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Overview
This page includes a
Soaring Flight Software Comparison
of several soaring flight
software products. All the products are designed to run on PDAs
(personal digital assistants such a Pocket PCs or Palm devices).
Links
flyWithCE
Navigator | Glide Navigator II |
strepla-pocket |
SeeYou Mobile
Related Pages
Cool Product
If you already own a Pocket PC and a GPS it is easy to install a powerful
street navigation system in your car. TomTom
Navigator is very nice software at a very reasonable price. If you
have it with you in your glider and you land out, you can use it to direct
your retrieve crew to your location.
Overview
Cumulus Soaring, Inc. offers 4 options for soaring flight software -
flyWithCE Navigator, Glide Navigator II, SeeYou Mobile, and pocket*StrePla.
Each offer distinct advantages. Below is a summary of each software
type. I have more experience with Glide Navigator II, SeeYou Mobile and
pocket*StrePla than the others, but they all have unique features that make
them interesting. They are competitive products, but they
appeal to different pilots. I have tried to be fair and include every
software package available in the table below. Some of the options
below are much more popular than the others. In my opinion, the most
popular options on a worldwide basis are SeeYou Mobile, WinPilot, Glide Navigator II,
pocket*StrePla, and Soaring Pilot, but I don't have any sales
numbers to back-up my popularity estimates.
Pocket PC Tips
Pocket PCs are amazing devices. They offer a lot of processor power and a
user-friendly touchscreen user interface in a small package. A large market
keeps the prices relatively low. However, there are
some things you need to know when you start using a Pocket PC.
Reading and following the directions in this document will save you many
hours of frustration at the airport and will help assure that your Pocket PC
is ready for the big flight when you are. Every time you buy a new Pocket PC
you should go through this document with the Pocket PC in hand.
Pocket PC Tips.pdf
Please Buy from Me
I work very hard to provide detailed
product comparisons for soaring pilots. I hope you will find this web
site useful. I also offer excellent support to customers who buy from
me. The best way to thank me for the services I offer is to help
support my business by buying from me - and please tell your friends about
my company.
Comparison Table
To make the table below fit on the screen I have moved a few of the less
popular products to a 2nd row which is found below the main table.
Please note that I'm not 100% certain of the data in the table below.
I've done my best to get complete and accurate data, but some of it is difficult to find.
If you see any errors or have any suggestions for the table below please let
me know. My goal is to make the table as accurate and complete as possible.
|
Soaring Flight Software
Comparison Table - Most Popular Products -
More below |
| |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| |
flyWithCE
Navigator |
Glide Navigator II |
pocket*StrePla |
Soaring Pilot |
SeeYou Mobile |
WinPilot |
| Price |
$150 |
$95 |
$298 |
Free |
$249 |
$249 or $299 |
| Unique Features |
Simple,
Large fonts, elevation maps, Excellent support for LX Navigation products |
Very
Popular, Simple, Minimal Screen Clutter, Large fonts, Best support
for Cambridge GPS-NAV and 302. Easy in-flight task editing.
Very popular with contest pilots. |
The best
maps available, The only Pocket PC Software with US Sectional
Aeronautical Charts, Topographical maps, Neat in-flight optimization
of FAI 28% triangles - Fly the first leg and turn toward the 2nd leg
and it displays an FAI turn area to turn in to meet the 28% rule.
That is an awesome feature for the FAI-OLC contest. Great
thermal history graph. Two separately configurable Map pages. |
Free, The
only software for Palm devices, Very Popular |
Very
Popular, Thermal Assistant helps you optimize your thermal
centering. FAI Triangle Assistant - Fly the first leg of a
triangle and turn toward the 2nd leg and it displays an FAI turn
area to turn in to meet the 28% rule. That is an awesome
feature for the FAI-OLC contest. Two
separately configurable Map pages, Statistics and Info pages. Great
thermal history graph. NAV BOX display
option of L/D Required compared with L/D Achieved eliminates
all errors for MacCready setting, bugs, wind, etc. and makes it
obvious whether or not you will make it to your goal. If you desire
an uncluttered screen presentation you can disable the topographical
data but still see airports, airspace, cities, rivers, lakes, etc.
