Request - map info column: distance to airspace

[CGameProgrammer]

I don't have my HDX yet but I was perusing the manual which is now online. I expect to usually use the PFD fullscreen with the map info column and EMS band. I notice the map info column shows lat/lon (as shown in first attachment) but that seems pretty useless. How about replacing it with distance to the next airspace boundary?

For example the second screenshot would indicate that the aircraft, at its current altitude and ground course, would hit KSFO's class B in 11 nm. This seems more useful than just distance to waypoint if the waypoint is for example an airport and the pilot needs to contact them before hitting their airspace. You could even color the magenta or white labels based on airspace class/restricted/MOA/etc.

 

[dynonsupport]

Thanks for the comment and suggestion.

So you know, it is easy to alter the items in the Map info column in the Map setup menu. The Airspace Proximity information is not available there, but is available in the main map window, showing the currently occupied airspace as well as the airspace class and distance above, ahead (time to reach), and below the aircraft.

 

[dynonsupport]

The elements in this list are configurable by the operator. See page 5-69. You don't have to show lat/long.

Next airspace is an interesting idea, but really hard to determine in a useful way. If you were below a class B shelf, with a ring 6 NM in front of you, but you were flying at 30 degree angle to the ring and climbing at 500 FPM with a roof 600' above you, what would you expect it to say? What if you were pointed right at a class D but were climbing fast enough to get above it by the time you were there but 500' above it was a huge class C shelf? It's hard to determine which airspace to choose because we don't know when you will change your vertical speed or direction.

This is why HDX has an airspace info box that gives you all this info. Page 5-17.

 

[CGameProgrammer]

It doesn't need to predict the pilot's future movements, just extrapolate his current ones. However I think it's reasonable to ignore ascent/descent and just use current GPS altitude (and pressure altitude for any airspace's flight-level boundaries). If the pilot is significantly climbing or descending then presumably they know what they're climbing/descending into.

Whenever parameters suggest that the airspace boundary can't be reliably determined then it can just be blank. So maybe when GPS observes that the pilot is climbing then it blanks the widget until he levels out, then calculates the next airspace boundary (within a reasonably range of course).

My intention is not for it to be used for navigating in or around airspace; you need the map or a pre-determined flight plan for that. My intention is simply for it to be used similarly to the waypoint ETE/distance, letting you know when you'd hit the next airspace boundary that you hopefully already knew you would hit at some point.

Obviously the map has this information and more but my hope is to have this when using the PFD full-screen, so no map onscreen, just the map info column.

 

[CGameProgrammer]

So, as I mentioned in my previous reply, if the feature is only enabled when in level flight (or even straight-and-level flight) then might you consider it?