Flying Stuff

09FEB2012 Approach Plates and A/FD

2012-02-01T16:08:00.000-08:00

The 09FEB2012 Approach Plates and A/FD are now live. Sorry about the delay, there were some issues with the AFD provided by the FAA but they're all live now.

VFR and IFR charts will be updated this coming weekend.

Flight to Big Bear City(L35)

2012-01-14T16:08:00.000-08:00

This past week I flew into one of the 'official' high altitude/mountain airports in Southern California. At an elevation of 6752 feet and surrounded by higher terrain it's a good challenge. According to my research, it's the 3rd highest public airport in California after MMH(Mammoth Yosemite) at 7135ft, and O24(Lee Vining) at 6802ft.

But at the end of the day, it was a nice simple flight, winds out of the east at 8kts and close to standard temperature. Obviously additional wind or a higher temp/higher DA would have made it a much more 'interesting' flight.

Here's the GPS track: wms.chartbundle.com/charts/tms-track.html And for anyone interested in the raw KML: MYF-L35-2012-01-11.kml (Large 8MB file)

And, for my first time, an actual landing video.

(There's a departure video, will get it posted soon, but it's much less interesting as the nose stays way up in the 182 for the climb.)

12JAN2012 VFR Charts

2012-01-07T14:47:00.000-08:00

The chart updates for the 12 January 2012 cycle are now live. As always, be sure to check the status page and verify the correct versions.

www.chartbundle.com/charts/

12JAN2012 Approach Plates

2011-12-31T12:19:00.001-08:00

The Approach Plates for the 12 January 2012 cycle are now live. No change notice file is available as once again Aeronav didn't include the needed files on the DVD. (And they want people to pay even more money for this level of not-service.)

www.chartbundle.com/tpp

RAM Tablet Mounts and a HP Slate 2 Review

2011-12-28T15:20:00.000-08:00

Tablet Mounting:
So, before getting into a review of the actual HP Slate, I figured I'd mention how I personally mount it in the cockpit(and car if needed)

RAM Mounts(http://www.ram-mount.com/) are what I have been using for many years for mounting pretty much anything to any other thing. For the HP Slate, and for my Samsung 8.9 Tablet, and for my old Motion CL 900, I've been using the RAM-HOL-TAB-LGU(with some pieces removed for the CL900). This comes with 2 swappable pairs of ends for the different sized tablets.

The more interesting part is the system itself, RAM sells packaged bundles including a tray, ball, arm and yoke clamp. Sometimes, this is enough, but over the years I've flown many different aircraft and needed many more options. So, at present, here's what I generally carry when trying to get setup in a new airplane:

So, that's one long arm, 2 medium arms, 2 short arms, 2 connector barbells and a yoke clamp. And then on the cradle side, there's the standard ball, and an offset ball mount that works better sometimes. Personally, I mount so that the RAM arm is under the yoke, here's the system on the CL900: Chartbundle YouTube CL900 Yoke Mount Once I've gotten the mounting right for a particular airplane I stop carrying quite so many parts.

The most important part with any mount is checking to make sure it's not going to get in the way, so as soon as I attach the yoke clamp, I check clearance, then once the whole thing is assembled with the seat adjusted and my kneeboard on I do a full free and correct check. And once, while inflight to a particularly gusty crosswind landing I unscrewed the arm and tossed the whole thing into my flight bag.

HP Slate 2
So, the other half of this is how does the HP Slate 2 do as a cockpit computer. So, the model I have has no GPS, so there's an adapter off the side(in portrait mode) to the USB GPS I use but no other cables(as I don't have a DC adapter or extra battery yet)

Here's the in-flight(very brief) video: YouTube HP Slate 2 in Cockpit

As you can see, there's one significant problem, while I was flying a plane with a high wing so no sunlight directly fell on the tablet, it did reflect me perfectly. This I'm going to try and make better with an anti-glare protector, which seems better in my outside tests, but will check later in an actual airplane.

The tablet performs fine, if you've used a Windows 7 tablet for aviation, there were no surprises at all, perfectly fine performance with Jeppesen FliteDeck, good touch response, battery was fine for the 3.5 hours I had it on(but I forgot to check how full it was when I got done) The orientation lock switch is a nice touch so that when you turn the yoke to check the controls it doesn't keep flopping the display around. Honestly the biggest annoyance is the position of the USB and dock/power connections(top and bottom center in landscape) which will make cables a bit annoying since I usually fly with tablets in portrait.

The best thing, for me, is the size, it's significantly smaller than the Motion CL900 and fits much better in the planes I fly, less panel blocked and gets in the way less. If I can just work out the screen glare I think it will all be good.

