Marauder

It gets even better... Turn on the iPhone 5 and get the Xavion running and go through it's checklist. Setup the Nexus 7 on the yoke to run Garmin Pilot. Mount the iPad on the kneeboard for WingX. It's all simple to do... Just spit the gum out before you begin the process.

Hi Jim, Well... After trying a few more "rub my belly while hopping on my left foot" things, I think I got it working. When I had the WiFi on and not connected, I would periodically (like every few seconds) see the red "no GPS" message on the main map screen. I turned off the WiFi and it stayed connected longer but would still drop out. I then dropped the Bluetooth pair with the XGPS150 and re-paired it. The connection stayed for the remainder of my ride in to work. I will leave the WiFi on this afternoon and see what happens. My main goal after ensuring stability is to see if I like it. I figured out the route planning and I will see how easy it continues to be. One question I do have is whether the maps will/should show when I do not have the GPS antenna connected. I would think you would want the maps to show so you can do route planning. Mine will sometimes disappear, only to reappear the next time I use it.

I don't have an onboard GPS on my iPad so I need to rely on the XGPS150. Hilton says it is a compatible unit. Just wonder if compatibility means with the iPad WiFi off. I have watched his videos. Just wish they were organized better. One on route making, one on using extrernal devices, etc. would help.

For those of us who have flown a while, we have seen the evolution, if not revolution, in cockpit technology. Until this past December, I flew IFR with nothing more than a dual ILS, ADF and DME equipped plane. I had a yoke mounted portable GPS for situational awareness. It worked and will continue to work until they take the land based Nav aids away. My first major upgrade to my plane was an AP. For me, the ability to get a hand on long flights or ones where I needed to get weather updates constantly was money well spent. There are pilots who say "real pilots don't need an AP". I agree that you cannot replacing your ability to hand fly but to say you don't need it, especially in IFR is just don't right stupid. When you get a plane, you wil need to set priorities on where you spend your money first. Mechanical and airframe needs are always first with me. Then comes the updates and upgrades (like updating an engine analyzer or radios). The money will go quickly and you need to set your priorities based on what you are dealing with.

Well Jim, I'm like many of us, I happened to be wired a certain way. I find FF more cumbersome than Pilot and WingX more than both of them. I work in an industry where we make high end electronic measurement equipment for a variety of industries. I'm not going to let an iPad app beat me this easily. Thanks for the help! I will keep you posted on my progress.

I've learned that unlike FF and Pilot, WingX does not seem to like having the WiFi on when it is running. Shutting off WiFi seemed to help the connectivity. I also did the location reset thing I found on the web. An issue with WingX an iOS6. I was able to get it running. Will drive in with it tomorrow and see how it does on the road.

Hi Jim -- I really want to give WingX a fair shake. It is the only app out there (of any credibility) that has an open hierarchy for the antennas. I am hoping that I am dealing with start-up issues and that can be resolved in the next 30 days. You guys are using successfully, right? Unlike FF and Pilot, it is certainly not as easy to use, but I will start going through the help section to see if I can figure out how to make it work correctly.

Well, it has been an interesting evening. I was finally able to get the databases to load but now am struggling with it staying connected to my XGPS150. It will pop up with the "No GPS" at the top. I will get the blank screens from time to time also. I can recover by tapping the the show above button and the maps come back. If I can get it stable I will try flying with it this weekend. There seems to be a lot packed into it, but not a very intuitive package.

Sorry, forgot to answer the rest of your comment. For me the first reason I use a tablet is for the charts. The add-on features of moving map, route planning, weather, traffic, etc. are all gravy. They make for a nice backup for the hardware I do have installed in the plane.

