I'm posting here as I'm not a Facebook user but would like to comment on the enhancements posted on Facebook which I think look like a great addition.

For those that don't want this then a join type of 'none' could be added to disable the feature?

I would also like to see a wind vector added to the airfield brief window if possible (if an appropriate METAR or TAF is available at or nearby the airfield). There doesn't seem to be much space for this but I'm sure you could come up with a creative solution - how about a wind arrow (as in the wind instrument) superimposed on the runway graphic to show wind direction/strength relative to the runway direction?

Do you plan to have an Android Beta of this available - if so when?

The feature is opt-in. If you don't do anything, the current system persists, where an implicit "straight in" join is assumed and the nearest runway extended centreline is shown. If you opt in to define an explicit approach and join (by touching a runway number on the map, or by touching the Airfield Brief window) then you get all the new stuff.

I did toy with the idea of a wind vector in the Airfield Brief, or possibly just displaying the crosswind component relating to the runway, but abandoned it for the moment. The reason is that even if we have a METAR it's likely to be old and superseded, and presenting wind different to what the pilot is being told over the radio could result in confusion.

I'm going to try to get an Android beta out before the end of the day. Be prepared for rough edges...

Tim, I think you got it right by not displaying winds from METARS. They are bound to be conflicting with current conditions and can lead to potentially hazardous pilot confusion. That's why there always is some kind of wind direction indicating device on the field. Better take a look at one of these!

-- Chris.

Hi Tim,

Just tried out the Beta on my Android phone and most (but no all) of the pop-up menus are not displaying in portrait mode - the map dims but no menu is displayed. If I rotate to landscape then the menu appears (e.g. select zoom level menu or press and hold on map for location context menu).

Thanks, maybe try a larger device? We've been tinkering with the popups and haven't tested the new code on phones yet. I'll look in to it tomorrow.

Selecting an approach with parallel runways where one is grass and one hard the popup menu doesn't differentiate.

I've been playing with this new feature in simulation mode for a bit now and think it's a really good addition and extremely well implemented as usual

A few comments:

1) The problem I mentioned above with menus not appearing in portrait mode also occurs on my Nexus 7.

2) The approach selection seems to become active at 20nm to destination - I would like to be able to select my approach earlier sometimes. Maybe this could be done by adding a 'Select Approach' option to the destination airfield context menu which is available at all times.

3) The 'Find Hold' when on the ground and 'Find VRP' when approaching are excellent additions. Again I would like to have the 'Find VRP' option added to the context menu for all airfields as sometimes one may receive a clearance something like "Clear transit overhead via November and Echo" and in unfamiliar airspace it would be nice to quickly locate the VRPs.

4) What are the two blue marks shown at the runway threshold in the airfield brief?

5) When the runway selected has L/R qualifiers the runway number shown in the airfield brief has a small number above a large 'L' or 'R' due to the simulated perspective and the runway number is hard to read. Perhaps swapping these so that the number is displayed nearest the threshold would solve this problem.

Simon

Thanks both for the feedback. We will attempt to address as many points as possible today and get another beta out, especially because of the popup problem.

Parallel runways where they have not been given appropriate L/R designators are a pain. I think we will just have to add some basic runway details to the menu underneath their designator, comprising of their surface and length.
The approach tools can become active at greater lengths than 20nm to your destination; please see the navigation options. I believe they can be shown up to 40-50 miles away. There are a couple of technical reasons that make it undesirable to make the tools available at any time.
I do like the idea of making Find VRP more easily accessible but the standard airfield menu is big and cumbersome enough already. I think the Direct To screen does actually provide some VRP-specific help here.
The blue marks indicate that precision information is known about the runway, and therefore the Pseudo-ILS feature is available.
I don't want to reverse the L/R and numbers on the runway perspective at the moment. At the moment it's the same code which draws that runway and all the other runways when you're sufficiently zoomed in to the map. It's done that way because that's how the designators look in real life.

Tim,

Thanks for the reply. Another small bug (introduced on earlier version I think) is that the Setup 'gearwheel' icon in the setup menu is almost invisible on Android as it displays as white on pale grey - see image:



Simon

Cheers, I will look at that.