Australian Flying - July 2018

The concept behind virtual pilot
communities is quite sound: pilots
entering information about airports into
a database that is then distributed by an
application for everyone to share. Photos,
tips, accommodation, taxi numbers ...
everything you need to know. The app
itself then sources other data like weather
forecasts and is combined with the airport
information and handed to users with just
the touch of a finger.
The latest pilot community to launch in
Australia is RunwayMap.
Designed by a Swiss company,
RunwayMap covers 20,000 airports around
the world, and the Australian database is
very comprehensive. You can find what
you're looking for by simply scrolling the
map to the airport, or by keying in the
ICAO designator at the top of the screen.
That opens a pop-up box, which contains
also a satellite image of the airport.
The menu includes local eats,
accommodation, weather, other pilot
reviews, links to You Tube videos and
photos. You can also tag airports as your
home, somewhere you've visited, or leave
private notes about the airstrip that are not
shared with the community.
The map in the background has several
different overlays, but at the time of writing,
the only ones Australian Flying could get
to function were the standard view–which

is simply a road and geographic map–and

the satellite image. That's understandable;

other options like FAA charts are of little

value over here anyway.

Even so, RunwayMap is still handy for

storing and accessing information that can

be easily retrieved for f light planning, and

is a great way of keeping a log of all the

airports you've used over your career, and a

good way to get in contact with other pilots

on the app that have used the airport you're

interested in.

RunwayMap also has handy tools

including conversion calculators and two

stopwatches.

But as always there is a catch. Any

computer is only as accurate as the

information that goes into it, which is

very pertinent when it comes to pilot

communities including RunwayMap.

Much information is put there by

users, and the accuracy can't be verified.

Australian Flying found references to several

airports around Australia that have been

closed for some time, and others where

closed runways were not noted as they

are in ERSA. In some cases, the location

is marked as an airport when in fact it's a

waypoint or naviad. No doubt over time, as

more Australian pilots start to use it, the

database will improve.

Similarly, the weather information

can't be used for f light planning.

A simple cross check with

NAIPS shows the METAR in

RunwayMap is not always the

latest issue.

There is still a ways to go

before RunwayMap is properly

tuned to Australia, but even now

it's still a handy tool to enhance

your aviation experience. It is not

a substitute for proper planning

information or AIP documents.

RunwayMap by RedDev

Free for iPhone, iPad and Android

Via AppStore and Google Play

http://www.runwaymap.com

July – August 2018 AUSTRALIAN FLYING

australianflying.com.au 71

STOP

THE ONE

PILOT SHOP

http://www.skylines.com.au

or visit our store:

Corner of Second Ave

& Bundora Pde

Moorabbin Airport

Victoria 3194

(opposite control tower)

PH: 03 9587 3400

FAX: 03 9587 3575

EMAIL: [email protected]

For Efcient,

Friendly Service...

CALL US!!

• Extensive Book Selection


• Practice Exams


• GPS


• Radios / Scanners


• Airservices Publications


• Jeppesen Products


• Aviation Theory Centre


• Bob Tait’s Aviation Theory Books


• Pilot Accessories / Uniforms


• Authorised Dealer of

We stock all the best

HEADSET BRANDS

MAIL ORDER

Visit our Website

All in One Place

Pilot community RunwayMap is now active

in Australia and free for most devices.