Xavion, by Austin Meyer.
Xavion is MY answer to the question: How helpful can I make an iPad in the cockpit?
In flight, Xavion constantly imagines engine-failed glides to every runway in gliding range. For each of these glides, Xavion scores the chance of a successful power-off landing based on runway length, runway width, headwind, tailwind, or crosswind on that runway, the weather around the airport, and a number of other factors. Then, once Xavion has estimated the chance of a successful landing at EVERY runway within gliding range, it shows you the approach that it believes is best as 3-D hoops that you simply glide through to make it to the runway! The hoops are set up at the glide ratio for your airplane, so you can stay in them with power off!
This, finally, gives you guidance after an engine failure that is based on energy-management all the way down, where the computer does the work for you… all you need to do is fly through the hoops.
As well, Xavion gets ADS-B weather (if you have a Sagetech or iLevil receiver) and shows it on a moving map, and provides weather for all airports that report it. As well, Xavion gets METARS and winds aloft from the internet if you have a WIFI or cell signal before or during flight!
Also, Xavion checks your weight and balance, medical and BFR currency, and even estimates your takeoff distance and compares that to the length of the runway that you are about to take off on to warn you if the available length from your current location on the runway is too little for a safe take-off.
Also, Xavion estimates time and fuel burn at all different altitudes to any destination you want to go to, and shows you 3-D “highway in the sky” hoops to get there.
Xavion is free to download, and requires In-App purchase of current airport data ($19.99/month, or $199.00/year). As well, you may OPTIONALLY by a Seattle Avionics Chart Data subscription for $149.00/year, or access your EXISTING Seattle Avionics Chart Data subscription freely.
This is the most user-friendly, powerful App that I can imagine, and I love flying with it. We have no privacy policy, and the terms of use are listed at the launch of the App.
New for 1.45:
If you have an iPhone 6, then go to the NOTES:SYSTEM page to see the cabin altitude!
As well, you will get a warning if the cabin altitude exceeds 14,000 ft!
This is very handy in a pressurized airplane since it will indicate a pressurization failure, and act as a nice reminder even in a non-pressurized plane!
See NOTES:BACKUP for confirmation of the pressure sensor (and other sensors!) as well.
Who could have imagined all of the stuff on that NOTES:BACKUP page being possible just a few years (or even months!) ago?
Some previous versions of Xavion restrcited their use to latitudes between 60 South and 60 North.
Now, we allow use of Xavion anywhere, and below 60 South and above 70 North (not 60!) Xavion simply reverts to an artificial horizon since no terrain data is available.
This lets us always get the most use out of Xavion that we can get, even in un-expected use cases.
Very subtle change in the airport-selection code:
Xavion is now more careful about always looking at the LEAST-PREVIOUSLY updated airport score to find a new approach there.
This way, Xavion always updates the glide approach data for the airport that most needs the update!
As well, Xavion is now careful to NOT build an approach to an airport that it just built very recently. (That would waste battery since little has changed in the last few moments!)
As a result of this, something very interesting happens: When flying over Montana at low altitude, with few airports in gliding range, Xavion builds approaches at a low rate, thus saving battery!
But, over densely-populated areas at high altitude, where there are MANY airports in gliding range, Xavion will use more battery, as it needs to, to work overtime to keep the approaches for all those airports up to date! So, Xavion does as much work as it needs to, but eases off to save battery if it can! Cool!
Subtle change in hoops-engagement: The hoops now engage the MOMENT you hit the red button, with no delay at all.
This makes Xavion feel more responsive, and guarantees that whatever hoops you SEE at the moment: You GET at that moment if you hit the red button.
The hoops are now thinner, which makes it easier to see other stuff than the hoops, if you like.
New scoring consideration: Facility data!
If we have no ATIS, AWOS, control tower, or UNICOM frequency, then the score for the airport is downgraded, making the airport less desirable for an approach.
As well, if such an airport is the best that we can come up with at the moment you hit the red button, then we tell you that this field has limited facilities! (If some other even MORE critical limit, such as runway length or distance from you are considered to be even MORE critical, then Xavion will warn you of the more critical element instead). So, Xavion will always warn you of the most-critical element for the approach you are shooting the moment you hit the red button… and in the case of an airport with very limited COMM and weather data, Xavion will consider this to be a possible area of concern and warning, right along with the other parameters such as runway length, gliding distance, etc.
Subtle change in the way airports are shown if "VFR/IFR Apts ON" is selected in PREFS:MAP:
We now show ALL of the airports, even if they do NOT report weather... we just show the non-reporting ones in GRAY is all.
This way, even if ADS-B only reports weather for some of the airports in your area, at least you can see ALL the airports… even if they are not reporting weather.
As with the philosophy of Xavion that runs system-wide: We EXPECT to operate in a very imperfect world, and get you the best info we CAN given the imperfect circumstances.
