How to view Approach Plates on HDX

[dannp1]

I just bought the subscription from Seattle Avionics and didn't realize they're not Mac friendly. I'm trying to follow there directions for Mac users but not having much luck. I may have gotten one or two files on a USB card (it took 3-4 hours to unzip), but how do you know if it works on SkyView? I thought I read somewhere that the USB just needed to be inserted and the plates would appear in a menu, which didn't happen. Do you have to download the files from the USB? The root directory thing has me confused.

Sorry this is all new to me. I just got my RV flying and didn't realize the software was going to be so complicated (esp. in 2020).

Thanks,
Dan

 

[DBRV10]

I am in the upside down land, and AvPlan here supply a similar chart service. The database uploads to the screen, however all the mapping and approach plates stay on the USB key.

The catch is they MUST appear in the root directory of the USB key, and not inside a folder. The charts are in a folder of their own, but thats OK, so here is what ours look like. (And yes my wife did beat the SWAT instructors son at Gunsite Academy for those who are curious about the background pic).

As you can see the original folder is the Dynon-2009 data release (year 20 and month 9) and the contents of that folder as shown below gets copied to the root directory of the USB key. The root directory is the first level when you open the USB stick up.

Hope this helps.

 

[steve m]

I download the charts from Seattle Avionic (time consuming and since I am doing this on a Mac running parallel, I have about 75% success rate)

Once you have the files on USB, plug them in your plane and leave it there. To verify mine are working correctly, I pull up an airport info plage and you will see "PLT" , go to this tab and the plates should be there. (If you have two screens, you need to have USB with files for each display and they need to stay in place as you fly)

 

[kellym]

I just bought the subscription from Seattle Avionics and didn't realize they're not Mac friendly. I'm trying to follow there directions for Mac users but not having much luck. I may have gotten one or two files on a USB card (it took 3-4 hours to unzip), but how do you know if it works on SkyView? I thought I read somewhere that the USB just needed to be inserted and the plates would appear in a menu, which didn't happen. Do you have to download the files from the USB? The root directory thing has me confused.

Sorry this is all new to me. I just got my RV flying and didn't realize the software was going to be so complicated (esp. in 2020).

Thanks,
Dan

Either find a friend with Windows computer that is willing to do the download, acquire a used Windows laptop, or run Windows on your Mac.
The USB stick needs a SkyViewUS folder, a Charts folder. There will be nothing in the SkyViewUS folder, all the data goes in the Charts folder. Nothing goes in root directory.
With Windows the Data Manager software handles all the downloads. To minimize download times, selecting only nearby states helps a lot.
I can plug in the USB stick and leave it overnight, or over a meal and normally everything is updated in an hour or two, including all states west of Miss. river except Alaska and Hawaii. I have USB 3.0 sticks, which are significantly faster for data loads than USB 2.0.

 

[dannp1]

Thanks to all of you, I will try these suggestions!