If you’re at the NW Aviation show, stop into the Pioneer Room B to see FlyQ EFB augmented reality. Starts at 1 pm today. Also stop by booth 108.
Month: February 2018
March 1, 2018 ChartData Released
The next FAA data cycle begins next Thursday, March 1, 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 Mar. 1.
As a reminder, we just added approach plates, airport diagrams, SIDs, STARs, etc. for Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Belize! You may remember that we also recently added this same data for the Bahamas. All of it for no additional cost.
One note about FlyQ EFB: Please do not download this new data if you plan to fly before next Thursday as the app does not 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.
A few notes about the new data:
- Users of the KSN 770, Aspen, Dynon, AFS, GRT, AV8OR ACE, and EKP Mark V can get the new plates automatically as part of the usual download once they install a new version of the ChartData Manager (v 5.4.0.0540). The ChartData Manager normally updates itself automatically so this will be transparent to most users. If you have a problem, you can download and install the new DM from https://chartdata.seattleavionics.com/Apps/DataManagerSetup.exe
- FlyQ EFB users should make sure that they’re using new FlyQ EFB 3.0 which can download this new data. FlyQ EFB 3.0 now works on the iPhone as well as iPad, includes Augmented Reality, and an automatic flight recording/playback system.
- This release added new plates and diagrams only. Our US IFR Low and High charts (maps) already cover Mexico and most of Central America but our Sectional (VFR) map coverage is still limited to approximately the southernmost part of Texas. We’re working on expanding this area now.
European and Australian data will be available shortly.
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.
This Weekend! NW Aviation Show
It feels like it’s been a long winter but you know spring is near because this weekend (Feb 24-25) is the annual Northwest Aviation Conference and Show in Puyallup, WA! See us at Booth #108 and watch our two presentations.
Check out FlyQ EFB 3.0 and FlyQ Online at the booth and see them in action during our presentations.
We’ll demo the apps, answer whatever questions you have, and, of course, offer show-only discounts.
We’re doing two presentations this year:
Saturday, 1 PM, Augmented Reality in the Cockpit. Pioneer Room (B)
Sunday, 10:15 AM, Combining Web-based Flight Planning with iPad Apps. Pioneer Room (B)
FlyQ EFB 3.0 / FlyQ Online Webinar Starts in 2 hours!
Update: The recording of the webinar is now available at https://youtu.be/TGBcMXs7kYI Also, many other videos are available from https://youtube.com/FlyQEFB
As mentioned in the last Newsletter (see the February 2018 link), we’re doing a live Webinar today at 4 PM Pacific. Click here to sign-up:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5355938131480091394
We’ll demonstrate pre-flight planning with FlyQ Online (PC and Mac) then show how it transfers to FlyQ EFB. Once on FlyQ EFB, we’ll demonstrate the key new features on both the iPad and iPhone.
Or that’s the plan anyway .. technical gremlins have been known to get in the way.
See you soon!
BTW – We will attempt to record it but that’s been known to fail so we suggest watching the live show, not the potential tape-delayed version.
Steve
AviationWeather.gov is down
Update Feb 21 8:00 AM Pacific: All back to normal. The NWS servers were still down or slow last night but back up normally this morning. During the night, we also deployed new code to our servers to attempt to switch to an alternate source should the primary NWS server fail again. We also added some code to ensure that old, cached data is not returned by calls to the NWS servers.
Update 1:30 PM Pacific: Our contacts at the NWS have said that they had a server fail and it’s being restored from backup to a new machine now. They estimate normal functionality in 1-2 hours.
The National Weather Service’s AviationWeather.gov site is currently down. This means we can’t get updated METARs, TAFs, Winds Aloft, AIRMETs/SIGMETs, and PIREPs since they are the official source for these. They are clearly aware of the issue and working to resolve it but, in the meantime, there is little we can do.