Hi Jose, The tablet technology has evolved pretty quickly and many of the features you are speaking about are built in or I expect to be at some point. Here is an example from Garmin Pilot. This is the black background map you spoke about. It is set for VFR. Same map, this time set for IFR: As well, there is a lot of flexibility in the setup menu to declutter. I was a solid portable aviation GPS owner for years starting with the Garmin 55, then 95XL through the more current stuff. Once I saw the tablet versions, it became clear, at least to me, that this technology will equal most of the portable capabilities in the near future. And considering the cost of entry of the hardware and apps, switching costs are reasonable - in aviation terms anyways.

How about one better? Knock it off!

You should! I sold my GEM to a member. I know there is always an interest. What do you have?

Jeepers jetman, can I have your junk?! Some guys would kill for what you upgraded FROM!

LOL! I just got home and am trying to get this m$3th@r f:&c/er software package to run. Unbelievable headache and it makes FF and Garmin Pilot look so much better... I ain't done trying, but getting close...

Ouch!

Thanks Dan. When I get home tonight (don't you just hate it when work interfers with things? ), I will try one more attempt at resolving this myself, then call.

When you say $100 more than the C, are you saying it is $130? Or something much bigger?

I am beginning to wonder if some of my current issues are related to the inability to download the current databases. I have unloaded my ForeFlight and a bunch of other stuff to give me 30 Gb of free space. No reason not to download now. When I do the downloads I get this: Is this because the download from Hilton is dying on the vine? The new cycle should be out and I wonder if it is a bandwidth issue with their site. The "pending" stuff turns into "timeout".

I have it on an 64 Gb iPad 2.

A few of you have been trying to help me with getting WingX working. Rather than dilute Don's ForeFlight thread any further, I thought I would start a thread, correctly named I believed. The reason I downloaded WingX was to give it a fair shot at competing for my business and more importantly, since they support an open hiearchy with respect to antenna, I thought if I liked it, I would dump my ForeFlight and Garmin Pilot. I loaded the app on June 23rd and here 3 days later, I still can't get it to work correctly. This morning after another session of headbutting with it, I uninstalled the app and re-installed it. Now I have different problems. Ugh! Quick recap: > I was able to load the app without error, created a log-in to Hilton and was able to download the CONUS databases for everything except what it skipped (fuel and something else). > I was able to play around with it for a day and everything was working. I started to think I was onto to a winner. Then I went to setup a route and off course I went. I haven't recovered since. Here are a few screen shots of the stuff I am seeing. It started with the missing map while trying to do flight planning: It was suggested that I may not have the databases, so I tried downloading them again and got this: Like someone who has been running Windows since it was just called Windows, I took the next logical step; I gave it a damn good thrashing and de-installed it. After re-installing it, it does think it is a new install and asks me to install the databases. When I did, it came back with this: So I here I sit, humbled... UNCLE! UNCLE! UNCLE! UNCLE! UNCLE! UNCLE! UNCLE! UNCLE! Any suggestions? I thought it might have been a memory issue so I freed up 2Gb of memory for a total of 4 Gb. I also truncated the database and just selected eastern U.S. No matter, it just doesn't want to move forward. Is this a memory problem? Oh, great this email just showed up with something from Hilton: http://ipadpilotnews.com/2013/06/wingx-pro-tip-charttouch/?utm_source=ipadnews&utm_medium=email Sure! Rub some salt in the wound... I would love to try chart planning!

Unless it is a discussion on LOP over ROP, then it is like a bad movie!

I'm glad I could help you spend ALL of your money. No sense in just a few us going broke on avionic upgrades -- the more the merrier. Welcome to the poor house, dog house or outhouse (if your significant other finds out)! Seriously -- you are going to love the GPSS. Makes the AP unbelievable.

UNCLE! I almost am ready to give up! I thought it was a memory issue since I only had 2 Gb left on my iPad. I deleted 2Gb of apps that I hardly or never use. Made no difference. I am going to delete the app and reload it to see if anything different happens.

One of the avionics shops mentioned this system to me. Won't make you ADS-B compliant but sounds like it will save your bacon...

Good try! But I think this thread is a crash and burn.