Easy to export very large regions of maps to a memory card - perfect
for long downwind dash flights. Can do final glide to 1000 m below
task start altitude - great for FAI speed tasks. |
Very
Popular, Climb Maximizer helps you optimize your thermal centering, Topographical Maps |
| From |
Slovenia |
New Mexico, USA |
Germany |
USA |
Slovenia |
Nevada, USA |
| Operating System |
Pocket PC
Windows Mobile |
Windows CE 2.0
Windows CE 3.0
Pocket PC 2002
Pocket PC 2003
Windows Mobile |
Pocket PC
Windows Mobile |
Palm OS
Pocket PC
Windows Mobile
(using StyleTap Palm Emulator) |
Windows CE 3.0
Pocket PC 2002
Pocket PC 2003
Windows Mobile |
Pocket PC
Windows Mobile |
| Device |
Pocket PC
(Compaq Aero 1500, iPAQ, etc.) |
Pocket PC
(Compaq Aero 1500, iPAQ, etc.) |
Pocket PC
(iPAQ, etc.) |
Palm, Sony Clie, Garmin iQue, etc. Pocket PC
(iPAQ, etc.)
(using StyleTap Palm Emulator) |
Pocket PC
(Compaq Aero 1550, iPAQ, etc.) |
Pocket PC
(iPAQ, etc.) |
| Languages Supported |
English |
English |
German,
English |
English |
Czech, English, German,
Italian, Polish, Slovenian, Spanish |
English |
| Reachable airports highlighted
on map |
• |
• |
• |
• |
User selected
choices: Required L/D, Required Alt., Arrival Alt. |
• |
| Automatic Task Start/Finish |
• |
|
|
• |
• |
|
| Final Glide Around Multiple
Waypoints |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
| Calculates wind speed and direction
while circling |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
| |
flyWithCE
Navigator |
Glide Navigator II |
pocket*StrePla |
Soaring Pilot |
SeeYou Mobile |
WinPilot |
| Wind speed and direction at several
altitudes |
|
|
• |
• |
• |
• |
| Large Fonts (5 is larges, 1 is
smallest) |
4
(18 or 24 point) |
5 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
? |
| User selectable font sizes for text
on map |
• (map) |
|
|
|
• |
• |
| Differential Final Glide (Difference
between required altitude and current altitude) |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
| Turnpoint Area Task Support |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
| Special Use Airspace displayed on
moving map |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
| Special Use Airspace Warnings |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
| Color Vector Terrain Maps |
• |
|
• |
|
2 Map pages with
individual configuration |
• |
| Maps with roads, lakes, cities, etc. |
|
|
• |
|
• |
• |
| US Sectional Aeronautical Charts |
|
|
• |
|
|
|
| |
flyWithCE
Navigator |
Glide Navigator II |
pocket*StrePla |
Soaring Pilot |
SeeYou Mobile |
WinPilot |
| Easy Transfer of Waypoint, SUA and
Map data |
|
Cambridge .dat format
Download from internet
Export from SeeYou or Strepla |
From StrePla |
SeeYou ".cup" format
Cambridge .dat format |
From SeeYou |
|
| Map Orientation |
North Up
Track Up
Pan |
North Up
Track Up |
North Up
South Up
West Up
East Up
Goal Up
Track Up |
North Up
Track Up
Course Up |
North Up
South Up
West Up
East Up
Goal Up
Track Up
Heading Up
North Up When Circling |
North Up
Track Up |
| In-flight optimization |
|
|
OLC Tasks, FAI
Triangles |
|
OLC, 3 TP Free Flight
& FAI Triangles |
