JayKay

Before beating up NATFLY managment and RA-AUS can any of the people on this forum who know the identity of the pilot in question please confirm that the pilot was a member of the RAA. I don't know who the pilot was but do know that the majority of microlights in Australia are not registered with the RAA. It may not be reasonable to assume this was an RAA registered trike. NATFLY is not exclusive to RAA members.

I think the idea has merit. The problem I see is that the outcomes are NOT for the benefit of ALL RAAus member, but for the subset of those who participate (and are allowed to participate) on these forums. We must recognise that fact that not all RAAus members: 1. choose to use this site, or 2. are at all times allowed on this site. This site is a private site and being a member of it is a privilege, not a right. RAAus members are routinely banned from participating for various lengths of time, some may be banned permanently. The banned members would then be unable to communicate via this site with the RAAus Board and Execs because of transgression of the rules of THIS site, rather than transgression of RAAus rules. This in my view is fundamentally wrong and undemocratic for all RAAus members. I would have not problem at all if the scope of this initiative was changed from; "for the benefit of [all] RAAus members", to "for the benefit of those RAAus members who choose to be members of this site" (or words to that effect). Some may think this a trivial issue, but I believe it is an important one. The aim of achieving greater transparency has my full support. I just hope the process does not hinder the goal.

Some might have difficulty associating "openness" with "... the threads WILL be heavily moderated to ensure forum rules are adhered to ..."

Ian, It may be an idea to first ask the RAAus Executive members if they would be willing to use this site for the purpose you suggest. If they are not willing to participate (and there is no legal obligation for them to do so) then you may be wasting your time and this site may be seen as a threat to the executive members. My suggestion would be that you list the board memebers who are willing to participate and only address questions to them. Addressing questions to board members who have not indicated a willingness to participate may be seen in a negative light by the general RAA membership.

I don't have one of these units, but this is my understanding of it all ... The unit runs WindowsCE. OziexplorerCE runs on the unit. OziexplorerCE uses Maptrax Charts (which are identical to the paper charts you buy from Airservices as they are supplied to Maptrax by Airservices). All this provides you with Moving Map functionality. For flight planning you need to use AirNav VFR (or Oziexplorer PC version but this is not as comprehensive at flight planning). AirNav VFR also sources it's charts from Airservices but these are encrypted and cannot be transferred to OziexplorerCE. AirNav VFR has moving map functionality but according to their website does not run on WindowsCE therefore does not run on the unit. It only runs on a Windows PC. So if you use AirNav VFR for flight planning you have to also purchase charts from Maptrax to load into the unit. You can however load the flight plan from Airnav VFR to the unit. If you use Oziexplorer PC for flight planning (limited functionality) then you only need to buy the Maptrax charts as they can be loaded into Oziexplorer PC or OziexplorerCE which runs on the unit. Bottom line (as far as I'm aware) - you can NOT use Sentient Airnav VFR flight planner charts on this unit as they are locked and not transferable to Oziexplorer. It may be that Sentient Airnav VFR can now run on WindowsCE - but if it can, it's news to me. Maybe others can help clear up the statement "2. You can elect to use the Sentient AirNav Flight Planner charts"

Is that a Pegasus Trike?

OziExplorer PC version has a "Print Map Image" option which can print a planned route on a MapTrax chart

That's a damn good question Kaz. There is a way you could transfer the charts from the laptop to the Rec Flying GPS but I suspect it would not be legal. The same questions could be asked by those who pay a licence for OzRunways or AirNav Pro for the iPad. Is the licence to use their charts transferable to generic graphic formats such as pdf, png or jpg which could be used on the Rec Flying GPS? As far as I know, Maptrax are the only ones who sell Airservices calibrated charts in standard, non proprietary format which can be used on the Rec Flying GPS.

Sentient Software's AirNav VFR is available from http://www.sentientsoftware.com.au/ for a Winter special price of $99. Check their web site.

Thanks Thirsty, I'll give that a shot.

I've just purchased a HTC Desire HD running Android v2.3 with an 8GB microSD card. I've also purchased the Maptrax "Aero Chart Pack - Australia Complete". I'm not familiar with Android so I would also appreciate some step by step instructions on how to install all this stuff on my HTC Desire HD. I've read the "Installation Instructions" and the first step is: "Download the OziExplorer apk file and put it on the SD card of your device in the top level folder of the SD Card". My question is "How do you put it on the SD card?" Do you have to put the SD card into a PC and create folders that way, or is there an APP in Android (similar to a file manager like Windows Explore) that helps you do all this stuff from within Android? Of course I'm very keen to see all this stuff working on Ian's new 7" and 10" Android devices.

I note that OziExplorer for Android has just been released. It's version 1.04 (beta). It can be purchased for $25.00 USD. The program has to be tested on your Android device prior to purchase (must supply a Device ID as part of purchase process). Anyone out there willing to have a go at this and let us know how well it works on your Android device?

Thanks for the info. I expect it may be possible to connect the GPS unit to the computer via the included USB cable. This way the flight plan and waypoint files could be saved directly from AirNav VFR to the GPS unit, obviating the need to transfer files via memory cards.

AirNav VFR exports it's waypoints and route data into the G7toWin program (distributed with AirNav VFR). G7toWin can directly upload that data into Garmin, Lowrance/Eagle and Magellan GPS units via the COM or USB ports. WindowsCE devices are not listed for direct upload. Dentist, please post the steps you use to directly upload custom route and waypoint data from AirNav VFR to a WindowsCE device. If it's simple to do, we've just made good progress.

Thanks Ian. That answers my questions.