CloudAhoy to Charge for Debrief

Back in March, I wrote a review of CloudAhoy, giving it a shining review.  As far as apps go, it’s rather simple, and the debrief feature offers a ton of data for analyzing flights after you’re done.  It’s useful for debriefing yourself, or it could also be used as an impartial observer to debrief a student as a CFI.

 

If any of you have an account with CloudAhoy, I’m sure you got their email last night.  For those of you who did not receive it, I’ll recap it here.

 

In order to continue debrief your flights, you will now have to pay a subscription fee.

 

First, I have to be fair and address some things that I know others will not address:

• The fact that they are now charging for the service is reasonable, given the benefits it provides.  This move does not surprise me in the least.
• Servers cost money – either to purchase and maintain yourself, or have someone else host
• Domains cost money – either to host yourself, or have someone else host
• Bandwidth costs money – either through you managing this yourself through an ISP, or indirectly in a fee to whoever hosts your site and data server
• Additional employees cost money
• Being an Apple developer costs money

I say that to admit that charging for the service is not uncalled for.  The best things in life are not free, and to be honest, I was surprised that it was free for this long.  My issue rests with the price of the subscription.

 

I’m really trying to approach this from a rational, balanced point of view.  I appreciate that the developer wants to recoup costs, and probably make a little money on the side.  As someone who pays to be an Apple developer, and manages web services for a company, I understand these costs well.  At the same time, I also understand how expensive aviation truly is, and how it’s already difficult enough to justify everything in aviation – particularly to significant others and concerned family members in general.  Most people don’t give me too much trouble when I tell them that the necessary charts for flying are about $75 per year through ForeFlight.  If I said I was spending $70 per year to analyze data that I’m collecting personally, on my personal iPad, using my own personal GPS, I’d get funny looks.  I do understand that CloudAhoy’s servers are doing the number crunching and eventual data storage, but I feel like the business model is all wrong here.

 

I’m sure there are some economies of scale at play, but I don’t believe that it is really driving the price point as much as one might believe.  I understand that the aviation community is a lot smaller than the target audience of other products and services, but it is not a small one in and of itself.  I understand that data storage, data calls, data transfers, data processing, and other tasks can also cost money.  I’m just having a very difficult time accepting that $70 is an acceptable price point to meet the costs of business, or even operate at a modest profit.  As the email states itself, the user base is rapidly growing and spans all continents with the exception of Antarctica.

 

Since I don’t know the costs that they’re operating with, I won’t attempt to make cost arguments based on notional numbers, as they may be misleading.  I really want to stress that this is just my opinion rather than anything else.

 

My arguments are as follows:

• The email states that their data storage is in the cloud.  Cloud storage can get particularly expensive, depending on the provider, and the way in which they price their data storage.  This could drive the cost up significantly if not structured properly for the service provided.
• The profit driver of today’s age is data.  Why is it that Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the like are all free?  They have to pay for servers and other similar costs, too.  The answer is data.  Your information, interests, and habits are all sold to those wanting the data.  Imagine the amazing amount of information that CloudAhoy servers now contain from all of the tracked flights.  FlightAware provides data to those who request it for many different purposes.  From my understanding of their privacy policy, I do not think that they are taking advantage of this.
• As much as trying to make a living off of something you enjoy would be great, some endeavors require time and clever number crunching to make work.  As the definition of “make a living” can be highly personal, I’ll end my point here.

I’d honestly love to see CloudAhoy succeed, but I don't think that the current model is the best avenue for that success – personally.  I may be completely wrong in that assessment, but I find $70 to be way too expensive for what is provided in return.

 

As a data guy, I know that the data can then be sold to other people.  I’m sure the likes of AOPA, GAMA, manufacturers, and many others would love to see the data.  Based on their answer regarding the privacy policy, I do not believe this is being taken advantage of.  This could significantly increase their revenues, and affect the price point.  All of this would come without directly affecting customer privacy, too.  As an example, CloudAhoy detects airports that you fly to and from.  On an aggregate level, route pairs, airport activity and so on could be sold to people requesting the data, and provided the flights are not referenced to individual users in the data, I would not consider privacy to be compromised.

 

Again, as much as I think they have a great product on their hands, and as much as I like to see success in aviation, I won’t be springing for the service unless something changes.

Here is the full text of the email for those who are interested:

Allow me to interrupt your flight debriefs for a news flash.

 

There is a significant change coming. In December 2013 we will start charging a subscription fee for debriefing flights.  I am very excited about this; let me tell you why.

 

On May 2011, the first version of CloudAhoy landed at Apple’s app store. In the two and a half years since, CloudAhoy became an important tool for a rapidly growing community of pilots.  It spread by word of mouth - first in flight training, then in GA, military and commercial aviation.  It is being used in every continent except Antarctica.

 

CloudAhoy started as a hobby of mine, and the first CloudAhoy server ran from my house.  It soon became my day job (OK, also my night job) as well as that of other people, and our servers are now hosted securely in the cloud.

