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Feature request: Current elevation


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Gax
G
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Hi!

When doing any low-level flying, I often find myself wondering what my height is, though am keenly aware of the potential error in GPS altitude and therefore am reluctant to trust the 'Height' readout at the top of the screen.  To account for this, I find myself flicking between Altitude and Height at the top of the screen, subtracting the difference in my head, and then comparing that to my (theoretically more accurate) pressure altimeter.

Would it be possible to simply add a third option to that box for 'Elevation' that shows the terrain elevation for the current GPS position?  Presumably you're fetching it anyway to calculate height...  If it's not in demand, maybe an option to enable/disable the feature?

Edited 8/23/2016 2:45:11 PM by Gax
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drnicolas
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guille - 11/9/2017 9:05:35 AM
Gax - 8/24/2016 12:52:10 PM
Yes, that is what I currently do, but it means a lot of constant tapping and an extra equation, and when flying low level I'd rather minimise the workload and keep both hands on controls. Would also be useful for a few of the air racers out there that need to maintain a certain minimum height. I love SD, but find that getting any sort of current or spot elevations a frequent issue.Is it something that could maybe be considered but turned off by default?

I agree with this request: when flying low, it is necessary to have a good precision concerning height, and getting directly the elevation of terrain would be great. Frequently I check the altitude measured by SkyDemon and by my altimeter and the differences are quite important.


Are you sure, that this can be achieved by a Software like SD?
At first we Need a exact terrain-altitude-database with a small grid (see ckurz7000). Is that available? Second we need a good (true) altitude readout. AFAIK, plain old GPS is not a precise source for this. Is WAAS suitable for this? What about GALILEO?

From the IFR Point of view all  DAs für RNAV approaches  are sginificantly ‌‌‌higher than ILS and that is for LPV!
Take EDVK:
DA for ILS27 is 947 feet, while LOC27 is 1340ft - 400ft difference!
For GPS, the LNAV MDA is 1340 (like LOC-Approach);
with Support from your barometric altitude it is 1210ft - and that is temperature limited!‌‌‌‌

Best GPS DA is for LPV27 with ~1100ft - even 160ft worse than ILS!
I guess, the guys who made the approaches know, why GPS Needs significantly higher Minimums !

Can the barometric pressure sensor of the latest iPads (my mini 4 has one) be a solution ? I think not! It is not connected to a valid static port, it's inside the cabin. Just try what happens if you Switch to  the alternate static source of your aircraft - it jumps up about 80ft or more!

Okay. We are talking about VFR-sight-seeing, so this all may be tolerable‌‌‌‌‌‌‌
guille
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drnicolas - 11/9/2017 3:16:25 PM
guille - 11/9/2017 9:05:35 AM
Gax - 8/24/2016 12:52:10 PM
Yes, that is what I currently do, but it means a lot of constant tapping and an extra equation, and when flying low level I'd rather minimise the workload and keep both hands on controls. Would also be useful for a few of the air racers out there that need to maintain a certain minimum height. I love SD, but find that getting any sort of current or spot elevations a frequent issue.Is it something that could maybe be considered but turned off by default?

I agree with this request: when flying low, it is necessary to have a good precision concerning height, and getting directly the elevation of terrain would be great. Frequently I check the altitude measured by SkyDemon and by my altimeter and the differences are quite important.


Are you sure, that this can be achieved by a Software like SD?
At first we Need a exact terrain-altitude-database with a small grid (see ckurz7000). Is that available? Second we need a good (true) altitude readout. AFAIK, plain old GPS is not a precise source for this. Is WAAS suitable for this? What about GALILEO?

From the IFR Point of view all  DAs für RNAV approaches  are sginificantly ‌‌‌higher than ILS and that is for LPV!
Take EDVK:
DA for ILS27 is 947 feet, while LOC27 is 1340ft - 400ft difference!
For GPS, the LNAV MDA is 1340 (like LOC-Approach);
with Support from your barometric altitude it is 1210ft - and that is temperature limited!‌‌‌‌

Best GPS DA is for LPV27 with ~1100ft - even 160ft worse than ILS!
I guess, the guys who made the approaches know, why GPS Needs significantly higher Minimums !

Can the barometric pressure sensor of the latest iPads (my mini 4 has one) be a solution ? I think not! It is not connected to a valid static port, it's inside the cabin. Just try what happens if you Switch to  the alternate static source of your aircraft - it jumps up about 80ft or more!

Okay. We are talking about VFR-sight-seeing, so this all may be tolerable‌‌‌‌‌‌‌

I think SD has a good database concerning elevation. It can be clearly seen on the computer when preparing flights. And the idea is to use this database, combined with the horizontal position, that is also quite precise with the GPS included both in IPAD or ANDROID devices. The altitude of the barometric altimeter is also precise. So, if we combine the good altitude from the barometric altimeter with the good elevation from SD a simple substraction provides a quite good indication of height. Why not ? Some years ago I used a French software called NAVI that had this possibility and it was really useful. The button for time now has four indications ! and is very useful. Why not three for the altitude-height button ? But I don't know if the elevation Database is included in the Ipad and Android versions, that may be the problem perhaps.

