Navtech Software
Aviation software for pocket pc and Windows mobile phone
“One of the best electronic flight planners available for Pocket PC”
››› Trial software
Piloot magazine
(translated from Dutch)
Extract from review of EFISce
A co-pilot in your pocket
Before we can begin planning the route, the type of aircraft must be selected.
EFISce comes with six standard profiles (eg C-152, C-172 and PA 28) which can serve as a basis from which to adjust your aircraft profile.
These profiles also include parameters for air speed and fuel consumption during the different phases of the flight, as well as for calculating weight and balance. Different measurements can be input each time. New types can be added without difficulty, and entering the details is a good exercise in re-reading your flight handbook.
Another handy facility allows you to enter current wind and temperature information, including at different flight heights. These can be taken from standard meteorological reports, and form the basis for further calculations.
Once aircraft and weather details have been entered, you can begin to define the route. This is a very intuitive process. First you give the route a name, and then different sections of the route can be added. Unlimited routes may be entered.
Waypoints can be located using a quick and extensive database containing all airports and navigation beacons for Europe. One drawback is that updates for this database are not yet available. Navtech is looking for a partner in this context for the longterm. In the meantime, the user needs to adjust waypoint information himself. The process of adding your own waypoints to the database is quick. After entering each waypoint, the program asks for information about flight height and variable weather conditions like wind and temperature. It is also possible to adjust profile defaults such as speed and fuel consumption.
The next step is to calculate fuel requirement. EFISce obligingly transfers the fuel requirement across from the flight plan and offers the option of entering reserve amounts which the pilot himself can determine. This quantity can then be compared with the quantity of fuel still left in the tanks. On the basis of this information and supplementary data about weight and placing of passengers and luggage, EFISce calculates the weight and balance for the start and landing, graphically as well as numerically.
This application clearly automates many of the steps in the flight planning process by obtaining information from databases and by smoothly transferring results from one stage into other calculations.
It is more than just an aid in flight preparation. It is in the execution of the flight that EFISce really comes into its own. When a GPS receiver is coupled to the Pocket PC, the device is transformed into a genuinely portable flight GPS.
There are two different map screens. The first screen comprises the navigation displays, compass rose and compass arc, both of which could have been plucked from the cockpit of a modern commercial aeroplane. Both show the current position of the aircraft in relation to navigational beacons and pre-determined waypoints, the planned route (and current deviation), time and distance to the next waypoint and actual groundspeed. The planned route (as defined in the planning module) is indicated by a thick pink line. The colours have been well chosen to ensure maximum visibility during the flight and the font is big enough. Zooming in and out is also possible.
Diverting to a nearby navigation beacon or airport is also possible. To do this the desired point need only be touched and fixed upon the screen.
An alternative view shows the current position in relation to an imported bitmap. Using a desktop PC it is possible to scan in or download from the internet any chosen map. In order for the software to interpret these maps, they first need to be calibrated on the basis of known coordinates. Although this is precise and labour-intensive work, and certain maps may require considerable amounts of memory, the application is extremely interesting. It enables you to check that the approach to an airport can indeed be flown exactly as published. You can also, with ease, tell your passengers the name of every diminutive (unsightly) little village that you're passing. Maps can be downloaded free for this function from sites like Maporama (www.maporama.com).
EFISce comes with two blank survey maps, one for Europe and one for the world.
Compared with other GPS applications, EFISce is very simple to use, partly because of the decision not to include certain functions. In conclusion, EFISce is a textbook example of a user-friendly application to support the pilot during flight preparation and execution.
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