iFly GPS Forum

While flying last week, I wanted to drop a maker on the Sectional as we flew past some uncharted towers so that, later, on the ground, I could email the cartographers about the towers.

So I tapped and held the chart and selected "Drop Marker here," fully expecting a flag would be planted on the chart, just like the icon suggests in the Menu.

Instead of a flag, I got a huge data box. That wouldn't go away.

(I found "Clear ALL." But how do I clear one mistake without clearing Markers you want to keep?)

So my wish-list: I wish "Drop Marker Here" did what it says. That it dropped a flag on the chart. Then, when I tap and hold the flag, THEN the Option menu can pop up. (And the menu would offer "Clear this Marker.")

I tried making a waypoint out of the Marker. That gets rid of the huge data box, but I can't name the waypoint. Worse, when you click on the waypoint lat/long, thinking that's the way to rename it, the program makes the waypoint part of you flight plan. I don't necessarily want it to do that.

Please, can I have the ability to name waypoints and/or flags created on the chart? Just like it is with the Internet's DNS vs. URI's, I don't think in terms of numbers (lat/longs.). I think in terms of names. For example, when traveling thru the Grand Canyon special use airspace, I used to name the lat/long corridor waypoints DragonS and DragonN in our old Lowrance GPS for easy reference and retrieval.

And later on, after iFly offers flags and renames, can you have the program keep a list of custom waypoints and flags for management purposes?

There's a menu item called "Custom Waypoints." But it doesn't present a list of custom waypoint, as I expect it to.

Hi Walter:

Okay that the Marker is temporary. Seems confusing terminology to me, since most "markers" in the states are "Permanant markers." (Like a Sharpie.") And too, the symbology seems wrong, with the flag icon and all.

I would suggest that "bread crumbs" would be a better term for temporary iFly Markers. But 1) bread crumbs is quickly becoming an arcane reference to an old Grimm's fairy tale, 2) I think some other aviation map uses the term already, and 3), probably the most practical, the text "bread crumbs" probably won't fit in the Possible Actions Menu.

I can use Waypoints as a Marker (for the uncharted tower example I presented in my OP) as you suggested, but technically, marking the location of uncharted towers isn't a Waypoint because I'll never fly to it. What I really want is a way to drop a permanent marker.

As for tracking my position on the map: I already have the fixed range rings and can do a two finger gesture to find my distance.

Perhaps we can revisit this when all the bugs have been stomped out and there's not much more to do. 😃

Perhaps you could change "Drop Marker here," to "Drop Temp Marker" or add that to the list making "Drop Marker here," for a permanent marker and "Drop Temp Marker" for temporary ones.