Black Friday, FlyQ EFB 4.0 Live Announcement, and Webinars this Week

Steve Podradchik

Big week at Seattle Avionics!

First .. if you haven’t yet signed up for the live streaming FlyQ EFB 4.0 (“Red Barn”) announcement next Monday, do so right now as we have limited slots and, based on response from last year, we’re already very close the maximum number of attendees.  Also, our annual (and always amazing) Black Friday specials begin next Wednesday and they’re quantity limited.  Be sure to sign-up now for special early access.

Now … in preparation for FlyQ EFB 4.0 and Black Friday, we’re doing a series of live webinars THIS WEEK.  They’re all free and cover different aspects of the app.  And all attendees get a coupon good for 20% off a regularly-priced subscription.

Wednesday, Nov 14:  Catch up on all the new features added this year! We added a lot this year — iPhone version, Augmented Reality, recently cleared ATC routes, animated radar, ADS-B tail numbers with our exclusive Buddy List, flight recorder, Slingshot wireless updater for in-panel devices, and much more.

Thursday, Nov 15: Intro to the FlyQ Family. Learn best-practices for combining FlyQ EFB (iPad/iPhone) with FlyQ Online (Web — PC and Mac) and with FlyQ InSight (iOS) and Pocket (Android).  Used together, they give you an unrivaled pre-flight weather/planning and inflight solution.

Friday, Nov 16: Advanced FlyQ EFB.  Been using FlyQ EFB for a while?  Bet there are still many tips, tricks, and features you don’t know about that can make your flying easier and safer.

November 8, 2018 ChartData Released

Steve Podradchik

The next FAA data cycle begins next Thursday, November 8, 2018.  We try to release ChartData the Friday before the new cycle starts.  As that’s today, the new data is now ready for download.  However, be sure not to fly with this data until November 8.

Important notes for FlyQ EFB user:  Please do not download this new data if you plan to fly before next Thursday as the app does not currently (hint hint) have any concept of “current” versus “next” data cycle.  However, FlyQ EFB downloads TFRs, fuel prices, and weather automatically so rest assured that this data will always be current even without doing a manual update

European data will be available shortly.  Australian data is unchanged since last cycle.  If you’re using another data provider, check with them about availability.

Also, read this terrific post from Keith R if you use our ChartData Manager application for Windows to update your data.  It explains how to automatically download data and even copy data to a card or USB memory stick without any clicks!  No need to sit there and wait for data to download or copy.

If you haven’t already done so, please be sure to update your ChartData before you fly.

  • In FlyQ EFB:  Tap the ChartData Manager icon (the “down arrow” icon), review which states you have selected, then tap Update Now.
  • In FlyQ InSight or FlyQ Pocket: Select the Downloads tab on the bottom of the screen and tap Update Now.
  • In FlyQ Online:  Nothing to download.  Just go to https://flyq.seattleavionics.com and the new data is automatically used when the new cycle begins on Thursday (but not before).
  • For apps and devices that use our Data Manager, run the ChartData Manager (or select Settings from the little icon at the lower right corner of your Windows screen) and tap Update Now.
  • In Voyager, select Update Data from the Tools menu then choose the All Monthly ChartData item.

If you need to renew your subscription, click the appropriate link below:

Note that FlyQ Online (our Web-based flight planner) ChartData is enabled automatically on the day the new cycle begins (next Thursday) so what you see is always the current, legal data.  Unlike data for our apps and devices, we do not release FlyQ Online ChartData ahead of time since there is nothing to download.

FlyQ EFB Passes Garmin Pilot

Steve Podradchik

We could sense it for a while but now it’s official! FlyQ EFB has pulled ahead of Garmin Pilot in terms of market share.

 

PaidForMarketShare2

AOPA did a survey a few weeks ago asking people which mobile app they use.  ForeFlight was #1 with just over half the market and FlyQ EFB was the #2 paid-for app behind it.  Garmin Pilot was #4 — behind the generic Other category.

And, of course, FlyQ EFB has been the #1 rated major aviation in the App Store for 4 years: FlyQ EFB: 4.4, ForeFlight: 4.2, FltPlan Go: 3.9, WingX: 3.8, Garmin Pilot: 3.6

Full disclosure: FltPlan Go was 1% ahead of FlyQ EFB in the survey but we think it’s because the AOPA question specifically asked about mobile flight planning and lots of people use free FltPlan.com to plan then fly with other apps.  That’s also why the table above specifically says “Paid-For App.”

Approved for iOS 12.1

saskeith

Seattle Avionics has approved the use of Apple iOS version 12.1 with current shipping version of FlyQ EFB for iPad/iPhone, FlyQ InSight for iPhone/iPad, and SmartPlates & Charts for iPhone/iPad.

