Droid Apps

[Baker]

No flight planning apps here....I use those dispatcher dudes... But I do know there are some excellent aviation weather apps. I used to have a few but they fell out and I haven't reloaded them.

 

[FlyWright]

SPOILED!!

If you had our dispatch dudes and dudettes, you'd do your own flight planning, too.

You probably have PDC and don't even have to copy or readback a clearance, right?

 

[Baker]

FlyWright wrote:
SPOILED!!

If you had our dispatch dudes and dudettes, you'd do your own flight planning, too.

You probably have PDC and don't even have to copy or readback a clearance, right?

*This is true! *ANd the flight plan is uplinked via ACARS and we do not even have to load the flight plan into the FMC...we just hit the "Accept" button and then execute and everything is loaded. *Same goes for weight and balance...loads straight into the "box" and then a hard copy prints out onto the printer. *And in oceanic airspace we have ADS and CPDLC....which basically makes out position reports for us...no need to call on that scratchy ass HF radio....now I'm just braggin'....

 

[timjet]

Baker wrote:*This is true! *ANd the flight plan is uplinked via ACARS and we do not even have to load the flight plan into the FMC...we just hit the "Accept" button and then execute and everything is loaded. *Same goes for weight and balance...loads straight into the "box" and then a hard copy prints out onto the printer. *And in oceanic airspace we have ADS and CPDLC....which basically makes out position reports for us...no need to call on that scratchy ass HF radio....now I'm just braggin'....

*Soooo.. the next step is single seat cockpits??!!!!!

Yup, it's coming just a matter of time.

Next generation of jets will probably have auto takeoff and company policy will probably be no hand flown landings unless daylight VFR with winds less than 10kts. Prior Approval Required.

Our company policy already dictates no manual thrust unless daylight VFR.

Technology is a wonderful thing most of the time, but not always. The AB 380 with the un-contained engine failure took the crew 2.5 hrs to get thru all the ECAM procedures. That's crazy!

But there is no going back and technology will eventually replace the pilot profession, but that's progress and in the end will probably make airline accidents un-heard of.

Personally I liked the B737-200 where you were taught the systems and understood what each switch and lever did. Your understaning of the systems and aircraft capability allowed you to deal with an emergency pretty straight forward.

Todays jets with their computers running everything positioning a switch without following a defined checklist can have un-intended consequences. Therefore most pilots knowledge of aircraft systems is somewhat limited (as compared to previous generation aircraft) and following written or electronically displayed procedures is a must. But sometimes at a loss of situational awareness.


-- Edited by timjet on Sunday 30th of October 2011 10:43:49 AM


-- Edited by timjet on Sunday 30th of October 2011 10:52:40 AM

 

[Baker]

Tim, something tells me you fly Airbuses?

 

[BaltimoreLurker]

I might be the last to know this, but there is an free app from BoatUs that will give the TowBoat people your exact location when you press the button to call for a tow.* I don't know that it's a replacement for DSC but it's a comforting alternative for those of us who rarely venture out of sight of land.

 

[timjet]

Baker wrote:
Tim, something tells me you fly Airbuses?

*Was it the unintended consequences or the loss of situational awareness?

 

[Baker]

Hahahaha....anyway, I guess we have veered from the subject here.

I did some poking around on my SD card inside my phone and I managed to recover my Navionics app that had disappeared and that Navionics had pulled from the market. I understand that Navionics is treating this like they treat a chart chip, but in the Android market you don't sell a product and then pull it and replace it with something else. You UPDATE it and allow your customers the ability to keep the app that they paid for. Anyway, like Netflix, I hope they learn from this snafu. When I called Android support and mentioned the word "Navionics" they already knew what I was talking about....a lot of complaints.

 

[FlyWright]

Glad to hear yo were able to recover it, Baker.

I found a useful FREE app yesterday that locks selected apps and used face recognition technology to unlock the apps. It requires a front camera to view and recognize your face. If you choose to protect an app such as your bank's app, when you open the app, the camera turns on and in a couple seconds locks on and recognizes your mug. It then allows the app to open. There is also a selectable password to override the face recognition feature.

It's called Visidon AppLock.


-- Edited by FlyWright on Tuesday 1st of November 2011 10:09:21 AM

 

[timjet]

John, thanks for the heads up about Navionics. I'll becareful about not loosing it. A BIG complaint I have about the program is the depths displayed are so small they are very difficult to read. Zooming in does no good as they reset to the very small font.*

FlyWright; that face recongnition sounds cool. I'm not sure I would trust it though with my banking stuff. Several years ago I decided not to use bill pay or my notebook computer to connect to any of my bank accounts vi
WiFi while traveling.*

A commercial customer of BOA lost about $90 grand from his commercial account because someone hi-jacked his computer. BOA did not take responsibility because they said his computer was hi-jacked and not BOA's.*

 

[Baker]

timjet wrote:
Several years ago I decided not to use bill pay or my notebook computer to connect to any of my bank accounts vi*

WiFi while traveling.*

A commercial customer of BOA lost about $90 grand from his commercial account because someone hi-jacked his computer. BOA did not take responsibility because they said his computer was hi-jacked and not BOA's.*

*I practice the same "safe banking"....especially in other countries(which is where I am most of the time).

 

[Baker]

Well it looks like navionics came to their senses under the pressure of customers and the Android Market.....They attached the file to the email and I was able to recover the app!! Good job Navionics.


John,



Navionics is providing these instructions in an attempt to resolve the issue you are experiencing with the re-installation of our app. Our understanding is the previous instructions we provided regarding re-installation from the Google market were unsuccessful.



User installation instruction for the Android Bundle 5.3.2:

1- Enable the 'Unknown sources' in the device's Settings

By default, most Android devices only allow to install applications through the Google Market. In order to allow you to manually install the bundle with this .apk file, go to your device's Settings, tap on the Applications menu item, and activate the check-box 'Unknown sources' in the following list (if not already activated).

2- Open the email received from mobile@navionics.com on your mobile device (recommended)

If you cant open the email from your device go to step 4

3- Tap on the attached file (.apk) and follow the instruction that will appear on the device screen

(end of the procedure)

4- Open the email received from mobile@navionics.com on your laptop and copy the application file (.apk) to your device's SD card

a) Connect your device via USB cable to your laptop;
b) Follow your manufacturer's device instructions to mount the SD card and copy the .apk file to the device's SD card;
c) Use a file manager to explore the content of the SD card within your device: if you don't have any, you can download the (free) application called 'Astro File Manager' through the Google Market;
d) Using the file manager, locate the .apk file and tap on it. Then, you just have to follow the instructions to have the application installed onto your device

(end of the procedure)



If you need additional information, please do not hesitate to ask.

Best regards,

Navionics Mobile Team