 

We have grown, and plan to keep growing our team.  Your subscription will let us continue to provide you with the same level of dedicated and fast response to questions, feedback and feature requests, large and small. Our road-map for the next year is full of exciting developments - I think you will be delighted.  Oh, and BTW your subscription will also allow us CloudAhoyians to pay the mortgage, and occasionally indulge in consuming $100 hamburgers.  We do this work both because we are passionately in love with it, and because we want to make a living off it. 

We will transition your account as follows:

• On December 2nd you will get a free and unlimited use of CloudAhoy, expiring 35 days after your next fight (flown after December 2nd).
• 12-month subscription with unlimited use: introductory price of $45 if bought before May 2014, $70 afterwards.
• 3-month subscription: $20, all of which can be used later towards buying an upgrade to 12-months.
• As an existing user you will receive a special appreciation bonus days equal to 10% of the time since you’ve signed up. It will be awarded when you purchase a 3 or 12 months subscription. Thank you!
• If your free use or the subscription expires, you will still have full debrief access to all your flights (plus flights shared with you) prior to the expiration.  You will also be able to log new flights and have them listed in your flight list, but you will need to renew your subscription in order to debrief them.

 

ForeFlight vs. Garmin Pilot

Given the amount of traffic the comparison of the Garmin GLO and the Dual XGPS150 is getting, it seems like comparative reviews are what people are looking for.  Following that example, I'll be putting ForeFlight up against Garmin Pilot in this post, to give people an idea of what each app is capable of.

Before I dive too deeply into either app, the overview is that they're both capable applications with their own strong points and quirks.  Overall, I tested ease of use from a general aviation, single pilot operation perspective.  That's not to say they can't be used for aviation of a more professional order, but when you're flying a smaller aircraft on your own, the easier things are to accomplish, the better.  In order to avoid taking up extra space tagging the pictures from ForeFlight and Garmin Pilot, I'll use the convention of placing ForeFlight images on the left, and Garmin Pilot images on the right.

General Interface Points

My first reaction to the Garmin Pilot interface was that it was slightly less organized and slightly more casual-looking than ForeFlight.  After digging around, though, you get the hang of where they put things and why they put them there.  The "more casual-looking" comment comes from the fact that Garmin Pilot's buttons are huge, but when you're bouncing around in turbulence, or trying to otherwise fly the plane, the last thing you need to worry about is fat-fingering a button.  Each button is clearly labeled, both textually and graphically.  In the end, I can't fault them for that.  They're just different approaches.

The Maps Interface

The maps interface for both apps gets all kinds of information in front of you.  In the display arena, I give Garmin Pilot the edge, as it offers the same information as ForeFlight and slightly more.  You can see ForeFlight's information displayed in the picture, but Garmin Pilot's is not (you can access navigation information under Menu > Show Navigation Info).  Additionally, Garmin Pilot offers widgets, which are larger and give you more data in each widget.  As an example, the Garmin Pilot navigation widget gives you (by default) altitude, bearing, course, cross track error, distance to destination, distance to next, ETA to destination, ETA to next, ETE to destination, ETE to next, ground speed, horizontal accuracy, latitude, and longitude.  While that information is great to have, without filters you'll have to do some glancing around to find the data you want, and it takes up half of your screen area while you're at it.  The widget area can also be converted to somewhat of an avionics suite through Menu > Split Screen > Panel.  While it's a neat tool, it also eats half of your map display.  Such a feature would be a great backup in the case of an emergency, however.

Both apps are equally capable with maps and overlays, but in the functionality arena, I give ForeFlight the edge.  While Garmin Pilot displays a prominent direct-to button, it lacks the route capabilities that ForeFlight has from this screen.  ForeFlight has a route and nav log right from this interface, whereas with the exception of the direct-to button, Garmin Pilot's route planning is textually accomplished on a separate page.  You can, however, graphically plan using Tools > Graphically Edit Route, and just tap on the airports and VORs that you want, though fixes can be tougher, and you don't have the ability to specify airways.

The Flight Planning Interface

The flight planning interface allows you to add your flight plan into the app in order to display it on the map, or file it using the filing features.  Both applications allow you to type in your route, or create your route by tapping on the individual waypoints on the map, however ForeFlight is the only one that allows you to do it on the same page.  Both apps will also parse V and J airways, which helps immensely in entering longer routes.  As ForeFlight allows you to manage this all from the same page, along with providing the user guidance on altitude with wind data, my vote is for ForeFlight here.

The Airports Interface

The airports interface for both apps gets you all the information you'll need for any airport in the database.  As they both generally have the same information, and the same amount of information, I'll call it even data-wise.  You can see in the pictures, though, each app has its own approach to data display.  ForeFlight offers more of a filtered view, while Garmin Pilot gives you all of the data on larger screens.  Despite the very logically-organized and filtered view offered by ForeFlight, I'll give the interface edge to Garmin Pilot.  While you can see all of the frequency information is dumped into one page, it doesn't require me to click around the various frequency types to get the data I need.  It's just a matter of scrolling.  The buttons for this information are also larger, making them easier to hit.

The Charts Interface

The charts interface of both apps allows you to find charts and store them in binders with relative ease and organization.  ForeFlight's search feature seemed easier to use and more organized than Garmin Pilot, as its search feature shows airports you've selected from the airport, maps, and file and brief pages, along with charts from your favorite airports.  The Garmin Pilot search feature simply gives you a search box, though it does have buttons at the top right to filter down by chart type, and a history of what you have searched and viewed before.  In binder view, however, Garmin Pilot automatically adds in temporary binders for your origin and destination airports if you've entered a flight plan.  As they both display the same data, and each have minor strong points, I'll call this one relatively even.

