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rampil
Joined: 04 May 2007
Posts: 870
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 Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2016 6:20 am Post subject: Yet another Smartphone app for Aviation |
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Hi All,
Kerry at Lockwood has finally rebuild my 912s and I hope to get down
to Bud's place to remount the engine and get back to flying within the
next few months! In the mean time, I am still fiddling with code.
First, let me note that the bug which prevented all barometer apps
(think avAltimeter) from working in iOS 10 is now resolved in the
newly released iOS 10.1. iOS 10.1 now prevents many apps from
displaying landscape mode properly, but at least the altimeter is working!
My new app is called Aviation Sunset Calculator in the App Store
(on your device it will be "Civil Twilight" (it's shorter for display!)).
This app provides all three night and day times required by FARs
for night operation. What makes this app unique among the sunset
apps already out there is that I perform all the celestial mechanics
calculations inside the phone/iPad. Other apps use the internet to
call out to the Naval Observatory or some other time server. Other
useful features in this app include an internal database of all
aerodromes with runways, worldwide, and the ability to change the
the date forwards or backwards in time. If you do have an internet
connection, you can even find the twilight times for any valid street
address on earth. So, for example, you can use this app while
airborne to find the expected twilight times at your destination.
Since the FAA makes life interesting with regulations mandating three
different times to reference for night operations, I also include the
relevant FARs in the app's Help pages.
The web page for this app is http://www.aviametrix.com/sunset/
The web page for the altimeter app is http://www.aviametrix.com
The world-wide METAR app is at http://www.aviametrix.com/metar/avwx.html
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Ira N224XS |
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rowlandcarson(at)gmail.co
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2016 10:59 am Post subject: Yet another Smartphone app for Aviation |
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On 2016-10-25, at 15:20, rampil <ira.rampil(at)gmail.com> wrote:
| Quote: | My new app is called Aviation Sunset Calculator in the App Store
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| Quote: | I perform all the celestial mechanics
calculations inside the phone/iPad
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Ira - thanks for producing another handy app. You have a nice clean interface and show the essential info at a glance. You say "This app provides all three night and day times required by FARs” but I can only see 2 sets at present (Std & Civ). As, in UK, I’m not inside FAA jurisdiction maybe it leaves out one?
When I read that you determine the answers by computation rather than lookup, I wondered if you were using the code published by Jeffrey Sax based on work by Jean Meeus, but I see from the credits that it’s a different (public-domain) source.
I bought Jean’s book Astronomical Algorithms over 20 years ago, with the companion disc (available at the time on both 3.5” and 5.25” discs!) that had source code written by Jeffrey Sax in Turbo Pascal, QuickBasic and C. The disc was IBM-PC formatted but I was able to read and use the C listings on my Mac LC475. I had a licence to use the code in non-commercial distributions and I got as far as getting the Calendar (sun & moon rise & set) program running on a “glass teletype” interface using Think C. However, I never did get around to putting a proper GUI on the front of it - should have been building the aeroplane anyway instead of fiddling with code!
Anyway, your app does the job nicely and I applaud your work in developing it.
If you’re at a loose end you might consider adding nautical & astronomical twilight 
in friendship
Rowland
| Rowland Carson ... that's Rowland with a 'w' ...
| <rowlandcarson(at)gmail.com> http://www.rowlandcarson.org.uk
| Skype, Twitter: rowland_carson Facebook: Rowland Carson
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rowlandcarson(at)gmail.co
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| Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2016 5:09 am Post subject: Yet another Smartphone app for Aviation |
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On 2016-10-25, at 15:20, rampil <ira.rampil(at)gmail.com> wrote:
| Quote: | My new app is called Aviation Sunset Calculator
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Ira - just had a thought for a useful addition - on the home screen, it would be helpful to know what the location lat/lon was based on (current GPS, street address, airfield). I wonder if it would be possible to add that info?
in friendship
Rowland
| Rowland Carson ... that's Rowland with a 'w' ...
| <rowlandcarson(at)gmail.com> http://www.rowlandcarson.org.uk
| Skype, Twitter: rowland_carson Facebook: Rowland Carson
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rampil
Joined: 04 May 2007
Posts: 870
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| Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2016 3:13 pm Post subject: Re: Yet another Smartphone app for Aviation |
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Hi Rowland!
The FAA complicates things a bit with regard to the night times.
Here are the three relevant times in order of daily occurrence:
Sunset (standard) - for 14 CFR 91.209 aircraft safety lights
Civil Twilight (center of solar disc 6° below horizon)
for 14CFR 1.1 logging night flight experience
Sunset (standard) Plus 1 hour - for 14 CFR 61.57
for passenger carrying currency in night landings and takeoffs
As you can see, regular sunset (with one hour plus) is used twice.
The GPS coordinates for the current calculations are easy to overlook
until you get used to the display, but look under the Change Location button.
I should take a peek at amending the location field to include the
aerodrome identifier or the town as suitable, but the GPS should
always be there.
The calculation for nautical twilight is a simple add-on, and while it
may add clutter to the display, I held off because I have no clue
as to how to acquaint the boating class with the app.
Pilots are hard enough 
Do know that I very much appreciate the feedback and I would like
to know if UK and EU pilots might benefit from other time points!
Regards,
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Ira N224XS |
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