Therefore, you may see old data on the FlyQ products until the government resolves the problem. We’re very sorry for the issue and will keep you updated as things progress.
Steve
Success Can Be Frustrating…
UPDATE 2:30 PM, Pacific: All back to normal. Nothing to see here. Move along ….
Apparently FlyQ EFB 3.0 is being downloaded and used at record levels .. I say this because the folks who provide the radar and satellite weather maps tiles to us, saw a massive spike in usage and decided to stop providing the tiles without warning (we apparently exceeded our usage allowance — by a lot). We’re on the phone with them now and hope to have this resolved very soon.
This applies to radar and satellite weather weather downloaded from the Internet only for use in FlyQ EFB and FlyQ Online; ADS-B radar is not affected (and there is no ADS-B satellite). METARs, TAFs, Winds Aloft, etc. are also unaffected as we process that data ourselves.
Sorry for the problem.
Thanks, Steve
FlyQ EFB 3.0 Now Available!
Come and get it! Fly EFB 3.0 is now available for both the iPad and iPhone. Take a look at the What’s New web page, the What’s New video, and revised Pilot’s Guide. A detailed changed list is at the bottom of this web page.
To upgrade from a current iPad installation:
Go to the App Store icon on your iPad and select the Updates tab. Click the Update button next to FlyQ EFB. Note: If your iPad 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 from your iPhone or to install to a new iPad:
Go to the App Store icon on your iPhone or iPad, select the Search tab, enter FlyQ EFB.
Version 3.0
New Features and Improvements
- ADDED: Full-featured functionality on the iPhone as well as iPad
- ADDED: Flight Data Recorder / Playback / Export system
- ADDED: Augmented Reality (AR) system from FlyQ InSight
- ADDED: Flight Tracks (aka “breadcrumbs”) map layer
- ADDED: Helicopter charts
- ADDED: Gulf of Mexico charts
- ADDED: Export to Cloud Ahoy and Google Earth
- ADDED: Flight track posting to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
- ADDED: Import of GPX tracks created by FlyQ
- ADDED: Download approach plates / airport diagrams for Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Costa Rica
- CHANGED: TCrs and MagVar moved to far right side of the NavLog
Fixes
- FIXED: Blinking battery indicator for some in-panel ADS-B systems
- FIXED: Constant “Connect” and “Disconnect” messages when connecting to the Stratux when the device is running firmware meant for ForeFlight
- FIXED: Crash when sending flight plans to Dynon and Avidyne in some cases
- FIXED: Excessive CPU use during map movement
- FIXED: GARS grid system coordinates incorrect
- FIXED: Faster tracking for AHRS changes in 3D
- FIXED: Selecting a specific AirPrint printer sometimes has an invisible Back button
- FIXED: Other stability and minor feature enhancements
Submitted
We just released FlyQ EFB 3.0 to Apple so they can review it for public release. At the same time, we released the identical version to our beta testers for their final review. If all goes as expected, we should have v3.0 available in a couple of days.
If you’re a beta tester, please download and give it a spin, ideally a flight. Email us at support@seattleavionics.com if you find any bugs that would warrant a delay to the release. And be sure to check out the new Pilot’s Guide and the What’s New video (this is the long one, the YouTube channel also has a shorter one and break-out videos of the three key new features).
Congrats Eagles!
While talking about football may be more divisive than even politics, I have to say that I was thrilled to see the Eagles win today .. and what a game it was! Wow! No one could be sure who the winner would be until, literally, 0:00 left on the clock.
Full disclosure: I was born in the Boston area and lived there until I was 13 so I do have some like for the Boston teams and, if my relatives read this post, they may disown me. However, I went to college in Philadelphia and have a serious soft spot for underdogs so I was definitely wearing my green today. Ok, it was a green Seattle Sounders scarf but you get the picture.
Whichever team you wanted to win, I think everyone can agree that it was one heck of a game!
Steve
Flying with Seattle Avionics 