The Imagery Interface

The imagery interface allows you to get access to weather.  Both products have a significant amount of weather data available.  I'd argue ForeFlight did a better job of segmenting the data by country, but that's not to say Garmin Pilot's interface isn't just as capable.  I'll call this one even as well.

The Flight Plan Filing and Briefing Interface

The flight plan filing and briefing interface allows you to brief yourself and file your flight plan through CSC DUATS (and in the case of Garmin Pilot, DTC DUAT as well).  It's tough to compare these two apps in this category, because they both allow you to do the same thing, but they both use the pages slightly differently.  As you can see, ForeFlight is primarily aimed at setting your flight plan up and getting you on your way to a flight brief and file.  Garmin Pilot's interface is slightly more of a review with a flight summary and nav log, with the flight brief and filing option as well.  I will say, though, that the Garmin Pilot interface does have a nifty feature of knowing when to, and when not to offer the SFRA flight plan option, whereas it is always available in ForeFlight.  This page, on both applications, is heavily enhanced through adding your pilot and aircraft information in the settings panels.  While the interfaces are vastly different, I can't say either one is better than the other.

The Scratch Pad

The scratch pad is where you write reminders for yourself.  I used this extensively on my flight a month ago to keep track of how many landings I had done.  There's not much to say other than each one has its own advantages.  With the ForeFlight scratch pad, you can either draw or type.  If you mess up while drawing, however, your only option is to clear the whole sheet.  While you'd otherwise likely writing with pen on paper and just crossing it out anyway, it's worth mentioning.  Garmin Pilot allows you to draw, with no option for typing, though it does have an eraser and a clear option for when you mess up.

The Settings Interface

The settings interface for both applications allows you to set your preferences and store user information about yourself (or other pilots who may be using this application), and the aircraft you fly.  Both are predominantly the same, although the Garmin Pilot app does have a few advantages in showing you pictures of your aircraft icon selection, filter search criteria for map view, and the ability to connect to various Garmin hardware.  While ForeFlight allows you to manage your downloads without having to go to a separate page, Garmin Pilot's download page also shows you the app's memory footprint, as you make you decisions on what to and not to download.  Based on some of the more granular options, and the ability to connect up to all kinds of hardware, I'll hand the win here to Garmin Pilot.

The Larger Differences

One of the main benefits of Garmin Pilot is its ability to tie in nicely with various hardware, to include weather and traffic.  This hardware includes the Garmin GDL 39, which provides both ADS-B traffic and weather, and the Baron Mobile Link, which provides XM satellite weather.  ForeFlight is against the display of traffic in its app, for reasons I can only partially agree with, so no matter what you use it seems weather is the most you'll get.  ForeFlight does, on the other hand, include various publications in its download options, such as the FAR/AIM.  While that's seemingly small, consider the fact that you now have an always-up-to-date version of the FAR/AIM, without having to go buy a new one (about $12) yearly.  If you're ever flying around wondering about cloud clearances or communications requirements, you can easily pull it up to double check.  ForeFlight has also released a new version of the app including terrain data and associated warnings.

Conclusion

Based on the numbers, the Garmin Pilot app takes it based on total categories won, but it's not like you can go wrong with ForeFlight.  I use ForeFlight, and I doubt I'll switch to Garmin Pilot.  Unless I get the equipment to take advantage of some of Garmin Pilot's features, I don't see the advantage for me to give up some of the features I do like about ForeFlight over the Garmin Pilot app.  In the end, your decision may come down to price, as Garmin Pilot is less expensive across the board than ForeFlight, shown below.  Both applications allow you to try the app out for 30 days, so try both of them out and see how you like them.

Here is the breakdown for pricing:

Yearly Subscription
ForeFlight: $74.99 (includes runway proximity advisories, even without purchase of geo-referenced charts)
Garmin Pilot: $49.99 (add $29.99 for SafeTaxi, which adds geo-referenced ground charts)

Geo-referencing:
ForeFlight: +$75.00 (for a total price of $149.99 per year)
Garmin Pilot: +$49.99 (and +$29.99 if you would like SafeTaxi, for a total of $129.97 per year)



If you'd like to see anything else reviewed here, let me know on the Facebook page, or @TheMintGreenLog on Twitter.

Good luck in your decision making.

ForeFlight - Garmin Pilot

Review: CloudAhoy

Any time I have the thought "back in my day," I like to laugh at myself as I'm neither old in age nor in pilot experience.  After having used CloudAhoy on a few flights, however, I can't help the thought.  Reviewing my training flights, or flight performance in general was all manual, based off of what my instructor and I both remembered during the flight.  In some cases, one of us would scratch something down on a piece of paper as a reminder, but the post flight analysis was based off of our recollections of the flight, regardless of how our memories were jogged.

Enter CloudAhoy.

Where I once tried to re-fly the flight in my head and pull out the noteworthy parts through memory, I now have the flight recorded and tracked in its entirety.