? |
| FAI 28% Rule Turnpoint areas
displayed in flight |
|
|
• |
|
• |
? |
| FAI 28% Rule Turnpoint areas
displayed while creating tasks |
|
|
• |
• |
• |
? |
| Thermal History Data (Climb rate
achieved in previous thermals) |
Average and
Height/Strength Histograms of last 4 thermals |
|
|
|
Average and
Height/Strength Histograms of last 4 thermals |
|
| Tracks statistics for multiple tasks
at once |
• |
|
|
|
|
|
| "Climb Maximizer" or "Thermal
Assistant" (Helps you center
thermals) |
|
|
|
|
• |
Pro Version - when
used with some flight computers |
| Flight Track displayed with colors
to indicated lift and sink encountered. |
• |
|
• |
• |
• |
|
| Thermal Average Display |
Average and
Height/Strength Histograms of last 4 thermals |
|
• |
• |
Average and
Height/Strength Histograms of last 4 thermals |
|
| |
flyWithCE
Navigator |
Glide Navigator II |
pocket*StrePla |
Soaring Pilot |
SeeYou Mobile |
WinPilot |
| Terrain Elevation |
|
|
|
• |
• |
• |
| Final Glide over Terrain |
|
|
|
• |
• |
• |
| Final Glide to 1000 m (3281 feet)
below start altitude - great for FAI speed tasks |
? |
|
|
• |
• |
? |
| Log flight to an IGC file format
(not usable for badges or records) |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
| Use Terrain database to display
altitude AGL |
|
|
• |
• |
• |
• |
| Statistics for each leg completed
and total flight |
No, but Analyze can |
|
• |
Not for each leg but
for total flight |
Task, Last hour, or
whole flight |
• |
| Display IGC flight log file after
the flight |
No, but Analyze can |
|
• |
• |
• |
• |
| Replay IGC flight log file after the
flight |
|
|
• |
|
• |
• |
| |
Compatibility with
GPS Flight Recorders
(See key below) |
| Flight Recorder or Flight
Computer |
flyWithCE
Navigator |
Glide Navigator II |
pocket*StrePla |
Soaring Pilot |
SeeYou Mobile |
WinPilot |
| "Generic" GPS (Garmin, Transplant,
etc.) |
PA |
PA |
PA |
PA |
PA |
PA |
| Borgelt B50 with Volkslogger |
PA, Pr, MC, Ps |
PA |
PA, Pr, Lg, Tsk |
PA, Pr, Lg, Tsk, MC,
S, Wp |
PA, Pr |
PA, Pr, Tsk, Ps? |
| Cambridge Aero Instruments GPS-NAV
(Does not send GPS Altitude but does send pressure altitude.) |
PA |
PA, Pr, Lg, Tsk, Wp,
MC, Ps, S |
PA, Pr, Lg, Tsk |
PA, Tsk, S, Wp |
PA, Pr, Lg, Tsk, Wp |
PA, Pr, Ps, ? |
| Cambridge Aero Instruments 302 and
302A |
PA, Pr, MC |
PA, Pr, Lg, Tsk, MC, Ps |
PA, Pr, Lg, Tsk |
PA, Pr, Lg, Tsk, MC,
Wp, S |
PA, Pr, Lg, Tsk, Wp, MC, Vol |
PA, Pr, Tsk, ? |
| EW microRecorder |
PA |
PA |
PA |
PA, Pr? |
PA, Pr, Tsk, Wp |
PA |
| Garmin with Pressure Sensor |
PA |
PA |
PA |
PA, Pr |
PA, Pr |
PA |
| Garrecht Volkslogger |
PA, Pr, Ps |
PA, Pr, Ps |
PA, Pr, Lg, Tsk, Wp |
PA, Pr, Tsk, Lgt, MC,
S, Wp |
PA, Pr |
PA, Pr, Tsk, ? |
| LX Navigation Colibri |
PA, Pr, Ps, Lg |
PA, Pr, Ps |
PA, Pr, Lg, Tsk |
PA, Pr, Tsk, Lg, MC,
S, Wp |
PA, Pr |
PA, Pr, ? |
| LX Navigation LX20 |
PA, Pr, Ps, Lg |
PA, Pr, Ps |
PA, Pr, Lg, Tsk |
PA, Pr, Tsk, Lg, MC,
S, Wp |
PA, Pr |
PA, Pr, ? |
| LX Navigation LX160, LX7000 |
PA, Pr, MC, Ps, Lg |
PA, Pr, Ps |
PA, Pr, Lg, Tsk |
PA, Pr, Tsk, Lg, MC,
S, Wp |
PA, Pr |
PA, Pr, ? |
| LX Navigation LX1600 |
PA, Pr, MC, Ps, S |
