VFR CHARTS FOR IPAD 3
 

I have just bought an IPAD 3 and I'm gradually getting used to it. The GPS/Maps app is very impressive. Does anyone have any recommendations on apps to install UK 500,000 charts for a VFR flyer?

Many thanks.

SkyDemon. All you need for VFR flight in one package.

RunwayHD for official CAA charts...

Another vote for SkyDemon. It is astonishingly good. You can sign up for a 30 day free trial as well - so it's risk free.

I second what others say about Skydemon though I myself have not bought it. I have been using Airnav Pro from the App store which is an option if you must have the CAA charts instead of Skydemon's. This does the job for me until I have enough pennies for Skydemon.

Sky demon.

Try the 30 day trial and I'm sure you will sign up.

It has all of the European charts included, weather/winds aloft and Notams are all automatically added.

* [probably] MemoryMap if you only want the CAA charts / moving map
* Air Navigation Pro for something a little more sophisticated based on the CAA charts that allows for flight planning and navigation
* RunwayHD is a step up again including airspace warnings, live NOTAMs, weather etc.
* Skydemon don't use CAA charts, but it is arguably the most sophisticated GA aviation nav app in the European market right now (and will have airfield plates in a couple of weeks time)

FWIW, having got used to them I find Skydemon's charts preferable to the CAA charts (amongst other things they're vector diagrams so the words etc are always the right way up whether you want to fly north up or track up), controlled airspace is only shown in a band around the height / altitude the flight is / is likely to be conducted at, the plotting of NOTAMs and weather is incredibly useful, and the live navigation including airspace warnings makes flying with it very easy.

Andy

SkyDemon gets my vote, no question. As said above, it doesn't use CAA charts, however in my opinion the charting on SkyDemon is far superior to the CAA charts for GPS use.

For running the "printed" CAA VFR charts on an Ipad, I know of only Memory Map (which is a rather poor but functional app on the Ipad) but I vaguely recall that AirNavPro can also run them.

Norway (Avinor) has published the current Norwegian half mils on AirNav Pro.

Seems reasonable that the UK ones might work as well.

I was really impressed with skydemon on ipad, when I went along with an ex-student on a couple of trips recently.
Haven't seen RunwayHD yet for "real" CAA charts.

Skydemon by far. An extremely impressive bit of software.

The OP asked

Skydemon can't display these.

And I thought I was a pedant!

A pedant is a person who is excessively concerned with formalism and precision, or who makes a show of his or her learning.



Point taken, however, apps running the CAA maps are crap. As highlighted, much better to utilise the Skydemon map for VFR flying.

SkyDemon on iPad3 has been perect for my needs - realtime NOTAMS/METARS/TAFS, graphical profile of intended route, automatic FPL filing (free if flying through R112 during Olympics), automatic W&B calcs, endurance calcs, flight logging, etc. etc. I used to use a Flymap L with scanned 250000 and 500000 CAA charts, but the vectored SkyDemon charts are MUCH better. Take the 30 day trial - you'll sign up within a week :ok:

I do so hope this is irony!
;)

I have an iPad at home and an iPad on the aircraft panel. I have both sky demon and runway HD. I use one ipad for home planning (along with browsing and angry birds!) and the other for nav. Prior to using SD I always had an airspace aware and garmin 496 (which remains as my backup). Now the garmin seems horribly dated. I have been enjoying using SD but have had a nagging feeling that I was missing the official CAA charts, particularly because I could glance at the GPS and then find my place on the paper chart easily.

Well... Last night for was my first fly with runway HD instead of SD. Conclusion: it's much worse than SD. The CAA chart can only be north up, it's cluttered, it doesn't zoom without being unreadable. Contrary to my expectations it seemed old fashioned relative to SD. In addition, what's with the puke green aircraft? :) anyway, back to SkyDemon for me having properly sampled competition. And the latest SkyDemon even has a couple of new features I emailed Tim to suggest! Great software, great guy.

-Carl.

Naturally! Of course it is

I think a lot of cheap GPS products gave the CAA charts (which are IMHO the best VFR charts in Europe) a bad name, by displaying them on small screens, which is virtually useless because you can't see most of the airspace labels.

The smallest screen on which the CAA chart is readable is something like 8" to 10" - assuming 1:1 i.e. a real 500k scale.

I find they work fine on an Ipad, though the Ipad version of MM is a crap app.

