Navigation & Task Planning Software

Paul Smith

Oxford Gliding Club

Agenda

• Season set-up

• Weather

• NOTAMs

• Task planning

• In-flight navigation

• Post-flight analysis

• Sharing flights

Health Warning

Software is a personal choice

There is a lot to choose from

Software can be complex:

Manual pages - SYD: 124, SYM: 113, LK: 305

Overview

Season set-up

Weather

NOTAMs

Task planning

In-flight navigation

Post-flight analysis

Sharing flights

TpSelect TopMeteo Spine SeeYou Desktop LK8000 BGA Ladder

Season set-up

• Turn points

• Airspace

• Maps

• Configuration

Don’t leave this until the first good soaring day!

Turn pointsDownload and install

Check for updates

Set location – WOG

Set range – all TPs

Select file format – CUP

Save TP file

www.jeffg.co.uk/gliding/tpselect.htm

TP namingTP codes are easier than names

Rename CUP to CSV

Open in Excel

Insert a new column

Create formula with code & name

Replace name column

Save file

Rename CSV to CUP

AirspaceDownload OpenAir format

OpenAir works in SeeYou & LK8000

OpenAir is just text and can be edited

You may want to remove D129

You may want to remove MATZ

OpenAir must be converted to binary

before it will work in mSeeYou

http://soaringweb.org/Airspace/UK/

Maps

SeeYou

• Version 5 – streamed/exported

• .cit format

LK8000

• LK8000.it/download/maps.html

• Terrain: .dem format

• Topology: .lkm format

Configuration considerations

• Files: turn points, airspace, maps

• Units: metric, nautical, statute

• Polar: pick right glider – http://goo.gl/EADua

• Appearance: colours, fonts, layout

• Information: nav boxes, waypoint indicators

• Rules: observation zones, warnings, res altitude

• Communicators: how to talk to the GPS

My personal preferences

• Appearance: high contrast

• Information:

– Waypoints: code, arrival altitude

– Nav boxes: Distance to target, steering course,

bearing to target, height AGL, arrival altitude

• Rules: res altitude = 0

SeeYou Mobile or LK8000?

SeeYou

• Commercial £225, £50/year

• Good integration with SYD

• Increasing tie-in to SYCloud

• Very well thought out

• Used by the top pilots

LK8000

• Free (open source)

• Actively developed

• Feature parity with SYM

• Turbulence safe operation

• Some unique features

SeeYou Mobile or LK8000?

SeeYou LK8000Page View

Wind

Scale

Glide

MacCready

Arrival Alt

Track to Goto

Orientation

Landable

Arrival Alt

Airspace

Turn Point

Nav Boxes

Landable

Arrival Alt

Goto Target Course to Steer Distance to Target

Wind

Airspace

Turn Point

Arrival Alt

MacCready

Performance

Scale

Info

Stripe

Orientation

Track to Goto

Control

Buttons

Menu

Mode

Install and configure demo

SeeYou Desktop

SeeYou Mobile

LK8000

Weatherwww.topmeteo.eu www.idledog.com/gliding/rasp.htm

NOTAMsSet airfield, range & sort order

Check dates

Download NOTAMs

Optionally set task

Review and edit list

Optionally save OpenAir airspace

Other software:• www.skydemonlight.com

• notaminfo.com

www.jeffg.co.uk/gliding/spine.htm

Task planningConsider

• What you want to achive

• Weather, PFD, Wind

• Airspace, NOTAMs

• Landable options

• Other activity, e.g. competitions

Task planning demo

Observation zones

Importing NOTAMs

Task sheetsIt is worth printing a task sheet to put

in the glider

You can use the task sheet to mark

your map and program your PDA

You may want to mark other

information on the sheet or your map

such as

• Significant airspace / NOTAMs

• Airfields and frequencies

Task set-upTask menu

Inserting TPs

Searching for TPs

Setting observation zone

Reordering TPs

Deleting TPs

Saving & loading tasks

Declaring

OZ not declared!

Pre-flightManually set

• Altitude

• QNH

• Wing load (check)

Update in-flight:

• MacCready

• Bugs/efficiency

Check AGL on map page

Alt.Res is set elsewhere in LK

If you are flying with ballast I assume

you know what you are doing!

In-flight navigation (demos)

• Basics: task start, zoom, goto, situation

• Advanced: pages, stats, landables, airspace

• Warnings: airspace

• Assistants: track, thermals, flarm

Post-flight analysis

• Adding the task if missing

• Checking overall performance

• Fly replay and maggot racing

• KPIs: Avg.glide, Mean L/D, Baro shape

Sharing flights

• BGA ladder

– www.bgaladder.co.uk

• On-line contest

– www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/

• SeeYou Cloud?

BGA ladderAdding a flight:

• Validate the task in SeeYou

• Check any airspace violations

• Check observation zones

• Note the task time and speed

• Note any abandon point

• Open the calculator on the ladder

• Select the glider

• Will out the TPs

• Enter time, declared and sectors

• Confirm the height loss

• Calculate

• Submit, remember to check WOG if flown from Weston

Other useful software

• ConnectMe (free) PDA/PNA• www.naviter.com/products/connectme/

• Download flights from a logger (not the club’s)

• Manage waypoints on logger / GPS

• SeeYou Recorder (free) Android/iPhone• www.naviter.com/products/seeyou-recorder/

• Simple IGC recorder – not BGA/FAI approved