Christmas Weekend Flying

2011-12-27T14:25:00.000-08:00

A quick trip report on my recent trip from KMYF(Montgomery Airport, San Diego, CA) to KMHR(Mather Field, Sacramento, CA) in a rented Cessna 182RG.

Heading 'North': It's not really North from San Diego to Sacramento, but it's close enough for us pilots. Both directions were done on an IFR flight plan, mostly for airspace avoidance and ease of transition through the LA Basin as there was no significant weather on the flight.

KMYF to KMHR: Filed: OCN V23 SLI V459 LHS GMN V23 LIN. 8000. This was what DUATS suggested and looked like a pretty normal routing, and if it was IFR then Linden VOR is a good transition point to vectors or the full procedure into KMHR(LIN V338 HNW for the full procedure if it were needed)

Cleared: Left Hdg 270 vectors to intercept V23 SLI V459 LHS GMN As filed; 3000; 10000 in 10.
So, pretty much the same routing, but getting us higher sooner.

Flown: Pretty much as filed, with an additional climb to 12,000 over the north part of the LA Basin before crossing into the central valley. A few miles after GMN cleared direct KMHR and kept that until we got the airport in sight.

There were a few bumps over the Tehachapis and widespread haze in the central and Sacramento valleys(4-10sm) but it was a nice flight once I got the Autopilot(Cessna Navomatic 300A single axis) trimmed out and happy.

Numbers:

Fuel: 40.8 Gallons

Departure and Arrival are the crossing times for the respective hold short lines, I love GPS track logs.
Departure: 20:18:45Z
Arrival: 23:05:52Z
Distance(as flown): 413NM
Hobbs: 3.1hrs

Heading 'South' Once again IFR filed, haze in the valley but not enough to log any actual.

KMHR to KMYF: Filed: KMHR LHS V459 SLI V23 MZB, 9000.

Cleared(KMHR Clearance): Lt hdg 150, Vectors Direct FROGO FRA EHF LHS As Filed. 6000, 9000 in 10.
So, that was a bit of a change, but FROGO is a pretty common point for Sacramento area departures.
So, departed, transferred to the first controller who looked at the routing and told me he'd try and get something better.
Cleared: Direct LHS.
Ok, much better.
Flown: KMHR (vector until new clearance) LHS V459 SLI V23 OCN Hdg 130 then the visual for 28R, then really 28L.

So, as usual, unless the initial clearance you get is just wrong, it's almost always better to be in the air and negotiate a better route than sitting on the ground wasting fuel doing it. Although, in both cases I called for my clearance from a handheld to save the fuel.

The rest of the flight was as boring as the flight going the other way. The most fun bit was after OCN(at 7000) once I said I'd expect the visual, I got a descent to 3000, ao about 175kts over the ground in the descent, luckily the air was totally smooth and calm. And ATC also
told me to maintain that speed for the descent. Not quite as fun as when I've been handed off at some airports at 5 miles and 3000 feet high for a visual, but still pretty good. And, of course, as the 182RG has the aerodynamics of a brick with wings once I crossed 3000 there were
no issues getting to a nice gear speed(I prefer 120 or lower even though 140 is approved) and making the runway.

Numbers:
Fuel: unknown but the dipstick showed it should be about the same, didn't wait for the truck

Depature: 20:36:53Z
Arrival: 23:12:18Z
Distance(as flown): 409NM
Hobbs: 2.9hrs
Frequency Changes:14(enroute, not tower or ground)

Tracks: http://wms.chartbundle.com/charts/tms-track.html

Of course, now I want something faster to fly that route, oh well.

FAA Aeronav and Chartbundle

2011-12-18T11:01:00.001-08:00

So, as you all know, FAA Aeronav is going to switch to a pay as much as we want if you want our products model. Basically, this gives Chartbundle two options.

1. Shut down in April.

2. Find a source for scanned versions of the charts that we use for a reasonable price.

Obviously shutting down is the most likely scenario.

You'll notice there is no option 3. Pay Aeronav. as we have two problems with that.
1. Chartbundle has nowhere near the funding to support even the lowest Aeronav pricing tier(about $10,000 as I recall)

2. Aeronav wants DRM or other protections on the (public domain) data distributed. Although the PDF, EPUB and MOBI formats which we use all support DRM, it would significantly reduce the number of working devices and significantly increase our workload to support it with no increase in customer satisfaction.

Obviously, we'll update if things change.

The plan for my personal flying: Subscribe to a paper A/FD, use my Windows 7 tablet for my Jeppesen subscription and hope the Android Jeppesen application comes out soon.