When I first downloaded the application and looked at the user interface, I laughed.  There are four boxes to enter your data - tail number, your name, a co-pilot or CFI, and optional remarks - two areas showing your connectivity to data (3G or wireless) and GPS (internal or external), and two large start and stop buttons.  It's as simple as that.  Press start before you start the engine, and press stop when you're done.  It also has an auto-stop feature (enabled/disabled on the settings page), which helped the one time I forgot to press stop, but I couldn't tell you what triggers it.  I'm guessing it was either the GPS getting turned off, or just that it noticed I hadn't moved in so many minutes.  In any case, the initial user interface is extremely simple, which is what drew my laugh initially.  It was only later that I picked my jaw up off of the floor because of the amount of data that hit me post flight.

After the flight is where the magic is shown.  If you think the app looks too simplistic on the flight screen, wait until the flight data is shown on the debrief screen.  Switching from the iPad to a computer yields even better results, like the ability to utilize the Google Earth browser plugin for more features.  Either way, in the app or on a computer, the left panel allows you to view the flight, broken up into segments automatically by default.  If the app detects you are taxiing, or taking off, or flying a turn around a point, or a chandelle, or landing, it will automatically section that data off so that you can analyze that part of the flight on its own.  Automation is never perfect, so it sometimes grabs items that it shouldn't, but that hasn't caused any huge issues for me so far.  As an example, on my last flight it snagged one of my laps around the pattern as a left 360 (the yellow line in the picture).  Various colors help you to see the various maneuvers.  The blue lines are normal flight, with the white and amber being approach and touch-and-go segments, respectively.  All of these segments, again, are recognized automatically.

What about the non-standard, or very specific segments, you ask?

You may remember from the flight up to Harford County that I flew the GPS approach to the airport.  The entire GPS approach was shown as blue (normal flight - pictured above), as the app saw the approach as nothing out of the ordinary.  Trying to keep up with, and set the program up for every single approach out there would be nearly impossible.  Instead, the developer created a CFI tab so that you could add your own maneuvers.  This way, you can add the maneuvers you plan on flying before the flight, and your CFI or co-pilot can simply click on the begin and end buttons for each maneuver.  This allows you to track, color and name each maneuver so that you may analyze them separately.  Additionally, you can also track your hood time by adding that as a custom segment type.

The flight marker option allows you to simply mark a specific point in the flight to remind yourself later on.  While the option isn't as specific as defining a segment, it's a lot faster for situations that happen on the fly.  The note in the program states: "in flight, when you want to mark an event, tap the event marker and optionally write a corresponding comment on a piece of paper.  The tap will result in a number marker shown on the flight path at the current location.  Each tap, increments the number.  You can later discuss these comments with your student during the debrief."  Having this tab back when I was training for my private pilot license would have really helped me out.

The last tab is a settings tab that allows you to select an auto stop feature, disable broadcasting in flight, lock the screen, and set up your CloudAhoy account.

For those of you currently in any level of training, if your instructor does not currently use CloudAhoy, I would recommend talking to him or her about adding it as a tool for your flight training analysis.  It could really have a significant impact on the way that you learn and progress through training.  After all, one of the fundamentals of instructing, and therefore learning, is critique and evaluation, which this tool would only further enhance.

The only potential negative I found with the application was that it doesn't come with a manual.  Granted, we often joke that people rarely ever actually read said manuals, but one would still be helpful for reference.  To the developer's credit, however, there are several locations with information buttons explaining what the feature is meant to do.  The above quote about flight markers came directly from one of those in-app buttons.

Overall, it's a great app and you really can't go wrong with it.  Beyond that, it's free, so you have nothing to lose.  Try it out on your next flight and see how it can help you debrief after a flight.

cloudahoy.com

Review: Barnstormer Recording Cable

For the longest time I've wanted to have the cockpit and air traffic dialogue captured, if only for the funny moments back and forth.  I've had to try to explain a few of them, and they just don't have the same effect in writing as they would if you heard them.  My failure to switch from Potomac to Winchester (OKV) CTAF back in April would've been hilarious to have on tape.  Unfortunately, you can only barely hear my laughing in the background of the recording from the ContourGPS.  Luckily, my friend Phil found a solution.

Phil bought himself a voice recorder and an audio cable that converts the different jack sizes and allows a pass-through for your headset.  The cable is manufactured by Barnstormer Audio, and the story of it arriving to me was quite the saga.

As I was on vacation at the beginning of September, I was looking at various aviation tools (and probably munching on a Fractured Prune donut from right down the road).  One of the tools I looked at, and eventually purchased, was the audio cable.  Phil gave me a link and warned me that they took a little prodding to get the order off to you, but I pressed on anyway and bought it for $34.95.  The checkout page noted there was a backorder on the cables, and to expect things to take slightly longer.  Looking back at my email and PayPal accounts, my transaction went through at 16:44 on September 2, 2012.  After it all went through, I made mental notes of concession for the backorder and the holiday weekend.