PA, Pr, Ps |
PA, Pr, Lg, Tsk |
PA |
PA, Pr, MC, Vol |
PA, Pr, ? |
| Scheffel Automation Themi |
PA |
PA |
PA |
PA |
PA |
PA |
| Westerboer VW921 |
PA, Pr, MC |
PA |
PA |
PA |
PA |
PA |
| Zander |
PA, Pr, Ps |
PA, Pr, Ps |
? |
PA, Pr for SR940,
GP940, FP941, ZS1 |
PA, Pr for SR940,
GP940, GP941, ZS1 |
? |
Key
| PA |
= Receive position and GPS
altitude from the flight recorder |
| Pr |
= Receive pressure altitude
from the flight recorder |
| Lg |
= Download Flight Logs from
the flight recorder to the Pocket PC |
| Tsk |
= Make an IGC Approved Task
Declaration in the Flight Recorder |
| Wp |
= Upload Waypoints and tasks
from Pocket PC to Flight Recorder |
| MC |
= Exchange MacCready between
the Pocket PC software and the flight recorder |
| Ps |
= Tie software password to
flight recorder serial number |
| S |
= Edit Setup Parameters in
the flight recorder such as waypoint arrival radius, units,
etc. |
| Vol |
= Volume |
|
Product Comparison table
of other products
|
Soaring Flight Software
Comparison Table - More Products |
| |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| |
CEGlide |
Cumulus
(not related to Cumulus Soaring, Inc.) |
GPS_LOG |
XCSoar |
| Price |
$199 |
Free |
Free |
Free
Open Source Code |
| Unique Features |
Interesting table with arrival altitude vs. speed-to-fly,
Inter-thermal Performance value shows how well pilot is utilizing
lift between thermals including course deviations. Easy in-flight
task editing. Emergency Goto sorts landable fields by altitude
required to reach, taking wind into account |
Free, Only
software for Linux devices |
Free,
Popular |
- Vector
maps show hills shaded on downwind side
- Reachable terrain footprint
- Satelite images of waypoints
- Enroute Supplement details on airfields
- Abort/resume task mode
- AutoMacReady
- Estimation and display of glider heading when flying in wind
- Fullscreen mode (hide infoboxes)
- Mark current positions
- Audio vario (based on GPS or real vario if attached)
- Netto vario
- Detection of takeoff time
- Estimated time of arrival at next waypoint, end of task
- Calculation of optimum inter-thermal track |
| From |
Texas, USA |
Europe |
California, USA |
Australia,
Europe, USA |
| Operating System |
Pocket PC |
Linux |
Pocket PC |
Pocket PC 2002 & 2003 |
| Device |
Pocket PC
(Compaq Aero 1500, iPAQ, etc.) |
Sharp Zaurus or iPAQ with Linux OS |
Pocket PC
(Compaq Aero 1500, iPAQ, etc.) |
Pocket PC
(iPAQ, etc.) |
| Languages Supported |
English |
|
English |
English |
| Reachable airports highlighted
on map |
|
• |
|
• |
| Automatic Task Start/Finish |
|
|
|
• |
| Final Glide Around Multiple
Waypoints |
Around 1 TP |
|
Around 1 TP |
• |
| Calculates wind speed and direction
while circling |
• |
• |
• |
• |
| |
CEGlide |
Cumulus |
GPS_LOG |
XCSoar |
| Wind speed and direction at several
altitudes |
|
• |
|
• |
| Large Fonts (5 is largest, 1 is
smallest) |
3 |
4
(22 point) |
5 |
3 |
| User selectable font sizes for text
on map |
|
|
|
|
| Differential Final Glide (Difference
between required altitude and current altitude) |
• |
• |
• |
• |
| Turnpoint Area Task Support |
• |
|
• |
• |