VFR and IFR Charts Updated

2011-12-11T19:51:00.000-08:00

The VFR and IFR charts have been updated for the 15 December 2011 Cycle.
As always, check the status link to verify the current versions.

www.chartbundle.com/charts

AFD and Approach Plates 15 DEC 2011

2011-11-29T12:13:00.000-08:00

The AFD and Approach Plates for the 15 DEC 2011 Cycle are live now.

www.chartbundle.com

Approach Plates: 17 November 2011

2011-11-08T12:43:00.000-08:00

The 17 November 2011 Approach Plate cycle is now live. This is a mid-cycle update and would usually have a change notice volume available, however as the Change Notice files were not on the DVD and are not available for download until the 16th, the TPPCN volume is not available, please just download the full volumes if you usually use the Change Notice.

Charts Updated

2011-10-17T09:31:00.000-07:00

All IFR charts are now live for the 20 October 2011 cycle. As well all updated VFR charts are also live. Please check the status page for current versions.

www.chartbundle.com/charts/

Motion CL900 in-cockpit review.

2011-10-09T17:33:00.000-07:00

While this blog has mostly been about Chartbundle, we occasionally go flying as well. Today I took out my couple month old Motion CL900 tablet for a 'real' flight. I had previously used it briefly in flight but this was the first yoke mounted, real flight.

Advantages
Since it's Windows 7, it can runn full Jeppesen FliteDeck, Jepp charts, plates, everything in one unified program. It's got a large, high brightness screen which was easy to read. Battery life was fine for todays 3 hour flight. Onboard GPS and Cellular wireless, cellular can be activated with any carrier.(I used my T-Mobile SIM in previous testing.)

Disadvantages
It's large. To a point, a larger screen is better, but this thing is just on the border of useful in a cockpit. On a kneeboard/leg style mount, the way I fly, I kept hitting it with the yoke, so I went to a Yoke mount. No good mounts for it, my current mount is a hacked RAM Tab-Tite Large(RAM-HOL-TAB-LGU).

Mount
As part of the pre-flight, I mounted it and realized I didn't have exactly the right parts for this plane, RAM is a great mount system as you can mix and match, but I didn't have the exact lengths I needed. But it mounted ok and cleared my legs and body for full range of yoke travel. It did block the tachometer a bit. The actual mount I don't have photos of, but I removed some material so it accepted the thicker tablet and then shortened the spring so it would accept a longer tablet. Then I stuck a standard RAM ball mount on it.

Here's a video of the mount: CL900 Yoke Mount

Flight
After that, I started it up, loaded FliteDeck and loaded my first route. It followed along nicely during the first flight up until the third route where the on-board CL900 GPS just gave up. The GPS antenna is at the top of the tablet when the IO ports are in the bottom in portrait mode, but it's still not very good inside a plane. Also, it's Windows, which means changing settings by touch isn't always the easiest thing. The pen works great, but then your mount would need a clip for it, I chose to keep it stowed on this flight.

Software
On the plus side, it runs everthing Windows 7 can run, on the minus side, it runs everything Windows 7 can run. As I mentioned, I use FliteDeck, as well as a PDF copy of the AFD and Approach Plates(from Chartbundle, of course) I'd like to try some of the other apps with the more synthetic vision type stuff, but that will have to be a later flight.

Next Steps
Next time, I'm going to take my portable USB GPS(which is really a WAAS Garmin eTrex consumer GPS) and toss it up on the glare shield, sure, it's another cable but it should greatly improve GPS tracking. I have a wide input DC adapter I also need to try to see how that works for extending the battery(it should work in both 12 and 24 volt systems) And finally, I need another RAM component to give me a little better articulation on the mount(one of the shortest arms).

What I really want
What I really want is a tablet like this which can run full Jeppesen and other software but in smaller hardware, either a 8.9"/9" screen or this screen but with a significantly smaller bezel and thinner package, and an on-board, high sensitivity WAAS GPS wouldn't hurt either.

Why Not an iPad
The iPad is still a bit large, and there's no standard USB port, so either proprietary cabled devices or Bluetooth or WiFi. Since I do fly actual IFR, I'm a little concerned about having random transmitters inside the plane, yes, I even turn off my phone.

20OCT2011 Updates

2011-10-06T12:12:00.000-07:00

The TPP(Approach Plates) and Airport Facility Directory for 20 October 2011 have been updated.
IFR Charts will be updated the weekend of October 15th. With the new FAA Download changes and the fact that we have been unable to purchase the VFR DVDs, VFR charts will hopefully be updated the weekend of October 22nd.

www.chartbundle.com

Alaskan Charts Corrected

2011-09-26T12:08:00.000-07:00

There had been some glitches with the VFR and IFR raster charts in Alaska which crossed the dateline(180W). These have been corrected and the caches flushed. Sorry for any inconvenience.

