Australian Flying — November-December 2017

satisfy the CASA requirements,
but they can help you make
decisions faster in the air.
AW I S P h o n e b o o k is almost a
gotta-have. AWIS numbers are
not easy to find, being buried deep
in ERSA. This app gives all the
phone numbers of every AWIS in
Australia, either selected from a
database list or by tapping a map.
Its only weakness is that it doesn't
include the VHF frequencies;
critical if you can't get mobile
coverage.
Even the Bureau of Meteorology
has recognised the value of

graphical Terminal Area Forecasts
(TAF), something which the app
TAFGR AF has been providing for
some time. This shows aerodrome
forecasts in both graphic form
and the official forecast as issued.
You can select by keying in the
airport code or by choosing from a
list of nearest or stored favourites.
Touching the graphic itself also
brings up an explanation of what
you're looking at.

australianflying.com.au 63

November – December 2017 AUSTRALIAN FLYING

http://www.OnlineAviationTheory.com

If you purchase a course and aren’t completely satisfied

with it, e-mail me within 48 hrs and I’ll cancel the course

and refund your money in full - I can’t be fairer than that

BEST COURSES - BEST VALUE FOR MONEY

The in-built search engine makes it easy to use

the course as a permanent reference source

If you select the wrong answer to a question it takes you back to

the appropriate part of the course to see where you went wrong

http://www.OnlineAviationTheory.com

ONLINE AVIATION THEORY

All the Part 61 syllabuses are fully covered and all

the regulations are in a separate database that’s

updated whenever an amendment is issued, and

you’re advised if the changes affect your course

KDRs issued when you do a practice exam

For full details, go to

http://www.OnlineAviationTheory.com

BAK/RPL - PPL - CPL - ATPL - Each course

includes the lower grade of course.

The IREX course is a stand-alone course

very respectable app that covers

everything in a vast ADS-B

network such as commercial,

aeromedical, military (some) and

private aircraft. This app also

has a 3D function that give you a

representation of the topography

the pilots would be looking at. You

can also track every twist and turn

an aircraft made en route even

though you didn't have the app

turned on for the whole f light.

Also look out for Flight

Navigation, Planes Live and

Australia's Airports.

Navigators

A navigator is not an EFB, but

rather a less capable application

that will tell you where you

are and how to get where you

want to be. They enable you to

select airports an waypoints,

showing you heading and speed

information displayed in a form

familiar to pilots. More advanced

or "Pro" versions contain larger

databases, and can be cheap to

load on your tablet compared

with an EFB. However, they don't

provide charts or weather.

Easy Flight Navigator, for

example, enables you to choose

an airport from a drop-down

menu, and then provides track

information via either a compass

rose or a simple diagram.

Distance, speed and altitude

info are also given. There is

also the ability to put in your

own waypoints. Direct To is a

similar app, but with a different

interface that is very user-

friendly. Some of the icons and

graphics used in some navigators

are remarkably similar, which

possibly means they are made

from template software.

Have a look around at what's

available. They are great little

programs, but not a substitute for

proper navigation skills. However,

should you find yourself in a

position where you have to divert

in a hurry, a quick navigator like

this help you do it more accurately.

“ In short, anything goes, and

you need a good understanding

of the tool you are using.”

We a t h e r z o n e is one of the

most comprehensive and popular

weather apps in Australia. It

doesn't deliver aviation weather,

but the standard commercial

weather in an easy to understand

graphic form, complete with

seven-day forecasts, rain radars

and synoptic charts. It delivers

weather information in a much

easier way than trying to look up

the BOM site on a small device.

Willyweather is another one

that performs a similar function,

delivering weather based on

30,000 locations around the

country. It too gives weather info

in graphical form and with big

text that's easy to read in a cockpit.

Most handy for aviators is the first

and last light data functions.

Radars

Flight radars or f light trackers

draw position information from

a number of sources, but mostly

from ADS-B returns. They will

show all aircraft detected for a

given location and display them

on a map. The information given

is almost endless: flight numbers,

altitude, speed, ETAs and even

the current transponder code.

Although great for tracking an

inbound f light you have to meet

or just for curiosity's sake, their

value in a general aviation cockpit

is probably limited. There is some

value in knowing if you're about

to encounter an inbound RPT

at a regional airport, but you'd

probably know that because you're

on the area frequency anyway.

Flight Aware is probably

the largest in the world, which

enables you to track commercial

activity anywhere in the world,

but general aviation only in the

USA or Canada. You can search

by aircraft rego, airline, airport

and city pair. NEXRAD radar

coverage is also provided.

Flight Radar 24 is also a