How to find the version number for FlyQ EFB

  1. Open FlyQ EFB app
  2. Go to the Settings screen (gear icon)
  3. The version number is located at the top right. Example: v3.3.1

How to find the version number for Apple iOS

  1. Open the Settings app for iPad/iPhone
  2. Go to General
  3. Go to About
  4. The iOS version number is under ‘Version’. Example: 11.2.1 (15C153)

How to update a Seattle Avionics app

  1. Open the App Store app
  2. Go to ‘Updates’ screen (bottom right)
  3. Look for the app icon and tap on ‘UPDATE’

How to update Apple iOS

  1. Open the Settings app
  2. Go to General
  3. Go to Software Update
  4. Tap on ‘Download and Install’

*Please note that beta (aka “test”) versions of Apple iOS are not finished, have not been fully tested, and contains bugs. Seattle Avionics does not support beta versions of Apple iOS for use with any of its apps.

Red Barn

Steve Podradchik

FlyQ EFB version 4.0 has a code-name: Red Barn.

2-the-red-barn-of-the-boeing-company-david-patterson

In case you’re not familiar with Boeing history, the Red Barn is the name of the first Boeing building.  You can visit it at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.

The Red Barn changed how people thought of aviation.  That’s why we though it an appropriate name for FlyQ EFB v 4.0.

V4 is most definitely NOT about adding a little feature or two…

 

iOS 12.1 Testing

Steve Podradchik

We’re running tests with iOS 12.1 right now.

Initial indications are exactly what we saw in the 12.1 beta releases — all fine and they fixed a memory leak in the core operating system but we’ll need to recompile and re-release the app to take advantage of the fix.  We’ll be doing that and more testing over the next few days.

In the meantime, we advise waiting a bit as this is a fairly major release and “fairly major release” is geek-speak for “probably has a few bugs.”

So … unless you need the update to solve some other problem, we don’t suggest a rush to install it.  But if you already have, you’re unlikely to have made a grave (tomorrow is Halloween — get it?) mistake.

Steve

FlyQ EFB 3.3.1 Released

Steve Podradchik

Apple just approved FlyQ EFB 3.3.1.  You should be able to download it from the App Store now.  This release, as the “.1” might imply, simply fixes bugs.  The most important of these are:

  1.  A bug in which some people had trouble downloading Sectionals
  2. The weather gallery and the Local/Regional/National radar images associated with each airport was inop in the last release.

Other Fixes:

+ FIXED: Two crashing bugs when downloading ChartData
+ FIXED: Navigational database does not function properly after a monthly update until the app is restarted.
+ FIXED: Crash when changing login email account

To upgrade from an existing iPad or iPhone installation:

Go to the App Store icon on your iPad or iPhone and select the Updates tab.  Click the Update button next to FlyQ EFB.  Note:  If your device is set to automatically update apps, you may see an Open button rather than Update because the new version has already been installed.

To download to a new iPad or iPhone:

Go to the App Store icon on your iPhone or iPad, select the Search tab, enter FlyQ EFB.

Changes in Other Recent Releases

Version 3.3 (10/12/18)
+ Animated radar
+ Substantially faster performance
+ 2X better battery life / lower device heat
+ Refinements to ADS-B traffic display
+ Minor fixes

Version 3.2.1 (9/20/18)
+ ADS-B traffic tail numbers and detailed target info
+ Lots of bug fixes and stability improvements

Version 3.2 (7/26/18)
+ Slingshot: Patent-pending wireless ChartData for in-panel systems like BendixKing xVue Touch
+ Appareo Stratus 3 support
+ Fix for Send to Avidyne
+ Fix for iOS 9 screen layout
+ Misc. fixes

Version 3.1.1 (6/21/18)
+ Fix sporadic crash at startup with certain map layers
+ Fix weather briefings not refreshing for offline flight plans
+ Fix minor layout issue with METARs and TAFs
+ Fix problem where fuel stops were added in some cases even when not requested
+ Reduce memory pressure with the Grid layer

Version 3.1 (5/31/18)
+ Tuned for iOS 11 and the iPhone X
+ Full Leidos support
+ Automatic fuel stop planning based on price
+ Shows recently cleared ATC routes for IFR flights
+ Restores Avidyne ADS-B and Flight Plan transfer features
+ Other flight planning improvements
+ Various fixes and improvements

Version 3.0 (2/9/18)
+ iPhone version
+ Flight recorder
+ Augmented Reality
+ Helicopter and Gulf of Mexico charts
+ Maps and plates for Central America
+ Various fixes and improvements