VFR and IFR Chart Updates

2011-09-18T20:23:00.000-07:00

All the new VFR Charts for 22 September 2011 have been updated. In addition the code which creates all our charts has been updated. Significant improvements will be visible in the IFR charts.

www.chartbundle.com/charts/

22 September 2011 Approach Plates

2011-09-13T11:54:00.001-07:00

The approach plates for 22 September 2011 are now live.
www.chartbundle.com/tpp/

Android Tablet Flying

2011-09-12T20:05:00.001-07:00

Took the Samsung 7 inch Android tablet flying this weekend. Used the charts from www.chartbundle.com/charts/ along with OruxMaps and MOBAC(links on that page). For mounting, used the new Tab-Tite Mount from RAM.

Worked pretty well, live TAC and Sectional with GPS tracking to keep me headed in the right direction.

Video of the yoke mount installed.

VFR and IFR Charts

2011-08-23T11:59:00.000-07:00

The updated VFR charts and all IFR charts are now on-line for the 25 August 2011 Cycle.

www.chartbundle.com/charts/

25 August 2011

2011-08-17T13:22:00.000-07:00

The 25 August 2011 Terminal Procedures and AFD updates are live.

The raster charts expiring have not yet been updated, but will be done by the 25th, please use the status link on the charts page to verify the current loaded versions.

Chartviewer and Chart Updates

2011-08-14T13:03:00.000-07:00

One update to the charts themselves, the IFR charts have been changed to use a better display format. This should make them look less 'fuzzy'. Only the Enroute Low have been processed, the Enroute High and Area charts will be updated next cycle.

The chart viewer has two new features:

1. Downloadable PDF. Click the link for portrait or landscape in the header bar to get the current view downloaded as a high quality PDF. This function includes the Gridded VFR views. It may take a minute or two for the system to create the PDF. These PDFs are the same format as the web view and thus distances and angles will be incorrect and unsuitable for navigation.

2. Quickzoom. Enter an identifier(Airport, Fix or Navaid) in the box and hit enter and go there quickly.

www.chartbundle.com/charts/

Gridded Chart Viewer Live

2011-07-25T12:52:00.000-07:00

We've added CAP/SAR Grids to our Chart viewer.

Choose the + in the upper right and Sectional or WAC with Grid.

You have to zoom in a bit before the grid starts showing. This includes both the Conventional(ORD-489) and Cell(40090CC) grid identifiers. Sorry, no Alaska yet.

If you are using OruxMaps or MOBAC, we don't yet have configuration files, but for the technically inclined, the new layers are 'secgrids' and 'wacgrids'.

Check: www.chartbundle.com/charts/ for more information as we progress.

Charts

2011-07-22T21:31:00.000-07:00

Our chart service is now live. We have a web based viewer as well as configuration files for MOBAC(the Mobile Atlas Creator). You can download Sectional, Terminal Area, World Aeronautical, Enroute Low, Enroute High and Area Charts.

www.chartbundle.com/charts/

28 July 2011

2011-07-18T16:19:00.000-07:00

The 28 July 2011 update for approach plates has been posted.

www.chartbundle.com

Barnes and Noble FAR Update

2011-07-05T21:33:00.000-07:00

We've updated the FAR on-sale at the B&N store to be faster when used on the nook by breaking up some of the larger parts. There should be no visible difference except the faster speed(and previously referenced page numbers may no longer match)

You should be able to get the newer version by Archiving and then re-downloading the book if you've already purchased it. The new version will have an ID Code starting with 'BD' at the end of the table of contents.

30 June 2011

2011-06-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

The 30 June 2011 Approach Plate and Airport Facilities Directories are now live on the site.

www.chartbundle.com

What's next.

2011-06-19T20:25:00.000-07:00

So, apart from the regular updates we've been working behind the scenes to provide access to the FAA raster charts.(Sectional, TAC, WAC, and IFR Enroute) We plan to provide WMS(Web Map Server) access so that various third party software products can use our service to download tiled maps to devices. We've been testing with the Mobile Atlas Creator(MOBAC) with encouraging results. We hope to have this available to the public within the next month or so. Due to the large data sizes and heavy compute requirements this will be a for-pay service with a monthly fee(below $5/mo).

For anyone who writes map display software we'd be happy to discuss access/licensing for your customers.

NOOK Simple Touch Reader

2011-06-08T12:51:00.000-07:00

We've updated our system to add the new NOOK Simple Touch Reader as an ePub option. The available height is the same as the older NOOK but we can now use full screen width. So we get a bit more space to put the Approach Plates, AFD and converted books on.

Much like the NOOK Color, you'll need to tap the center of the screen, choose Text and make sure "Publisher Defaults" is checked.

