Jeff,
The latest iPhone, called the 3G-S, is due out in two days (6/19/09). They run $199 (16Gb) and $299 (32Gb). Once it is available, you should be able to get the older 3G iPhone for less than $100 for the 16Gb and the 8Gb model for even less.
The idea was that anyone with an iPhone could get this app for $2.99. Either way, not all that costly in the A/C world.
Another cool app is the one promoted by AOPA called ForeFlight Mobile 2.3. ( http://www.foreflight.com/). It provides aviation weather (doppler and satellite), airport facility directory & flight plan filing with TFRs, TAFs, METARs & NOTAMs. And it all fits in your shirt pocket. It is more costly at $75, but that is a one time cost with no monthly fee. Well worth the cost in my opinion.
Mark S.
On Wed, Jun 17, 2009 at 12:09 PM, Jeff Whaley <jwhaley@datacast.com> wrote:
David, I wouldn’t consider an iPhone as a primary GPS … but it could be used as backup … after landing, turn it back into a cell phone and close flight plan.
Jeff
From: Rotary motors in aircraft [mailto:flyrotary@lancaironline.net] On Behalf Of David Moyer
Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 12:36 PM
To: Rotary motors in aircraft
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: MotionX-GPS as a flight instrument?
Also check out Checklist Lite, also free. I use the GPS Motion X lite when out running/mountain biking, and have tried it in the car. Seems to be pretty accurate. I haven't tried it in the plane yet. My experience with the GPS in the iPhone isn't very accurate compared to my Garmin in the car. Altitude is off by a factor of at least 50 ft and as much as 150 ft at times when not tracking all satellites in iHUD. Ground position seems to be off by as much as 50 ft approximately. The iphone and any applications shouldn't be used for any critical operations. Now the new iPhone with the built in digital compass will make it a bit more accurate, but still not going to be my choice for a navigation/flight instrument.
David Moyer
Bob Tilley wrote:
Jeff,
The new one is $99. Other programs to check out are AOPA airports, iHud, Flightplan, oh and X-Plane.
On Jun 17, 2009, at 11:59 AM, Jeff Whaley wrote:
GPS in a phone as a flight instrument … not off-topic at all.
The software is $2.99 … how much is an iPhone?
I don’t have a cell phone yet, but when flying increases I’ll need one … the iPhone may be a good choice.
BTW, I’ve heard of other PDAs that people use as GPS devices.
From: Rotary motors in aircraft [mailto:flyrotary@lancaironline.net] On Behalf Of Mark Steitle
Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 10:58 AM
To: Rotary motors in aircraft
Subject: [FlyRotary] MotionX-GPS as a flight instrument?
I know this is off topic and a bit geeky, but I was wondering if anyone with an iPhone has tried the MotionX-GPS application to track their flights? It was designed for tracking workouts, like for mountain biking and jogging. But I couldn't help but wonder how it would work as a poor man's GPS. The basic "LITE" app is free, full-featured app is only $2.99 (almost free). One user comments that it works better than his $500 GPS. Is this possible?
I just downloaded it and plan to try it out this weekend. Maybe it won't even work at altitude, but since it gets its signals from GPS satellites, maybe it will surprise me.
See http://gps.motionx.com/overview/ Check out the picture of the iphone mounted on the handlebars of the mountain bike, with the MotionX app running. Now picture your instrument panel with the same mount. Pretty cool, and very cost effective, assuming you already have an iPhone.
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