One week?  Nothing.  Okay, expected.
Two weeks?  Nothing.  Partly expected, but an update would've been nice, even just to say "still waiting."
Three weeks?  Nothing.  At this point, an update should really be happening.
I sent an email requesting the status on September 23.  No response.
Four weeks?  Nothing, and no response to my email, so I sent another on October 1.  No response.
A couple days later?  Nothing, and still no response to my email.
I sent another email on October 3.  No response.  This email, like all of the others, indicated that all I was looking for was an update.  Unlike the others, however, I included that I would have to take action with PayPal if I didn't hear back by Friday of that week.  PayPal's official policy is that you have up to 45 days to submit a dispute, but I didn't want to press up against that deadline.

I believe it was one or two days after that I received a response through PayPal's resolution center asking me to remove the hold so that the item could be shipped, and that the backorder issue was noted when I purchased the product.  As I noted above, this is very true.  The issue, however, was the complete communication blackout.  Selling products to pilots, I would have thought that would have been an understandable expectation.





As far as the performance of the cable goes, it seemed to have done really well on my last flight.  The video in my last post is proof that it works, and works well.  The video does have audio from both sources - the ContourGPS and the voice recorder through the cable - mixed together, so if you're thinking it picked up a lot of background noise, it's probably the audio from the ContourGPS.

To me, I feel like they have a good product.  It works, and it's really simple.  It just feels like a great idea with poor execution.  Don't get me wrong, though.  I'm not dismissing them.  In the end, I'm hoping the emails I sent, along with dealing with the PayPal dispute, left somewhat of a mark that will push them to fix the communication issue.

It really does actually pain me slightly to say that the product itself is well worth the money spent on it, but that you might be waiting a while to get it.  My verdict is that if time isn't an issue, it's well worth it, but make sure to set yourself a reminder to start the dispute process if you haven't received it within the 45 day time frame.

For what it's worth, at the time I'm writing this, one of the distributors (Aircraft Spruce) is reporting a backorder through March 2013.

www.barnstormeraudio.com

Garmin GLO vs. Dual XGPS150

If any of you reading this took a look at my review of the iPad, ForeFlight and the Garmin GLO, you'll remember I briefly mentioned the Dual XGPS150, but I didn't go into much detail.  Reviews are all well and good, but they get better if you have something to compare different products.  Luckily, my friend Phil has the Dual XGPS150 and let me borrow it for one of those little comparative reviews.

Before I jump into the actual review, I want to point out what I checked on each of them:

Ease of use (power on/power off, really - there's not much else to them), ease of Bluetooth connectivity, time to connect via Bluetooth, time to acquire satellites for position, time to acquire satellites for altitude, and general user interaction.  As far as acquiring goes, I used hot boots, meaning I let each one boot up fully and acquire, shut them off and booted again within a minute.  I've also thrown in some manufacturer statistics like battery life (sorry, I'm not sitting there with a stopwatch to time that for you), and size.

The Dual XGPS150

Not much needs to be said for the XGPS150.  Even if you've casually glanced at the product on Amazon, or anything of that sort, you'll see the raving reviews.  It's really simple, compact, and easy to use.  Out of the box, you get the unit, a non-slip pad, a strap (for wearing, or securing more permanently in a car/aircraft), a USB charging cable, and an adapter to charge it in a car or properly equipped aircraft, all for $99.99 (as of writing).

The small size - a 2.25" square - makes it easy to store without taking up too much space, and it has a weighted feel to it that just feels sturdy.  The red circle in the middle is a large button to turn it on, with the pressure point being slightly below center.  Said button takes a firm prodding with your thumb to turn it on, but if it's being stored in a pilot bag, or similar, you don't want the button to be too easy to press.  Pressing and holding once again will turn it off.  On the side of it, you'll find a door that hides the USB charging port and a button that switches the data format from Apple to everything else.

Holding down the button for a few seconds will bring it to life with all of the lights confirming you have, in fact, brought it out of its slumber.  At that point, the appropriately blue Bluetooth light begins flashing to let you know that it's in discoverable mode, while the green GPS light flashes until it picks up the required amount of satellites.  Going into your iPad's Bluetooth panel, you'll find XGPS150-[serial number].  Click to connect.  Begin using it.

If you're interested, you can also download an app from the app store that allows you to see what's going on behind the scenes with the device.  I'd explain further, but pictures are better:

The Garmin GLO for Aviation

Somewhat later to the game is the Garmin GLO.  Reviews are just about as good for the GLO as the Dual on Amazon, and I'd expect similar from other stores.  It's equally simple, easy to use, and just about the same size.  Out of the box, you get the unit, a non-slip pad, a USB charging cable, and an adapter to charge it in a car or properly equipped aircraft, for $129.99 (as of writing).  The regular Garmin GLO comes with the unit and the USB cable only, for $99.99.

Though it's a slightly different shape and appears larger, it's 0.0465 square inches smaller, based on the manufacturers' measurements.  The size difference being negligible, it's just as portable and doesn't take much room in any bag you'd carry it in.  The only button is clearly visible and functions as the power button.  One press turns it on, and a press and hold will turn it off.  The USB port is on the side of the unit by the power switch, in the open.  Additionally, there are no special switches to switch between devices.

A press of the power button will bring it to life, and just like the XGPS150, the blue Bluetooth light will flash until it's connected to another device, and the green GPS light will flash until it has acquired enough satellites for an accurate position.  In the iPad settings panel, you'll find Garmin GLO #[serial number].  Click to connect.  Enjoy.