And of course, our FAR and AIM from the B&N Bookstore work fine as well.

Books and more Books

2011-05-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

The May update for the FAR is now available at all the bookstores(Amazon/Kindle, Barnes & Noble/Nook and Apple/iPodPadPhone)

In addition, to the free content(graphical conversions or PDF) we've added Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators and the Aviation Maintenance Technician Handbook - General(This is the newer version, not the Advisory Circular version.) As always, contributions are appreciated(or just buy a copy of the FAR eBook)

www.chartbundle.com/books/

02 June 2011 Approach Plates

2011-05-23T12:36:00.000-07:00

Another 28 days, another set of approach plates. Posted with the pre-caching done. Most volumes should create quickly.

http://www.chartbundle.com/v2/index_tpp.cgi

FAR Update

2011-05-14T10:14:00.001-07:00

The FAR has been updated as of May 1, 2011. The new versions are up for Kindle/Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The iBooks version should be updated shortly(will be on a new product page in the iBookstore)

Links here: www.chartbundle.com/books/

05 May 2011 Updates

2011-04-23T16:39:00.000-07:00

The 05 MAY 2011 Cycles for Airport Facility Directory and Approach Plates have been loaded.

07 April 2011 Approach Plates

2011-04-01T09:33:00.000-07:00

The 07 APR 2011 Cycle is now live, and many ebook reader formats have been pre-cached to speed up generation of files.

www.chartbundle.com/v2/index_tpp.cgi

10 March 2011

2011-03-02T08:43:00.000-08:00

The 10 March 2011 AFD and Approach Plates are loaded and live on the system.

Instrument Procedures Handbook

2011-02-19T12:46:00.000-08:00

The FAA Instrument Procedures handbook has been added to the books collection. I found this to be one of the best FAA publications for my Instrument training and flying.

It will take a bit longer than usual for it to convert to EPUB and MOBI until the cache is created so please be patient.

www.chartbundle.com/books/

Reverse Video and iPad EPUB

2011-02-14T12:58:00.000-08:00

We've added a reverse video checkbox for all the custom epub/mobi formats. It makes colors a little strange but may be useful for night flying.

Also we've added a full-resolution iPad option for EPUB creation(custom versions only, not the /ipad link) it even seems to be fairly fast and readable if you load the same file into your iPhone or iPod touch. You can directly download from mobile Safari and it should ask if you want to open the file in iBooks.

10 FEB 2011

2011-02-06T14:33:00.001-08:00

The 10 FEB 2011 Approach Plates(TPP) are now posted.

FAR and AIM for iBooks

2011-01-29T15:51:00.000-08:00

We've temporarily discontinued the FAR and AIM in the iBookstore until we can get some performance problems worked out. For now, we recommend the nook or Kindle versions using the nook or Kindle application on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad.

We've updated the links on the books page appropriately: www.chartbundle.com/books/

GoodReader Updates

2011-01-15T17:48:00.000-08:00

We've added some code to be a bit smarter for iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone users.

Our system now detects these devices and will give you a direct to GoodReader download option.(Automatically putting the g in front of the URL)

Also the iPad direct link tppl.mobi/ipad will also detect these mobile devices and NOT automatically redirect to a download, allowing you to choose the link that you prefer.

We've had reports of poor searching functionality with GoodReader, we are currently working to add appropriate search hints to our files to make searching more useful for all devices.

Updates!

2011-01-03T11:01:00.000-08:00

So, lots of work over the long weekend.

The 13 JAN 2011 AFD and Approach plates are live on the system.www.chartbundle.com/v2/

In order to speed up EPUB and MOBI we've pre-processed any files that were used for the last cycle. So if you requested SW-2 on Kindle DX for the last cycle, it should go much faster for this cycle. We'll continue doing this for future cycles(anything used in the previous cycle we'll try and pre-process to speed up)

There is a new checkbox at the bottom of the already complicated pages to create AFD and TPP that lets you set a cookie to save your device settings. Check the box and when you come back to the page the same output format and device options will be selected. Uncheck the box(and click Verify Options) and we delete the cookie.

The new complete 01 JAN 2011 FAR is now available(or will be soon) at the usual places(Lulu, B&N, Amazon and iBookstore) And part 61+91 are available for free for MOBI and EPUB at www.chartbundle.com/books/

Performance Improvements

2010-12-26T13:41:00.000-08:00

We've been making some performance improvements today. Of course, that meant a few people got errors when they didn't quite work. But we're all done now, sorry for the glitches.

On the plus side, PDF creation should be much faster, and EPUB and MOBI should be a little bit faster. We're still trying to work out a good way to get EPUB and MOBI even faster.

