AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 95
PILOTPRODUCTS
BY IAN J. TWOMBLY
New ideas
Chartflier EFB, iFly 700, ShareZen
lectronic approach plate and moving-map hardware and software applications are so ubiquitous now that the choices are getting downright confusing. One of the many options, Essential Filght Technology’s Chartflier Electronic Flight Bag, can be summed up in four familiar letters—ADS-B. Until Chartflier came along, to benefit from free ADS-B weather and traffic, you had to buy and install a box that costs thousands of dollars. Chartflier is offering a portable option that is refreshingly flexible. All you need is the portable ADS-B, a personal computer, and the company’s software, and you could have a lifetime of free weather, and in some cases traffic, in the cockpit. Stay current on Chartflier’s inexpensive chart updates, and you get a route planner, moving map with VFR or IFR, georeferenced airport diagrams, and— very soon—georeferenced approach plates. We tested Chartflier on a 2GO SL10 touch-screen tablet computer. The user interface is so easy we never even looked at the directions. Start up the program and basically, you’re off. There’s no requirement to plot a route, although the software can do it if you’re a slave to the magenta line. Before takeoff you can download weather via the Internet, which allows for some basic preflight planning preparations. Once in the air, the ADS-B receiver (which also includes GPS) will latch on to the signal and update the weather continu-
Chartflier EFB
E
ously. Airports show color-coded circles to indicate current weather conditions, a nice feature that saved the time of searching each listing. The software was fast, and charts loaded quickly. It was sometimes buggy for us, with small areas of a chart not completed filled in. But that could have been the tablet, too. Even so, the bottom line is that the entire system will pay for itself in a few years if you cancel a weather subscription. And if you haven’t used ADS-B in the past, it’s reliable, accurate, and rapidly expanding. Pros: • Easy to use, reliable chart backup • Free weather and some traffic • Inexpensive software Cons: • ADS-B not yet available nationwide • Our tests were sometimes buggy Who: Essential Flight Technology Chartflier EFB What: Subscription not required, weather and limited traffic, electronic approach plates Where: www.essentialflight.us Why: ADS-B is the future, and Chartflier is a good value Cost: $149 for an annual subscription; tablet and ADS-B receiver options on website
Continued
AOPA PILOT • 95 • MARCH 2011
http://www.essentialflight.us
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011
Contents
President’s Position
Hangar Talk
AOPA Media
AOPA Action
Letters
Waypoints
Proficient Pilot
Safety Pilot
License to Learn
Pilot Counsel
Fly Well
Pilot Briefing
Rally GA: Help is on the Way
A Higher Calling
Out in the Cold
The Perfect Howard
GA Serves America: Back to Life
Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
Strange and Unusual Crashes
Crossover Classic Sweepstakes: Panel Countdown
Challenges: Thunder on the Water
Wx Watch: Zooming Through Jet Cores
Pilot Products: New Ideas
Avionics: Don’t Leave Home Without It
Dogfight: Run the Tank Dry?
Never Again
Fly Outs
Fly by Wire
Pilots
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - President’s Position
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Hangar Talk
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 7
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 8
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 9
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - AOPA Media
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 11
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - AOPA Action
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 13
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 14
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 15
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 16
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 17
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 18
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 19
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Letters
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 21
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 22
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 23
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Waypoints
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 25
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Proficient Pilot
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 27
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Safety Pilot
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 29
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - License to Learn
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 31
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Pilot Counsel
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 33
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Fly Well
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 35
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 36
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 37
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Pilot Briefing
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 39
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 40
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 41
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 42
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 43
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 44
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 45
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 46
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 47
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 48
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Rally GA: Help is on the Way
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 50
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 51
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - A Higher Calling
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 53
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 54
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 55
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 56
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 57
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 58
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 59
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 60
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Out in the Cold
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 62
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 63
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - The Perfect Howard
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 65
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 66
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 67
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 68
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 69
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - GA Serves America: Back to Life
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 71
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 72
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 73
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 74
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 76
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 77
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 78
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Strange and Unusual Crashes
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 80
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 81
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 82
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Crossover Classic Sweepstakes: Panel Countdown
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 84
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 85
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 86
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Challenges: Thunder on the Water
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 88
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 89
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 90
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Wx Watch: Zooming Through Jet Cores
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 92
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 93
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 94
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Pilot Products: New Ideas
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 96
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Avionics: Don’t Leave Home Without It
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 98
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 99
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Dogfight: Run the Tank Dry?
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 101
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Never Again
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 103
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 104
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 105
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Fly Outs
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Fly by Wire
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 108
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 109
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 110
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 111
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Pilots
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - Cover4
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