Finally made it back to LA from Oshkosh. After 65 hours of flying solo with my wonderful 720 unit over the last two weeks, I have come up with a few suggestions for things I would have liked to have in addition to the great functionality that's already there.
First, I have to say that this is a fantastic unit. I can't imagine how I would have handled the workload without it.
So here are a few ideas to add to the wish list:
1. Nearest fuel.
Many times, I wanted to know not just where the nearest airports were, but only the nearest ones with fuel. If there's a way to add that as a search criteria it would be great. As a special bonus, nearest fuel available now (or self service) would be great too. A few times I arrived at airports only to discover that fuel wasn't available off hours.
2. Map and airport information split screen.
Although the airport information is all available, there were times when I wanted to see both the map and the airport info at the same time (mainly during approach). Instead of using the ifly airport info, I found myself looking at the paper version of airport info so that I could keep the map up on the screen.
3. Airport diagram on landing.
I think that this one has come up before, but it would be really great if after landing at an airport the display could be set to automatically switch to the airport diagram if it's available.
4. Flight plan based on winds aloft.
It would be really nice if the flight plan time and fuel estimate could adjust for winds aloft since the data is available.
5. ETE based on winds aloft.
While the estimated time to final point in the flight plan is really useful, if either the winds shift or the heading changes significantly with respect to the wind, the estimate is off (understandably of course). If there could be a way to add a calculated estimate based on the known winds aloft, it would be a great help in fuel management.
6. Headwind component along flight plan display.
I found myself using the AOPA's new beta for flight planning for one really neat feature. They have a vertical profile display that looks almost exactly like the new one on the iFly, but it has one additional feature that's really useful. At several altitudes in the display and for each segment in the flight plan, it shows the headwind component over the terrain. So if I look at any leg in the plan, I can see in one glance the altitude of the ground and obstructions as well as the headwinds at different altitudes. Really useful. Borrow this idea :-).
7. Winds aloft graphical display.
In the preflight weather mode, I love that the surface winds are represented. If there were some way to visualize the winds at altitude, like a layer for each altitude, it would be helpful.
That's all for now.
Thank you all for creating such a great tool. It really makes it possible to get the most from our airplanes.
Best,
Paul
Paul