16 December 2010

2010-12-11T12:24:00.000-08:00

The 16 December 2010 Approach Plates are now live.

www.chartbundle.com

NOOKcolor now supported

2010-12-01T10:11:00.000-08:00

We've added NOOKcolor support just choose it in the device list., we've still got some tweaks to make as the files are significantly larger than the standard files(adding color support when we don't need it) but it works for Approach Plates, Airport Directories and Books. In the text option box you must set the setting for use publishers settings to on for them to display correctly.

We'll get a video on Youtube this weekend of how it works.

www.chartbundle.com

With some caveats, even downloading from the web browser on the device works fine.
(We'll be adding a direct NOOKcolor link like we have for Kindle and iPad soon)

18 November 2010

2010-11-16T09:20:00.000-08:00

The 18 November 2010 Data is in the system and live now(AFD and TPP) sorry about the delay.

www.chartbundle.com

New cycle and new book

2010-10-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

The new(21 OCT 2010) cycle has been posted.
In addition, the Airplane Flying Handbook has been posted to books. All books now have indexes for both PDF and eBook formats(MOBI, EPUB).

www.chartbundle.com: Terminal Procedures
www.chartbundle.com/books/

23 SEP 2010 Cycle

2010-09-18T17:43:00.000-07:00

The 23 September 2010 Cycle is now available for Approach Plates and Airport Facility Directories. It should be fully functional including the new Hot Spot and Land And Hold Short Operations(LAHSO) pages.

www.chartbundle.com

Easy Download

2010-09-18T13:51:00.000-07:00

New easy downloads for the Kindle DX and iPad

tppl.mobi/dx Approach Plates for Kindle DX
tppl.mobi/dxa Airport Facility Directory for Kindle DX
tppl.mobi/ipad Approach Plates for iPad
tppl.mobi/ipada Airport Facility Directory for iPad

Just click the link or enter the tppl URL on your device web browser.(Data charges may apply, please check with your provider.)

Books

2010-09-11T17:49:00.000-07:00

We've now started converting books.

For the FAR, we have part 61+91 demos available at www.chartbundle.com/books and links to purchase from Lulu(EPUB) or Amazon(Kindle)

Also, we have graphically converted samples now available for the Glider Flying Handbook and the Airman's Information Manual(AIM) in the samme place:
www.chartbundle.com/books Please try the demo option first to see how it looks, as the Glider handbook is huge and the AIM is much bigger.

Kindle 3 Support

2010-08-28T14:08:00.000-07:00

We've tested the Kindle 3 and provided some tweaked settings for it. It has a larger usable area than the Kindle 2 for our graphics pages. Looks like 520x725 now. Would be nice if it also went wider, but it doesn't look like they made any wider usable space. So, approach plates and AFD settings have been updated.

Kindle 3 supported Approach Plates and AFD

26 August 2010 Now Available

2010-08-22T10:56:00.001-07:00

The 26 August 2010 Approach Plate Cycle is now available.

www.chartbundle.com

No More Ads

2010-08-15T10:23:00.001-07:00

Thanks to the support of our users, there are no more ads on chartbundle. Thanks everyone.

Please consider contributing to keep chartbundle ad free, see the link on the front page.

Samples and Beta Stuff

2010-07-31T10:26:00.000-07:00

So, first off, we have new samples available on the sample page. www.chartbundle.com/samples/ These include 3:4 crop pdf for the iPad's aspect ratio. and 10:16 for some tablet PC. Also the Kindle 2 and Kindle DX samples are down at the bottom.

All of the new formats are only available from the Beta links. On the front page you can choose the 'Kindle(Beta) TPP' or AFD. Which has all the beta downloads, not just Kindle.

Once on the page to choose what you want to download, be sure to select 'eBook' or 'Device Specific Output' for Kindle, nook, Sony, Kobo, and any other EPUB downloads. While the PDFs will work on Kindle, they won't include index or table of contents.(The PDF indexes work fine on most other PDF readers)

After choosing eBook or Device Specific, be sure to choose YOUR device as each file, even EPUB is specially formatted to look best on specific screen sizes and device options.

Support for more devices in BETA!!!!

2010-07-26T16:20:00.000-07:00

We have enabled new device support including Kobo, Kindle 2, Kindle DX and FBReader.

This is BETA ONLY. Please check any downloads thoroughly before use. In some cases the system may fail totally. We will be monitoring the system and correcting problems as they are discovered.

Also, we now have support for HTML indexes. Check out the videos on Youtube for Chartbundle.
Chartbundle's Youtube Channel

Kindle Plates Coming Soon

2010-07-07T00:23:00.000-07:00

One thing we've been working on behind the scenes is more device support, previously we mentioned the Kobo... And now, the Kindle... the 800lb Gorilla in the eBook reader space.