No apps for the GLO, unfortunately.

Side by Side

Looking at the above summaries, they seem like they're just about the same, and they really are.  Even through my simple testing, they came up about the same by the numbers.

Here are the side by side manufacturer specs:

	Garmin GLO	Dual XGPS150
Weight	2.12 oz	1.8 oz
Size (L/W/H)	3.04/1.65/0.70"	2.25/2.25/0.75"
Battery Life	12 Hrs	8.5 Hrs
GPS	GPS/GLONASS	GPS
WAAS	Yes	Yes
Refresh	10 Hz	>1 Hz

Just in case you forgot your old physics knowledge, 1 Hz is once per second. In the case of refresh rates, more Hz is better. Dual's website only says "at least once per second," so I just indicated that as greater than 1 Hz, or >1 Hz.

Before I provide the data from my tests, I want to be very honest in that these tests were done literally in my back yard and not in some field.  Both devices proved very capable of picking up signals both outside and even inside.  In any case, both devices were tested in the same spot, so despite not being in the middle of an open field, the same disadvantages were present for both devices.  Additionally, when testing the vertical accuracy, I gave it a +/- 10 foot buffer and stopped the clock when it reached that.  I included the first altitude indication time as well.

Here are the test specs:

	Garmin GLO	Dual XGPS150
Bluetooth Connection Time	14 sec	5 sec
Position (2D) Time	22 sec	18 sec
Position (3D) Time	30 sec	30 sec
Accurate (3D) Time	49 sec	100 sec

Conclusions and Other Notes
The Dual had a clear advantage in its Bluetooth time, while the Garmin seemed to fully latch on to the satellites slightly faster.  The Dual satellite times may be slightly longer as my iPad seemed to be arguing with it at first.  This was shown in the fact that I had to close ForeFlight and reopen it before I could see a position the first few attempts.  I believe I got it sorted out for some more accurate times, but I want to put that out there.  The fact that they both provided vertical data at about the same time leads me to give the Dual the benefit of the doubt on the accurate 3D time.

To be honest, you're not going to go wrong with either device.  They're just about even all around, both in performance and ease of use.  The Dual does have an app for the iPad so that you can check up on the device.  At the very least, it's nice to know what the battery life is looking like, which is possible in the app.  The lack of an app for the Garmin doesn't set it back too far, but there's some mystery in how much battery life is left if you haven't just charged it.  This is also somewhat offset by the fact that the Garmin's non-slip pad has a cutout where the charger can fit, which allows you to plug it in while using it in its non-slip pad.  The Dual's pad hides the charge port entirely, and even then it's hidden behind a door.  You could easily remedy that issue with scissors by cutting the pad where you'd like to have access for the charger.

Both devices will have issues with heated windscreens, but most have reported good results after moving the device into the cabin.  The range of Bluetooth being about 30 feet allows you to move it just about anywhere in any aircraft where you'd want an external GPS.

There really isn't a clear winner, and as a result, I'm not going to say you should go get one or the other.  In the end, it'll probably come down to a price issue.  In order to get the same features (minus the strap) for the Garmin, you have to spend an extra $30, so despite all else being just about equal, there's that.  Hopefully I've provided enough information for you to make a more informed decision.

If you'd like to see anything else reviewed here, let me know on the Facebook page, or @TheLifeOfAPilot on Twitter.

Good luck in your decision making.

Dual XGPS150 - Garmin GLO for Aviation

Review: ForeFlight, iPad and GLO

For those who don't want the details, here's a quick summary:

iPad with ForeFlight:

One of the best investments you'll ever make for flying.  It's capable, quick, allows you to select which charts and maps to cache so that you don't take up space with ones you don't use, stores aircraft you fly, and will even brief and file for you through CSC DUATS.  The only slight downside is that if your iPad is the wireless-only version, you'll need an external GPS receiver like the Garmin GLO for aviation, below.

Criticism: The version 4.7 update seems to have deleted the Starred Airports list (yet you can still star them on the airport pages).  It would be nice to have that back.  It's not a huge deal, though.
Update: They fixed this in the last update (4.7.2), which I just downloaded 27.Sep.12 at 2015EDT.

Costs:
iPad - $499-699
ForeFlight - $74.95 per year (or $149.99 for geo-referenced approach plates)
Optional: Stratus ADS-B - $799

Garmin GLO for Aviation:
It's basically the normal Garmin GLO with a few extra accessories, which includes a non-slip pad which clings to anything so you don't have to worry about mounting it, or having it slide around during the flight.  It boots quickly, locates satellites quickly, and is really easy to connect via Bluetooth.  Worth every penny.

Criticism:  None from me, but some have reported issues with satellite reception with heated windscreens.  Others say it's too easy to bump the power button and turn it on accidentally, but a little care in placing it in your flight bag solves that issue.

Costs:
Garmin GLO for Aviation - $120

The Full Review: ForeFlight, iPad and GLO

As technology gets more and more convenient, powerful, and compact, it starts to branch out into more and more of our lives.  If you asked me if I'd ever use a touchscreen half-laptop to view charts back when I started flying, my response would have been "yeah, eventually, but not any time soon."

