) format which the parser can handle.
Cheers,
/Fred