Welcome to SoarPilot
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If you are a member of the SoarPilot Yahoo Group you can also
Introduction
SoarPilot was designed with both the sport and competition sailplane/paraglider pilots in mind. It enhances a pilot’s level of information, helping him/her to make informed speed & distance decisions when flying around the local airfield or going cross-country. In addition, using an attached GPS and the logger function, the pilot can download and plot the flight track information after flying for futher analysis or just for fun!
It will run on the popular PalmOS compatible devices with PalmOS 3.0 or higher as well as most Windows WinMobile/PocketPC devices using StyleTap® support. Best of all, it’s available free of charge. It uses McCready theory to calculate the speed-to-fly/final glide and the altitude required to fly a certain distance assuming a given head/tailwind and airmass movement. If a GPS is not available, the distance to fly can be entered manually. However if one is available, SoarPilot can process GPS data using the Palm PDA‘s serial interface. The GPS must be capable of outputting data which is compatible with the NMEA-0183 version 1.5 or 2.0+ (auto-select) standards.
The program makes use of the GPRMB, GPRMC, GPGGA & PGRMZ sentences. The PGRMZ sentence is used for NMEA-183 version 1.5 to get GPS altitude from a Garmin GPS. Altitude is taken from the standard GPGGA sentence for version 2.0+.
It can also now parse the proprietary sentences from the Volkslogger, LX, Filser Cambridge 302/302A/GPSNAV, Garmin (select models), PosiGraph, Zander and other loggers for pressure altitude information. In addition, if connected to a Borgelt B50 or Cambridge 302/302A, all additional information from both units is used to enhance the accuracy of many of the calculated values.
Features
- FREE for the Soaring / Paragliding / Ballooning Community!
- Runs on a wide range of Palm devices due to very modest hardware requirements
- Also Fully Functional on most WinMobile/PocketPC/WinCE devices using the StyleTap® Platform PalmOS Emulator
- Excellent & Timely Support via the SoarPilot Yahoo Group forum (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/soaringpilot)
- Still VERY actively developed
- Final Glide Computer Including Final Glide around Tasks, Final Glide Over Terrain. Takes into account wind as well.
- Moving Map support for In Range/Out-of-Range Waypoints, SUA display, Task Display, Track Trail
- Waypoint/Turnpoint Support including Area Turnpoints
- Flight Logger - SoarPilot is on the "Approved Software" list for submission to the OLC
- Special Use Airspace Display and Alerting Support
- Flight Info - Both during and after flight information is provided.
- Task Editor including Assigned Area Task support as well as other Paragliding Competition Task Support.
- Can process pressure altitude and other enhanced information from GPS, Volkslogger, Cambridge 302/GPSNAV, LX/Filser, SN10, Borgelt B50, PosiGraph, Zander SR940/GP941 and other Loggers/Computers
- Can send configuration, waypoints and declaration to an attached Volkslogger, Cambridge 302/302A/GPSNAV, EW or LX/Filser Logger
- Flight Download Support for the Volkslogger, Cambridge 302/302A, GPSNAV, LX/Filser and other Loggers
- MANY, MANY Other Features.
The index to the right covers the various functions and capabilities in much greater depth.
For a list of detailed changes please look at the Detailed Change History page for latest details.
Hardware Requirements
See Example Setups for more information.
- PDA running PalmOS 3.0 or better or WinMobile/PocketPC/WinCE with the StyleTap® Platform PalmOS Emulator Loaded
- Minimum of 2Mb memory, however to avoid a constant need for deleting the flight logs, more memory is recommended
- Sufficient battery life time for long flight or use an external power solution
- Free serial/BT/IR port for GPS input into SoarPilot
- Desktop requirements:
- Windows
- Intel Pentium processor
- Microsoft Windows 98, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows XP
- 16MB of RAM
- 20MB of available hard-disk space
- Palm Desktop 4.0 or 4.01, download here.
- Macintosh
- Linux
- Desktop requirements similar to Windows desktop above
- KPilot, PilotManager, J-Pilot are replacements for the Palm Desktop (Win/MAC only) software for linux
- Serial or USB HotSync® cradle and cable 2) (technically speaking HotSync® via IrDA or Bluetooth is possible and does not require a cradle)
Recommended Hardware
- GPS unit with NMEA-183 output (see intro above for required sentences)
- SD Card for easy file transfer
PDF Manual Version
A PDF version of the manual can be downloaded at the following link. However, this is a large file (~3Meg) and about 200 pages. It does not contain any active links or URL‘s. However, you can search it using the Acrobat Reader’s search function.
It is only available for version 3.4. Version 4.0 includes many new features, but basic operation of the program is the same.