It wasn't until 2010 that the first generation iPad came out, and even then the idea that you could use it for that purpose was still just a dream.  It's crazy to me that the iPad was released just over two years ago, yet it has already come quite a long way.  I jumped at the opportunity to get one earlier this year and ended up putting ForeFlight on that night.  I'm no Apple fanatic, but I have to admit that at least two of their products have revolutionized my life, and this is one of them (the other being the iPod).

Note the "No Fix"

I had originally gotten the iPad for work so that I could read and review documents at client sites when I wasn't allowed network access.  Since I'd be primarily using it where 3G data wouldn't be an option either, I opted for the wireless version.  When I tried to use ForeFlight in ground tests, I found out very quickly that the wireless version does not come with a GPS receiver like those equipped for 3G connections.  The lack of a GPS receiver in the wireless model isn't a secret to the industry, though, so there are a few products out there to feed all iPads with GPS data at somewhat reasonable prices.  While that was an unfortunate discovery, it didn't hit as hard as it would've if I'd bought the iPad specifically to be an electronic flight bag (EFB).

Even without the GPS function to show you exactly where you are in map view, the app is really great for not having to bother with the paper charts*.  Granted, I believe that you should still have some with you, but you don't have to worry about flipping or folding anything and punching your passenger or pilot buddy in the face while using the iPad.  The charts may also be cached at your discretion, in order to avoid wasting memory space that you could be using for in-flight audio.  Those caching selections are stored, so ForeFlight will only update those maps you've essentially subscribed to.  Furthermore, it will cache anything you view until it expires if it's not part of your normal selections.  As an example, I don't fly around Los Angeles so I don't cache the area through my settings.  If I browsed LAX's departures and arrivals, however, those charts will be cached until the next chart update.  It's not particularly useful for my regular flying, but it's a nifty feature to store single charts here and there when you fly commercially and want to follow along.

Beyond simply displaying various charts, ForeFlight also allows you to create chart binders so that you don't need to mess around with the airport information pages to see the relevant charts.  If I were to fly IFR from Leesburg (JYO) to Blacksburg (BCB), I could create a new binder with all of the charts necessary for those two airports, and perhaps an alternate or two.  If you fly the same routes often, you can save the binders and switch between them as necessary.  As you can see in the picture, I created a binder with the approaches I plan on flying during my long instrument cross country flight.  I have three different binders for the flight in the case weather messes with the plan, or if I have to change into an aircraft with different equipment.

In addition to chart binders, it also allows you to store various documents from the ForeFlight library.  This also has a binder feature like the charts so that you may group your documents.  In my case, I have a binder for A/FD supplementals, various books, and the chart legends.  In the binder with various books, I have all of the books they had available, including a copy of the AIM, Instrument Procedures Handbook, and the Pilot/Controller Glossary.  So, if you're in the middle of a flight and there's a disagreement on the proper way to enter and exit a traffic pattern, the pilot not flying can pull up the AIM and settle it on the spot.  Oddly enough, the FARs aren't in the library.





Weather is, of course, important to keep on top of both before and during your flight, and ForeFlight is just as capable there as any of the weather sources you may frequent.  Graphical AIRMETs, SIGMETs, turbulence, icing, Doppler radar loops, outlooks and significant weather outlooks, PIREPs, prog charts, satellite imagery and winds aloft are all at your fingertips.  Limited data is also available for Mexico and Canada.  If you're looking for weather during your flight, you can always enable the weather overlays in map view with the Stratus ADS-B receiver, which costs a pretty penny, but has some nice capabilities.  If you fly in the mid-west, though, make sure to check the coverage map as ADS-B receivers haven't fully covered the country.

Closer to departure, you can brief yourself and file your flight plan using your CSC DUATS account, which you add in on the Settings page of the app.  The File & Brief page allows you to view a history of your flight plans as well, so you don't have to create a new one every time.  Additionally, you can store the aircraft that you fly to make the filing easier.  When you add the aircraft, drop down boxes guide you through the process of selecting equipment codes, default altitudes, and even generating the aircraft color codes.  At the bottom right of the page, you can see both brief and file buttons, which will get you on your way.

The Scratchpad is a quick way to jot down information like frequency changes, clearances and so on.  I've found that it's best used with a stylus, but your finger will work almost as well.  There's a button at the top right that allows you to adjust the size of the text as you draw.  The picture shows the finest setting.  When it's bumpy, I normally revert to using the plane as my scratchpad (when I have a radio with a standby slot), or pen and paper.  There is also an option that allows you to type, if you'd prefer that.  Just keep in mind that the iPad's spellcheck isn't up to date with aviation shorthand.  It isn't perfect, and I liken it to writing on a whiteboard as you can't rest your hand on the writing area when writing, but it gets the job done.  The only other downside I can think of is that in order to erase, you have to clear the whole screen.  For the quick notes you'd be writing in the air, though, you don't necessarily need it to be pretty, so it's not a huge deal.

