Hyperlink to Google Maps - iFly Wish-List

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Hyperlink to Google Maps

4/25/2022 8:21 PM

Cobra

Joined: 4/20/2011

Posts: 2602

Re: Hyperlink to Google Maps Modified By Cobra on 4/25/2022 8:28:30 PM

Yeah, I've used other online tools that allowed swapping the base map between sectionals / IFR low routes / Google maps, etc. It's a nifty feature.

But the key there is that they are 100% online tools.

It would certainly be possible for iFly on an Internet-connected device to do something similar...while it's connected to the Internet. The thing I worry about is that iFly is not a 100% online tool, so for most/all users, there will be times when the device is not connected to the internet and that Google Maps layer won't work. So that needs to be handled "nicely" so the user is not surprised/confused when it doesn't work.

Note that it is not practical to download Google Maps data in advance for offline use like iFly does with all the rest of its aviation data. I don't think Google allows 3rd-party users to do that, and even if they did, that would be a massive amount of data unless the user micromanaged the coverage areas down to very small regions.

4/30/2022 5:28 PM

Don Maxwell

Joined: 1/13/2015

Posts: 1131

Re: Hyperlink to Google Maps

Cobra wrote:

...Note that it is not practical to download Google Maps data in advance for offline use like iFly does with all the rest of its aviation data. I don't think Google allows 3rd-party users to do that, and even if they did, that would be a massive amount of data unless the user micromanaged the coverage areas down to very small regions.

Cobra, GoogleMaps used to make it easy to download maps for an area that the user defined. I did it on my iPhone in a hotel in Patagonia a few years ago and then used the maps up in the mountains, far from a cell network. (And I still have them on my phone.) It may still do that. But I agree: it's not a good system to rely on in iFly. However, there are open street maps for the entire planet that don't take up a whole lot of memory. I think they'd be useful.

5/1/2022 8:43 AM

Cobra

Joined: 4/20/2011

Posts: 2602

Re: Hyperlink to Google Maps Modified By Cobra on 5/1/2022 8:43:40 AM

Yes, Google Maps allows users of GMaps to download map data for offline usage, but that's different from licensing/allowing 3rd party apps to download GMaps data outside of the GMaps app. iFly already seems to do this with airport RealViews, so maybe there's a mechanism there, but there is still the issue of data quantity. In states with lots of airports like TX, FL, and CA, adding a 3 mile ring of Gmaps satellite view detail around every airport will add a lot of data to be downloaded/stored. If you allow users to only select specific airports to do that, it adds complexity to the user interface.

5/1/2022 10:17 PM

Don Maxwell

Joined: 1/13/2015

Posts: 1131

Re: Hyperlink to Google Maps Modified By Don Maxwell on 5/2/2022 6:42:11 AM

Cobra, as they (used to) say, comparisons are odious. All the same, I got curious and looked up the storage data for iFly and Garmin Pilot on my iPhone. iFly is currently storing 8.28 GB; Pilot, 27.61 GB--more than 3x as much.

Pilot has many more kinds of charts and maps, including OpenStreetMaps for the entire planet, in addition to US Sectionals and US helicopter routes. (I subscribe only to the US sectionals.) It also has VFR and IFR maps--like iFly's vector charts--that cover all countries.

Pilot also has "satellite" maps of airports that are higher-resolution than iFly's and that zoom in and out to any level--but those require an internet connection, so Garmin evidently thinks of them as plannning tools, not to be used in flight. They're terrific for that purpose; but iFly's satellite maps are stored onboard and are accessible in flight, which I believe is more important than Garmin's philosophy.

You may have had Pilot in mind in saying "It adds complexity to the user interface." It sure does! And that's exactly why I use iFly in flight instead of Garmin Pilot.

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