Offline Software
- Thread starter JWS
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XPRSAV8R
Member
I second this idea for planning or training. So much easier to try new settings, build system proficiency and even plan preflight routes outside the aircraft than going out to the hangar or sitting on ground power.
ronaldhuff
I love flying!
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- Oct 13, 2014
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I agree. maybe something like a flight simulator would certainly help the system learning experience.
XPRSAV8R
Member
Btw, both Avidyne and Garmin have simulators for their navigators. While that's valuable, it's invaluable to have a PFD/MFD simulator that they actually interface with. Sure, primary flight instruments are presented the same regardless of manufacturer. However, what makes SkyView powerful are the features, menus and accessibility. As much as Dynon makes things intuitive, learning to program or where to access features during a flight is a bad idea (i.e. look at all the G1000 simulators out there (which aren't intuitive at all!)).
I agree that a sim would be invaluable, and since Garmin has a good one for its GTN 650/750, we know that sims have been created. So I have to ask that age-old question: How hard could it be?
Now, a question on the serious side, which has a short answer: What operating system does the Skyview run on? Is it a Dynon proprietary operating system, or is it an operating system that some programmers might be familiar with?
Now, a question on the serious side, which has a short answer: What operating system does the Skyview run on? Is it a Dynon proprietary operating system, or is it an operating system that some programmers might be familiar with?
According to their FAQ, Skyview is an app that runs on a customized version of Linux:
It seems possible to boot up an image of their flavor of Linux in a VM and run the Skyview app on it. But that is probably the easy part. The difficulty may be in the implementation of the virtual devices that can feed data to the Skyview app using Dynon's proprietary protocols/data formats?
It seems possible to boot up an image of their flavor of Linux in a VM and run the Skyview app on it. But that is probably the easy part. The difficulty may be in the implementation of the virtual devices that can feed data to the Skyview app using Dynon's proprietary protocols/data formats?
As we like to say, "it's just software". Which is to say it's not impossible, but not an afternoon's work either. We want one too! In development-land, we have ways to run SkyView in computing environments, but taking that into a running simulation that works as a consumer product are two very different things.
JWS
New Member
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Thanks for responding. I think you see that pilots would find it quite useful, plus it would help your sales dept to have such! It's also a safety feature - the more you know the very capable system, the better you will fly, and, as pointed out above, trying to learn it "on the fly" may not be the best idea.
Yes, a simulator would be great BUT; do you then have to spend time and effort updating the simulator every time you update the "real" thing? Or do you just let the simulator function as an out of date version? How mad would customers be if the simulator is different from "their" version? Or do you delay improvements to the real thing because the simulator would not be current? I personally much prefer Dynon work on the real thing. If you need to learn buttonology put a charger on your ship's battery and sit in the airplane.
Brian
Brian
I concur with you, Brian. And that's exactly what I did, connect the battery charger, especially on bad weather days when I could not fly.
Rather than produce an expensive simulator, which will soon be obsolete, I would rather see Dynon put their time and effort into improving Skyview products with new features and reliability. Firmware updates are timely, and many are customer driven. I like that.
JWS
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Well ... as the starter of this thread ... I agree with all points. Brian & Bill are both right (though I use a flying club an hour away, so while I have used external power it's not that convenient). And if one has to choose one or the other, I get that. But ... I sell non-aviation products that utilize hardware & software (relatively small companies compared to industry giants), and they supply off-line versions and update them simultaneously with the hardware versions. They figured how to do that, so I thought so could Dynon. Hey if it can happen, great, if not, OK.
I, too, concur!