I think the  selectable joining point is a great idea.

Brilliant addition! Canyt wait to see it.

Beech Bonanza A36 Based at Blackpool

G-FOZZ www.gotoair.com

I agree totally. I don't want SkyDemon to be guiding people around a circuit, especially if we don't have sufficient data to draw an accurate local circuit (this is basically out of the question).

What I would like to do is to help people form that mental picture of where they are in relation to the circuit in use, before they have to start thinking about joining it. I've personally managed to join the wrong side of a circuit before and only realised as I announced I was descending on the deadside that I was in fact descending into the circuit.

The current system allows you to bring up a map of the airfield with an arrow that points to where you currently are. This works pretty well but it could work better if SkyDemon knew which runway and circuit direction you intended to land on and follow.

Any depiction of a circuit would be preceeded or accompanied by a warning that it represents a standard circuit and has no knowledge of local variations.

Good idea but I think you need to be very careful. There are so many non-standard circuits around (right-hand, different heights, noise abatement procedures etc.) that I think that unless you can include data on actual circuit patterns, superimposing a "standard" circuit pattern onto the chosen runway could be giving people potentially dangerous misinformation. From experience I know how easy it is to drift into blindly trusting and following GPS guidance. Although I think that SkyDemon is a brilliant tool for cross country navigation and airspace and NOTAM awareness, I'm inclined to think that in the circuit the pilot is better off being forced to actually THINK rather than just "following the pink line". After all, I'm just at good at getting lost on a cross country navigation as the next man but if I found I needed a GPS to get me down from the circuit I think I would be spending some money on some instructor time!

Great idea, no matter which way you implement the function, as automatic as possible would be great.

Maybe an option to set a "default pattern" for certain airfields where you/we know they require a standard overhead join, or where they will allow the most direct join, etc. then a manual override......

Thumbs up from me!

Steve

Aero AT3-R100, C172 Skyhawk, EGBK Sywell

We plan to introduce an approach mode in the forthcoming version of SkyDemon. The problem we wish to solve is that SkyDemon Mobile isn't providing enough help after you have your destination airfield in sight, or are at least on your final leg towards it. The idea is, you will select the runway you're landing on (by tapping its extended centreline or more explicitly through another screen) and then you'll get a window showing a standard circuit pattern (direction switchable).

In this window, we'll show some useful info such as runway dimensions and possibly approach frequencies. These frequencies might appear in an overlay on the main map too, afterwards. We may allow you to select a position in the circuit to join (downwind, deadside, base, finals etc) and your route would be modified so that you're no longer terminating at the airfield ARP but at the circuit position you specify. Or, we could automatically take you to the most appropriate part of the circuit based on your current position in relation to it.

We're looking for feedback on how this feature might work, what you would find useful. Maybe it's a terrible idea and we should forget it entirely. Maybe it should be completely automatic in some way. Maybe we should just be drawing a standard circuit diagram on the main map and leave it at that, once you've selected direction.

Cheers!