After a gap of about six months, I have started running again. It feels like starting over again. It is frustrating when I get exhausted after about half a mile. I somehow manage to run about two and a half, with a one minute huff-and-puff stop at one mile mark. However, I am not too concerned about quickly ramping back up to six mile runs. The long break actually provided my tired mind and body a much needed rest, after ten years of day after day running regime. I do not plan on going back to running marathons anytime soon.
On the other fitness front, I can now do thirty pull ups with straight legs, in one go. I plan to be able to do forty on my fortieth birthday.
With family on a tour to Pakistan, I am concentrating more on finishing my instrument flying rating. I am at the airport every weekend, trying to get as much flying as possible. I am half way through the rating, and can easily make approaches with my eyes covered. But sadly, even on the finest days, I am unable to see the world from above, and unable to snap any good pictures to share.
Avare has been a charm. There are about five thousand users, donating (voluntarily) a hundred plus dollars a month that pays for the testing equipment. The application is adding about fifty users a day. Latest reviews can be found at:
Avare. The app has introduced me all sorts of interesting people in aviation.
I recently wrote an article for North Shore Aero Club:
For NSAC - BVY
Zubair KhanA smart mobile or tablet device has enough storage to download all the FAA charts, airport diagrams, approach plates, and facilities directories. A smart device aviation GPS (SDAG) application bundles all the FAA information, then downloads and stores it, to be displayed in flight when Internet is not available.
A GPS peripheral external or internal
to the device, sends geographic location to the SDAG application so
it can load and display the aircraft's location on an appropriate
sectional, WAC, IFR chart, airport, or approach plate, super imposed
with elevation models. An SDAG application's concise graphical layout
augments the situational awareness of a pilot, and reduces cockpit
clutter.
When on ground, and connected to the
Internet, the SDAG application can be a one stop shop for flight
planning. The user can select a route sans TFR, then get weather,
winds aloft, airport and en-route information, then file a flight
plan, with just a few button presses.
Many vendors offer SDAG applications
for Google Android, and Apple iOS. All the FAA data is free, but
expect to pay yearly “chart subscription fee” of one hundred
dollars as software development and marketing costs.
While there is a vast feature disparity
between SDAG applications from various vendors, none of them is
approved by the FAA for IFR flights. Operating systems on smart
devices are not tested according to the strict FAA standards, and
hence any software running on them is unfit for use as a primary
flight navigation tool. It is unwise to completely rely on an SDAG
application during the critical phases of a flight.
Avare is the first free SDAG application, and is available on Google Play store for Android phones and Tablets. Source code is freely available on line for the curious minds.
