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Official FAA data for the 08/21/14 cycle was updated today at 09:01Z, including airport diagrams and approach plates.

Anytime you access iFlightPlanner.com or mobile.iFlightPlanner.com you can be confident that you are seeing the most current and accurate data available.  To ensure that iFlightPlanner for iPad is current, simply tap "Check for Updates" in the upper-left corner of the Downloads tab.  The app will quickly tell you which files need to be updated!

The iFlightPlanner Crew
PLAN. FLY. LOG.

The August 2014 digital issue of Avionics News Magazine is now available!

In this month's issue, you'll find:

• The View from Washington
• International News & Regulatory Updates
• Advancing Cordless Cockpits
• AEA member profile: Vaughn College
• AEA member profile: Mid-South Calibration
• Digital data: A Security Nightmare for Businesses
• Choosing a school
• Industry professionalism
• Marketplace classifieds and much more!

For more information on the Aircraft Electronics Association visit http://www.aea.net/.

Here's a time-saving trick from FLYING for IFR pilots who want to depart their home airport VFR and then have the option of easily picking up an IFR routing midflight.

To do it, simply fill out an IFR flight plan form as you normally would, but input a VFR cruising altitude (for example, 8,500 feet) in the altitude block, with "VFR flight following" written in the remarks section.

This will hold your flight plan with ATC rather than Flight Service. Now you can depart VFR and pick up flight following from ATC, with the benefit being the controller will see your planned routing in the system and won't have to ask a bunch questions about your intentions.

If you later decide you need to pick up an IFR flight plan because of cloud cover, it's easier at this point for the controller to convert your VFR flight plan to an IFR routing because your basic information and planned route are already in the system.

» FLYING Magazine

Georeferenced Airport Diagrams & Approach Procedures

iFlightPlanner for iPad v2.2, featuring the comprehensive set of georeferenced FAA airport diagrams and instrument approach procedures, is now available for download from the App Store!

As part of this release, the iFlightPlanner Crew developed its own, proprietary georeferencing process so that when viewed as standalone documents, iFlightPlanner for iPad could provide the georeferenced airport diagrams and approach procedures in their original PDF format - fully leveraging the pinch and zoom capabilities of the iPad with crystal clear readability at any zoom level.

The georeferenced functionality is accessible throughout iFlightPlanner for iPad presented by Sennheiser, including its split-screen view, and can be easily placed over iFlightPlanner’s seamless VFR and IFR charts with a single tap of the "Map It" button.  Pilots can then use the intuitive mini-menu to quickly search for and switch between other diagrams or approach procedures and adjust the transparency of each.

Anytime you see the aircraft icon in either the Airport/Facility directory or mini-menu (as shown above), that document is available to you as a georeferenced product when GPS is enabled on your device.

All georeferenced airport diagrams and approach procedures are available to iFlightPlanner Premium Plus members, a new membership level introduced to give pilots flying with iFlightPlanner for iPad greater functionality.  Premium Plus annual memberships may be purchased for only $119.99 through August (reg. $139.99).  Current iFlightPlanner Premium members who wish to upgrade to iFlightPlanner Premium Plus and prorate their existing membership may contact us for details!

Additional features in iFlightPlanner for iPad v2.2 include...

Airports

• Airports without an official FAA airport diagram will now show the A/FD page in the upper left thumbnail area.

Approach Plate Timer

• When viewing approach plates, we improved the usability of the timer by enlarging the tap area to open the timer and preventing the timer from moving up or down when the toolbar is hidden.  iFlightPlanner for iPad will also now remember whether you last had the timer open or closed.

RADAR & Satellite Overlays

• You may now change the opacity of the RADAR and Satellite overlays.  Simply tap the View/Split Screen Settings button above the map and move the slider. You may also save your default setting for future use!

TAC & IFR Low Charts

• We added an additional native zoom level to both the TAC and IFR Low charts tiles to enhance the readability when zooming in.

Downloads

• Unselected download types now will show as 50% transparent so that you can easily see which downloads will be performed when you tap "Download Updates."

Each year, the AEA publishes the Pilot's Guide to Avionics, a publication of the Aircraft Electronics Association, features articles aimed at helping pilots make better avionics buying decisions and to locate the repair stations certified by international regulatory authorities as capable of installing and maintaining these sophisticated pieces of equipment. 

Featured articles include:

• New Products for 2014
• AEA's Value-Added Equation for Aircraft Owners
• In-Flight Entertainment
• Lithium Batteries 101
• ADS-B Early Adopters
• Repair Station Directory

The 2014-15 edition of the AEA’s Pilot’s Guide to Avionics debuted during AirVenture 2014 and was available for free at AEA's AirVenture Booth, 2035/36 in Hangar B.  It also can be found at NBAA and at any AEA Regional Meeting this fall.

The iFlightPlanner Crew
PLAN. FLY. LOG.