Gax
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"But I don't know if the elevation Database is included in the Ipad and Android versions, that may be the problem perhaps."

It would have to be, otherwise it wouldn't be able to calculate height
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Gax - 8/23/2016 2:44:22 PM
MikeTwoOne - 8/23/2016 10:54:40 PM
Gax - 8/24/2016 8:08:07 AM
Tim Dawson - 8/24/2016 12:37:13 PM
Gax - 8/24/2016 12:52:10 PM
guille - 11/9/2017 9:05:35 AM
drnicolas - 11/9/2017 3:16:25 PM
                         I think SD has a good database concerning elevation. It can be clearly...
guille - 11/13/2017 9:13:28 AM
                             "But I don't know if the elevation Database is included in the Ipad...
Gax - 11/13/2017 9:40:28 AM
alvaro - 11/21/2017 3:34:27 PM
Gax - 11/21/2017 4:35:00 PM
Tim Dawson - 8/24/2016 3:31:24 PM
Gax - 8/24/2016 3:43:51 PM
T67M - 8/26/2016 7:03:18 AM
rogerabc - 11/30/2016 5:44:17 PM
ckurz7000 - 12/1/2016 8:32:01 AM
Tim Dawson - 11/13/2017 2:36:28 PM
guille - 11/13/2017 6:16:54 PM
Tim Dawson - 11/15/2017 12:20:11 PM
guille - 11/30/2017 5:20:45 PM
ckurz7000 - 11/17/2017 9:23:21 AM
Tim Dawson - 11/22/2017 1:01:49 PM
Gax - 11/22/2017 1:11:13 PM
alvaro - 11/22/2017 2:48:54 PM
T67M - 11/22/2017 4:31:09 PM
guille - 11/22/2017 4:41:58 PM
T67M - 11/22/2017 4:54:57 PM
ckurz7000 - 11/22/2017 4:57:47 PM
guille - 11/22/2017 5:03:21 PM
                         Why would you stop glancing at your flight instruments at 500'??? How...
Gax - 11/22/2017 5:18:49 PM
                             BTW, I also fly a gyro and I regularly fly on the lower end of the...
ckurz7000 - 11/23/2017 7:57:28 AM
                                 1) any obstacle high enough to be a conflict at 500' will be in SD. I...
Gax - 11/23/2017 8:22:13 AM
                                     1) Not all the obstacles are on the chart (they get erected between...
ckurz7000 - 11/23/2017 4:48:33 PM
                                         --------------------------- ‌‌It is not only a problem of obstacles,...
guille - 11/23/2017 5:21:19 PM
                                             1) Feel free to show me a 400' obstacle thats but notamed next time...
Gax - 11/23/2017 5:53:46 PM
                                                 Clearly those who like the idea will find it very useful. As a...
plume_tray - 11/24/2017 7:56:45 AM
                                                     When you maintain a piece of software you have to be careful what...
ckurz7000 - 11/24/2017 8:32:58 AM
                                                         You will probably find that helicopter pilots will find this more...
plume_tray - 11/24/2017 9:04:59 AM
                                                             ‌You can add gyro pilots ...
guille - 11/24/2017 4:56:01 PM
                                                                 Well, I am a gyro oilot, too. And I don't need this functionality. --...
ckurz7000 - 11/25/2017 3:00:12 PM
Tim Dawson - 11/23/2017 4:23:22 PM
Tim Dawson - 11/27/2017 1:09:23 PM
Gax - 11/27/2017 1:50:16 PM
guille - 11/28/2017 9:06:14 AM
lars667 - 4/14/2018 6:42:51 PM
Cat - 4/16/2018 12:46:49 AM
Tim Dawson - 4/16/2018 4:47:15 PM
lars667 - 4/16/2018 7:58:41 PM
ospreyleader - 6/25/2018 5:22:26 PM
Gax - 6/26/2018 9:59:36 AM
     No, you cannot.
Tim Dawson - 6/26/2018 9:49:48 AM
T67M - 6/27/2018 10:11:59 PM
Tim Dawson - 7/4/2018 10:51:07 AM
T67M - 7/5/2018 5:56:33 PM
Tim Dawson - 7/9/2018 8:46:54 AM
Unblonde - 8/28/2018 11:26:49 PM
Gax - 8/29/2018 6:34:10 AM
Tim Dawson - 8/29/2018 10:41:40 AM
Gax - 8/29/2018 10:57:33 AM
Tim Dawson - 8/30/2018 4:33:24 PM
             Any time :)
Gax - 8/30/2018 4:36:46 PM
emporer - 9/14/2018 11:47:14 AM
T67M - 9/17/2018 5:22:49 AM

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