It's not ready for consumption yet, but hopefully in the next week or two. And the current sample is just on the Kindle DX, but we'll absolutely support the Kindle 2, and if we can get the size right, even the Kindle 1. So, yes, we'll even have our 2 and 3 screen side views on the Kindles. Also, these will be native 'MOBI' formatted plates and Airport Facility Directories.

But for now, I present.... the Kindle DX sample:

01 JULY 2010

2010-06-23T20:45:00.000-07:00

The 01 July 2010 Terminal Procedures Cycle has been posted.

We also now have a Kobo Reader(The $150 reader from Borders) and will be seeing if we can get the AFD and TPP formatted to be usable on it over the next week or two. It's lighter than the Nook and the same price as the WiFi version, so may be a good alternative for some.

tppl.mobi now working

2010-05-29T10:06:00.000-07:00

For those who wanted something shorter to type in to your mobile device, we now have a web alias:
tppl.mobi which goes to our usual site.

And it's much shorter to type than: www.chartbundle.com.

tppl.mobi

03 June 2010 Live Now

2010-05-27T13:35:00.001-07:00

Ok, the June 3rd Cycle for TPP and AFD is live now on chartbundle.

www.chartbundle.com

Airport Files Fixed

2010-05-16T13:37:00.000-07:00

Yet another bug in the change notice cycle handling. Airports should now work again for TPP.

Sorry about that.

Non-Indexed Files

2010-05-09T14:14:00.001-07:00

Ok, PDF files with no index should now work instead of just giving an error message.

April 8th Updates

2010-04-03T11:55:00.001-07:00

The AFD and Terminal Procedures have been updated for the 08 April 2010 Cycle.
Current cycle will be available until the 8th as well.

www.chartbundle.com

Slimmer Indexes

2010-03-27T17:02:00.000-07:00

For those devices which don't collapse hierarchical table of contents entries(Nook, iRex, probably others) you can now disable individual entries for airports so the table of contents will just show the airport name, then you can flip through to find the particular approach you want.

Make an approach plate bundle now...

No DR800SG EPUB Approach Plates Today

2010-03-07T13:35:00.000-08:00

So, we now have an iRex DR800SG in-house. However as far as we can tell the EPUB handling of images in the current firmware is horrific. HTML looks fine, PNG looks fine, but put those 2 in an EPUB container and it all goes badly.

Forum posts seem to indicate that the new firmware(coming soon...) will fix this issue. So we've suspended development on the DR800SG specific formats for now.

On the other hand, PDF formatted with 'Maximum Crop' Looks fine, if a bit smaller than the EPUB will be due to the reformatting we do on the EPUB(which is the main reason we generate them, that and EPUB seems to render faster on most devices)

Glitches with new cycle

2010-03-04T12:31:00.000-08:00

Sorry about some of the glitches with the 11 March cycle. Some of the code didn't handle airports with updated pages due to the change notice correctly. Should be fixed now.

Changes and Updates

2010-02-14T17:41:00.000-08:00

The new 2 and 3 screen views are now on-line and available for selection, just choose to make an EPUB and then add the 2 or 3 screen options. You can enable all of 1 screen(normal), 2 screen and 3 screen to the same file. I'd recommend 2 screen for AFD and 3 screen for Approach Plates.

Photos are at:Nook EPUB Gallery

Videos at: Youtube Chartbundle Page

11FEB2010 Cycle

2010-02-03T14:44:00.003-08:00

After a couple glitches getting the AFD and TPP for 11 FEB 2010 on-line, it's all on-line now.
(Ran out of disk, had a permissions problem, etc)

AFD Live

2010-01-27T20:27:00.001-08:00

Custom AFD bundles are now live. Airport Facility Directories can now be generated for any single AFD volume, single state or combination of states in EPUB or PDF formats.

Next up: tight cropping for PDFs to optimize them for on-screen display. This will be an option like the existing 1-up and 2-up options.

Custom Airport Facility Directory PDF and EPUB generator

Custom is live

2010-01-09T15:03:00.000-08:00

Custom generation is now live for all Terminal Procedures(Approach Plates), right now the margin change option doesn't work, but you can get 1-up, 2-up and 2-up optimized for double sided printing in your choice of states, volumes or individual airports.

www.chartblob.com

Custom Bundles This Weekend

2010-01-07T12:53:00.000-08:00

Coming this weekend to chartblob, custom approach plate bundles. Choose your plates by Airport, State or Volume. Choose EPUB or PDF, and then choose how to format them, can do 2 plates per sheet for printing, or 2 plates per sheet optimized for double sided printing.

