iFly GPS Forum

The vertical profile is very helpful for showing the intended flight path in relation to obstacles and airspaces ahead. How sweet would it be if it also depicted clouds and visibilities when an ADS-B receiver is available? My idea is this: for any AWOS within (5? 10? Pilot selectable?) miles laterally of the flight path, show a line at reported cloud bases. Scattered clouds could be a scattered dashed line; broken clouds could be closer dashes; and an overcast layer could be a solid line. These lines could be (5? 10?) miles wide, centered over the reporting station. At the bottom in the "green" area, a number (also centered on the reporting station) could depict the reported visibility. Additionally, a second number in paranthesis could indicate how far the reporting station is from the flight path. For instance, " 7 (4L) " would mean that 7 mile visibility is being reported 4 miles LEFT of the flight line. If this is implimented, a pilot can see on one screen obstacles, airspace, clouds, and visibility ahead, and maybe even spot wx trends as the flight progresses. I think this would be a great cockpit asset whether flying IFR or VFR. To update an old saying, "a picture is worth a thousand finger taps".

You lost me a little bit on the frequencies - I think you're referring to the frequency of the METAR updates. I DO have an ADS-B reciever (SkyRadar L) and I can get the current METARS by panning the map in weather mode, tapping the airport symbol, memorizing the visibility and cloud cover, closing the box, panning the map, tapping the next airport along the route, and repeating. So in a minute or two depending on turbulence and pilot workload, I can have a mental picture of the clouds and visibilities ahead of me. Since this data is already available to the iFly via the SkyRadar (in flight) or WX update (flight planning), it would be nice to have it depicted on the vertical profile. Sure, the data may be old, just like the NEXRAD. The iFly notifies me when I'm outside of ADS-B coverage, so I would KNOW in that case that I'm no longer receiving updates. And since METARS are updated hourly unless there's a significent change, the depiction could expire after 60 minutes. Heck, if we really want to fancy it up we can also put a golden arrow at the most favorable altitude for the direction of flight, based on the forecast winds aloft.

An XM solution would hold no value to me personally, as my weatherwagon is hitched to ADS-B.

Thanks for listening!