| Special Use Airspace displayed on
moving map |
• |
• |
• |
• |
| Special Use Airspace Warnings |
|
|
|
• |
| Color Vector Terrain Maps |
|
• |
• |
• |
| Maps with roads, lakes, cities, etc. |
|
• |
• |
• |
| US Sectional Aeronautical Charts |
|
|
|
|
| |
CEGlide |
Cumulus |
GPS_LOG |
XCSoar |
| Easy Transfer of Waypoint, SUA and
Map data |
|
|
|
|
| Map Orientation |
|
|
|
North up
Track up
(separate choice for circling) |
| In-flight optimization |
|
|
|
|
| FAI 28% Rule Turnpoint areas
displayed in flight |
|
|
|
|
| FAI 28% Rule Turnpoint areas
displayed while creating tasks |
|
|
|
• |
| Thermal History Data (Climb rate
achieved in previous thermals) |
• |
|
|
• |
| Tracks statistics for multiple tasks
at once |
|
|
|
|
| Climb Maximizer (Helps you center
thermals) |
|
|
• |
|
| Flight Track displayed with colors
to indicated lift and sink encountered. |
|
|
• |
• |
| Thermal Average Display |
• |
|
• |
• |
| |
CEGlide |
Cumulus |
GPS_LOG |
XCSoar |
| Terrain Elevation |
|
• |
• |
• |
| Final Glide over Terrain |
|
• |
• |
• |
| Log flight to an IGC file format
(not usable for badges or records) |
• |
• |
• |
• |
| Use Terrain database to display
altitude AGL |
|
? |
? |
• |
| Statistics for each leg completed
and total flight |
No but CEReview can |
No, but KFLog/E can |
? |
• |
| Display IGC flight log file after
the flight |
|
No, but KFLog/E can |
|
|
| Replay IGC flight log file after the
flight |
|
|
|
|
| |
Compatibility with
GPS Flight Recorders
(See key below) |
| Flight Recorder or Flight
Computer |
CEGlide |
Cumulus |
GPS_LOG |
XCSoar |
| "Generic" GPS (Garmin, Transplant,
etc.) |
PA |
PA |
PA, Pr (Garmin
Summit) |
PA, Pr |
| Borgelt B50 with Volkslogger |
PA, Pr, MC |
PA |
PA,Pr,Tsk, MC (to
PPC) |
PA, Pr, Mc |
| Cambridge Aero Instruments GPS-NAV
(Does not send GPS Altitude but does send pressure altitude.) |
PA, Pr |
PA |
PA,Tsk |
|
| Cambridge Aero Instruments 302 and
302A |
PA, Pr |
PA |
PA,Pr,Tsk, MC (to
PPC) |
PA, Pr, Mc, Tsk, Wp |
| EW microRecorder |
PA |
PA |
PA |
PA |
| Garmin with Pressure Sensor |
PA |
PA |
PA |
PA, Pr |
| Garrecht Volkslogger |
PA, Pr |
PA |
PA,Pr,Tsk |
PA, Pr |
| LX Navigation Colibri |
PA |
PA |
PA,Pr,Tsk |
PA, Pr |
| LX Navigation LX20 |
PA |
PA |
PA,Pr, Tsk |
|
| LX Navigation LX160, LX7000 |
PA |
PA |
PA,Pr,Tsk |
PA, Pr |
| LX Navigation LX1600 |
PA |
PA |
PA,Pr,Tsk |
PA, Pr |
| Scheffel Automation Themi |
PA |
PA |
PA |
|
| Westerboer VW921 |
PA |
PA |
PA, Pr
|
|
| Zander |
PA |
PA |
PA,Pr |
|
Key
| PA |
= Receive position and GPS
altitude from the flight recorder |
| Pr |
= Receive pressure altitude
from the flight recorder |
| Lg |
= Download Flight Logs from
the flight recorder to the Pocket PC |
| Tsk |
= Make an IGC Approved Task
Declaration in the Flight Recorder |
| Wp |
= Upload Waypoints and tasks
from Pocket PC to Flight Recorder |
| MC |
= Exchange MacCready between
the Pocket PC software and the flight recorder |
| Ps |
= Tie software password to
flight recorder serial number |
| S |
= Edit Setup Parameters in
the flight recorder such as waypoint arrival radius, units,
etc. |
| Vol |
= Volume |
|
|