When it comes to plotting your flight plan on the maps, ForeFlight is capable of more than just airports, navaids, and fixes.  Airways are also understood so you can save time by entering the plan just as you would in your filed plan.  Beyond that, there are a few other features that will help you choose altitudes based on observed winds aloft, and see your estimated fuel burn and time en-route.  The NavLog will also break it down leg by leg, if you need the extra detail.  When it comes to overlays, you have options for radar, satellite, TFRs, AIRMETs, SIGMETs, flight rule indicators for the airports, airport temperatures, airport temp/dewpoint spreads, visibility, wind, ceiling, sky coverage, PIREPs, lightning, and fuel prices for both Jet-A and avgas.  The bottom panel also has four buttons that can display groundspeed, GPS altitude, track, signal accuracy, ETE to next, ETA to next, distance to next, bearing to next, cross track error, ETE to destination, ETA to destination, distance to destination, bearing to destination, current lat/lon, or Zulu time.  The amount of information at your fingertips is nearly endless.



Here are a few more screenshots of the ForeFlight interface:

The left screen is the altitude selection page.  Note the inclusion of the wind data to help you in your selection.  The right screen is the settings page, where you can set default units, among other options.  You can even change the position symbol on the map from a high wing, low wing, jet, fighter, or helicopter.

As mentioned earlier, for those of you who don't have your iPad on a 3G data plan, you don't have the built in GPS receiver and will have to get an external receiver.  There are a few different units out there, with the more notable ones being the Dual, Bad Elf, and Garmin units.  I ended up getting the Garmin GLO for Aviation because it was about the same price as the Dual and came with the accessories that I expected I'd need.  The non-slip pad clings to just about anything.  You can see I have it on wood in the picture at right, but even on that surface I have to pick it up by the corner, otherwise it stays suctioned in place.  The steady blue light means it's connected to the iPad via Bluetooth, and the steady green means it has picked up the required number of GPS satellites.  The button where the green light is serves as the power switch, and is the only button on the device.  In front of that is a USB port to charge the device.  After opening the box, turn it on, enable Bluetooth on your iPad, look for "Garmin GLO" in the list, and select it.  Done.  It's really that simple.

The whole setup really makes working in the cramped space of most smaller planes a breeze.  It also helps add in some situational awareness when compared to following along on a paper chart, or even certain moving-map GPS units.  If you're looking at the various EFBs available on the market, you should definitely consider it.  Some of the other EFBs are aimed more at the corporate setting, which you can see in the way they structure their pricing.  I'm not saying that they aren't useful to the GA pilot, rather I'm just attempting to point out that the target market might not be you in all cases.  Jepp does have their own version using Jepp charts instead of NACO for a comparable $76, and is aimed at the private and corporate pilot group.  Most of them have trial periods as well, so you don't have to worry about risking anything until you try it and like it.

Hopefully this helped you in your decision.  If you have questions, the best spot is the blog twitter account @TheLifeOfAPilot.

*A note on charts: it's a common misconception in many pilot circles that charts are required any time you fly.  Charts are only required when flying large or turbojet aircraft, or when flying Parts 121 or 135.  The official FAA stance may be found here.  While I don't condone flying without charts, I wanted to point out that you wouldn't be breaking regs by dispensing with paper charts.

Review: Redefining Pilot Bag

I've been asking people what they think of the blog, and some of the comments I got were that it could use a more "bloggy" feel with regular updates and commentary on other things besides flight narratives.  I've definitely added a couple non-flight posts, but I see exactly where they're coming from.  That feedback was right in time, too, since I just got a few new items I figured I'd review here.  The first in that line of reviews is my new pilot bag from Timbuk2.

Since I got my pilot bag back in 2003, I always had some sort of trouble fitting everything I need in there.  Granted, I carry lots of stuff, but it's all mostly useful.  Some may roll their eyes at that since I probably have four or five flashlights in there, but there's a lot to carry.  Just off the top of my head, I know there's an iPad, a kneeboard, a notepad, an E6B, a plotter, a sectional chart, a terminal area chart, instrument approach procedures, the ContourGPS, the ContourROAM, accessories and mounts for the two cameras, a Garmin GLO, and the assorted flashlights.  I'll admit, for a bag that was aimed at the student pilot, it holds its own, but I've outgrown it.

There are certainly other, larger bags available from places like Sporty's, but I figured I'd break the mold slightly.  I ended up getting a Timbuk2 messenger bag because they can haul all kinds of things, and are versatile enough to carry what I need for flights.  All of the extras pilot bag makers wouldn't really think of (the cameras and other electronics) fit with ease, as well.  The bag I actually ordered is a large custom laptop messenger, which means it has a padded sleeve built in for a laptop, in addition to a padded pocket for an iPad.  You can see it near the back with a red lining in the picture.  That will fit my 17" laptop, and the iPad is in front of that.  Beyond that, there's a cavernous space to put whatever else you need in there, with a few other pockets to organize various other things like pens, phones, and keys.

On the two flights I've taken it on, it's proven a lot easier to work with.  It's not standard by any means, but it certainly fits everything I need it to with ease.  If you're looking for a bag, it might be worth a look if you're not bent on buying an actual pilot bag.  Most of the bags are customizable, as well, so you can change the colors, and comfort options to fit your personal taste.  I can definitely say it's a lot more comfortable to lug around.

I'd say that spread speaks for itself.

www.timbuk2.com