Also I use the current-1 version of MM because in the last one they have somehow crippled the ability to run old QCT charts. With the version before, I can just drag/drop QCTs into MM's Documents directory using Iphone Explorer. This gives me access to potentially hundreds of 1:25k and 1:50k O/S maps which are widely available as QCTs.

For European VFR, Oziexplorer will open the way to running VFR charts for all of Europe, but the IOS version has been a long time coming...

Agreed - another important consideration; Tim is receptive to feedback, +ve or -ve and is grateful for constructive suggestions. He already has my 'wish list' (which includes a RW icon, even if it is puke green) :}

Many thanks for all your replies. I was a bit concerned at first about moving away from the traditional CAA charts that I have been using for years. However, there have been so many positive posts about Sky Demon that I'm going to give it a try. (I have been using Sky Demon Light for NOTAMs for ages anyway).:ok:

Regardless of whatever electronic solution you choose, you might not want to do away with the traditional paper charts anyway.

It can be debated whether having paper charts on board is still legally required if you have all the information available electronically (with backups as appropriate), but it is certainly a good idea.

Me personally, I'm not leaving the ground with an appropriate set of paper charts within reach. Despite having a panel-mounted and multiple hand-held GPSs with me.

1.3VStall - can you tell them I introduced you and I'll a free renewal...! :E

BackPacker - it's still a legal requirement to have a hardcopy map with you (even if you haven't looked at one for 10 years) :p

Do you have a reference for that, for any country in Europe?

The UK doesn't need them.

There was a recent lively discussion on another thread regarding - navigation, and the over reliance on one type, or preferred method.

As always, utilise multiple methods, be it point to point with map and compass, to a G1000, and I pad 3 with SD.

Maps are an integral part of aviation navigation, and as pointed out, still a legal requirement, AFAIW.:)

I reckon if you try to back that statement up with any relevant legislation, you'll fail!

It's in the ANO somewhere; I'll dig it out later :ok:

Damn. I said "It can be debated whether having paper charts on board is still legally required", not that we should actually debate it here.:{

There are plenty other threads here on PPRuNe about it.

They are definitely not required here in the UK.

I am also not aware of any European country which requires the carriage of paper charts.

If you think about it, it would not make much sense, because there are so many.

UK: CAA VFR, Jepp VFR/GPS
France: SIA, Cartabossy, IGN, Jepp VFR/GPS
Germany: German ICAO, Jepp VFR/GPS
etc
Most of Europe: Jepp VFR/GPS
Most of the world: US ONC/TPC (last updated 1998 but the only option for some places in the south :) )

For IFR, you have different enroute charts, and several sources of approach plates.

AOC operations will generally specify exactly what needs to be carried, but here we are talking about private flight.

So going fully electronic is legal.

Having said that, common sense needs to come into this. If you go fully electronic, where is your backup for

- device failure
- battery exhaustion
- lack of readability in the "wrong kind of sunlight"

I did a presentation the other day on VFR flying to Europe and I recommended that people plan on, and carry with them, the real printed charts. There is plenty of choice...

I use electronic presentations of the printed charts and normally print out enroute sections as required. The CAA chart lives on the back seat and never moves.

If you go electronic and carry a printed chart as a backup, then why not use the printed chart, and dispense with yet another bl00dy piece of IT gear which packs up when you most need it :)

The ANO schedule 4, section 5 says:

"5. The scales of equipment indicated in the Table at paragraph 4 are as follows:
Scale A
(1)
Spare fuses for all electrical circuits the fuses of which can be replaced in flight, consisting of 10 per cent of the number of each rating or three of each rating, whichever is the greater.
(2)
Maps, charts, codes and other documents and navigational equipment necessary, in addition to any other equipment required under this Order, for the intended flight of the aircraft including any diversion which may reasonably be expected."

Which implies it doesn't have to be a hard copy (although I suspect that was the intention as this was written before cheap GPS units proliferated. As someone said, it wouldn't be smart to rely on GPS though...

Since it's now a legal requirement to have a current chart for VFR flight in France, can that also be electronic?

TTB

Where is the actual wording?

I can get it professionally translated ;)

Oh dear, here we go...

I noticed it here.

I'm not sure that pilotwarehouse is an authoritative source :)

Hmmm... not so sure. The official French charts are the 1:1M SIA ones, not the 1:500k IGN ones referred to in that advert.

The IGN ones got a bad name in ~2003 when they failed to show the nuclear power station prohibited zones for about 2 years. Also they show no airspace above 5000ft AGL which, given the freedom in France to fly VFR to FL115, is pretty limiting. I used to fly with them.... pretty but not much good.