The latest Foreflight update

[TangoWhiskey]

Now, Runway Proximity Alerts, and a built-in free wireless means to use it with X-plane10... Guess that cable I bought last week wasn't needed after all! Scratchpad improvements and bug fixes.

 

[comanchepilot]

So, I guess its time that I gave the wife the Bose and started using the BT Zulu - those audio annunciations should be pretty cool . . .

That would be pretty cool - so what do I go first? Buy the Stratus or the bluetooth Zulu headset?

Anyone want to trade a Bose X for a Zulu?

 

[denverpilot]

Looks like they may have fixed the beta version of winds aloft, too.

 

[CT4ME]

While they were fixing the scratchpad, it would have been nice if they would have added another "page"... or whatever. I like having a separate place where you can keep track of local frequencies, tower phone numbers, etc, that doesn't get erased when you clear the pad. For now, a "document" with that info has to do...

 

[Mafoo]

While they were fixing the scratchpad, it would have been nice if they would have added another "page"... or whatever. I like having a separate place where you can keep track of local frequencies, tower phone numbers, etc, that doesn't get erased when you clear the pad. For now, a "document" with that info has to do...

in case you don't know... if you swipe left with 4 fingers, it takes you to the last app you had open, swipe right, and you are back.

So you can just open any scratchpad app you like before you open foreflight, and quickly go back and forth.

 

[CT4ME]

I always wondered why I'd ever want to turn on "multitasking gestures"... now I know. Thanks. 'Still just a stop-gap thing, as I'd prefer to only have one program running when doing aviation moving map.

 

[Mafoo]

I always wondered why I'd ever want to turn on "multitasking gestures"... now I know. Thanks. 'Still just a stop-gap thing, as I'd prefer to only have one program running when doing aviation moving map.

Not sure if you care about the technical details...

However in iOS, when you go from one app to another, it saves the state of the app, and then closes it. When you open another app, it checkes to see if there is any saved state, and if so loads it. So really you only have one app running at any time anyway. There are a few API's you can call that always run, like the one applications call to play music while other apps are open, but the actual app is closed.

So for example, if you have Pandora open, swap to foreflight, Pandora registers with the iOS music service to play a song, saves it's state, and then closes. Then ForeFlight opens up, loads it's saved state information, and runs.

This all happens in the time it takes the screen to swipe back and forth. It's why iOS is so stable, and has such great battery life without you having to tweak anything. Really only one app ever runs at any time.

 

[comanchepilot]

There are apps which screw themselves up or lock up = United Airlines has one that seems to do that alot - when that happens all you need to do is press the home button - then press it again really quickly - and find that app and close its' state button. Lock up cured.

All the 'states' do is take up memory - not app memory but SSD memory.

iOS only runs one app at a time - which is why you cannot upload new data in foreflight or app updates without having either the Store or the FF program open. Looks like DOS gets the last laugh!

 

[Mafoo]

iOS only runs one app at a time - which is why you cannot upload new data in foreflight or app updates without having either the Store or the FF program open. Looks like DOS gets the last laugh!

Yea.

The core of the OS is a fully multithreaded UNIX operating system, and in actuality is running many programs at once (all written by Apple). The choice to not allow multiple 3rd party applications to run at the same time was not due to a technical limitation.

It was a tradeoff for stability. I for one, like the choice. Now that I am going to be using it for a cockpit instrument, I like it even better.

 

[denverpilot]

I have a podcast catcher App that utilizes the "location wake-up" feature quite effectively to wake up and download all new podcasts from any subscriptions, all in the background whenever I pull into my driveway.

It will also pauses and waits after waking until the iPad and/or iPhone are on WiFi. There's an option to allow it to do it over 3G also.

Then it posts a message to the Notifications queue.

Foreflight could easily do the same.

App is called Downcast.

 

[Sac Arrow]

Oh wow, that totally took me by surprise!

I was taxiing on the way to depart on the active runway when I heard some faint voice coming from somewhere inside the cockpit. It was my Ipad. I grabbed it, and there was an alert saying "Approaching Runway 17/35" and a computerized voice saying it as well, before I crossed the runway. How cool is that.

 

[Lance F]

I got the same surprise last night taxiing around KMDW. Had to cross about 4 runways to get where we were going, and I keep hearing my iPad talking to me. Took a bit to figure out what was going on. Really cool.

 

[denverpilot]

I'll probably hook up the audio cable to the intercom more often. Before it was just for tunes.

(Who needs Bluetooth? I have $2 cables and an audio input jack!)