The PDF is working now, still need some further testing and to add EPUB, but feel free to check it out: Custom Chartblob Approach Plate Generator

EPUB Coming Soon

2010-01-01T13:54:00.000-08:00

I've decided to shift from PDF for the Sony reader to EPUB instead. I still have some more testing to do with page numbering. Currently I use a single .xhtml per approach plate, which makes some things a bit slow, but not as slow as a single .xhtml.

The EPUBs are processing now and will be uploaded in a while. The Dec 17 cycle is the last with Sony PDFs.

I've tested these approach plates on the Nook emulator and it appears to work. I won't have a real Nook for a while to do full testing.

Sony Reader... v0.0003(b)

2009-09-02T12:49:00.001-07:00

Ok, the Terminal Procedures(approach plates) for the Sony Reader are up now. They also look pretty decent using Foxit Reader on my Samsung Q1. No photos of that yet.

http://www.chartblob.com/tpp/#sony

Sony Reader... v0.00003

2009-08-30T11:01:00.000-07:00

The AFD has finally been parsed, mutilated, reparsed, blended, modified, blended some more and finally uploaded.

All current cycle(27 August 2009) Airport Facility Directory PDFs for the Sony Reader have been uploaded.

Check out the gallery: Chartblob Gallery and then if they look decent, try a download.

http://www.chartblob.com/afd/#sony

(Free, no registration required.)

Sony Reader... v0.00002

2009-08-23T18:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, the Approach plates have been updated to version _2 with a better rendering. They look to be readable now.

Also, the AFD for SW has been uploaded too.
http://www.chartblob.com/afd/ at the bottom.

These should also render acceptably on some other 800x600 devices like UMPCs. But I've not actually tried them.

Sony Reader Plates... v0.00001

2009-08-23T15:34:00.000-07:00

The first version of the Sony Reader plates for SW-2 are on the website, mostly as a technology demo.
Photos of them on the PRS-505 are here: Gallery
The actual download: http://www.chartblob.com/tpp/ at the bottom.

The rest of the plates can be generated, but I switched to working on the AFD first, then I'll try and generate the full set.

Sony Reader and Approach Plates

2009-08-02T22:35:00.000-07:00

So, I picked up a Sony Reader(PRS-505) to use as a backup to the tablet PC. The nice thing about it is that the chartblob approach plates and Airport Facility Directory work fine out of the box, just mount it via USB and copy. I do still need to finish up the Java creator for the assembled PDFs so I can generate a closer cropped version which should be more readable, as they're a little small now and would be difficult to use in flight.

New Cycle Data Uploaded

2009-07-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

02 JULY 2009 - 30 JULY 2009 Approach Plates finally uploaded.

www.chartblob.com

Approach Plates

2009-06-25T20:25:00.000-07:00

The first approach plates are done and posted. Just in time for the next DVD to arrive(any day now) so I can process those.

Luckily the database is ready, so the interface to generate custom chart blobs should be 'easy'.

www.chartblob.com

FliteDeck in Flight

2009-05-23T09:36:00.000-07:00

I did the first flight with Jeppesen's FliteDeck on my Samsung Q1-EL the other day. Left the Sacramento area and went down to Marina(OAR).

The software performed as expected, good location tracking on the charts, nice view of upcoming terrain, not too difficult to enter new waypoints and change things on the fly. The FliteDeck keyboard sometimes was interfered with by the Windows Touch Pointer, so since the Samsung has hard L+R buttons I may turn it off.

The Q1 has Windows 2007 loaded and all worked fine, including my change to make the AVS Now button show the desktop, so then I can choose the PDF AFD or other things from the desktop. The Samsung menu button went away about halfway through and stopped showing the control panel. I may need an update for 2007 or just to find a replacement. That control panel also gave me grief in Vista before I wiped and reinstalled the system from the factory build.

I need to work on the mount geometry some more(RAM yoke mount) and get the cable for the GPS situated better(Garmin Emap with a USB cable so it's powered directly) as it's a little unwieldy.

Otherwise a good flight, didn't need to refer to any paper except the AFD, which I forgot to just switch to the PDF.

AFD Ready to go.

2009-05-04T20:08:00.000-07:00

Ok, the PDF for the Airport Facility Directory for the cycle starting May 7 is up. Full books for each region as well as broken down by state.

www.chartblob.com

The indexes look mostly correct, I'm not totally sure about the Pacific and Alaska Supplement parsing though.

Next steps, TPP and making the software to assemble a PDF on the fly. Hopefully all live by the next cycle.

ChartBlob

2009-05-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

I've gotten ChartBlob setup, all that's missing is charts.

I have A/FD data in-house and am working to get it indexed and blobbed to have on-line by May 7 for the start of the cycle.

I should have TPP data ready to go by the next charting cycle after that.

www.chartblob.com