Mobile app ideas?

[ryoder]

I am learning mobile and would like to build a useful aviation related mobile app.

I was thinking of starting with a checklist app that doesn't crash like the one I bought for my android. I think it would go above and beyond and be like a mini efb including a mandatory weight and balance as part of the checklist. I'd also like to have it ask me for the tach time and record it each time. When I run the post landing checklist it should ask again and it should calculate Hobbs time from that.

It would also use location services to auto track my flights like a logbook app I have but that logbook app doesn't do checklists.

The emergency checklist page should display nearest airport info and have a scrolling ticker tape of frequencies like the current Tampa approach plus nearest tower freq.

When I land it should text my wife to tell her I'm not dead. That is one item I am supposed to do but always forget. Remember I am a low time pilot.

Before I start it should show me the status of the time based maintenance items like my transponder and ifr cert, and my ADs, and my oil changes etc. That maintenance data should be tracked and entered on a tablet or web site for ease of entry.

I should also have to compute takeoff and landing based on my field and runway. The app could pull the metar and do it all by itself and ask me to confirm.

Once in the air I should have performance data available and it should always present the direction to the nearest airport and have a ticker tape scrolling useful info like winds aloft or METARs that are in my general vicinity or airspace warnings. This ticker tape would be configurable.

I'd also like the app to have a docs page where you can add any type of document.

Any more ideas?

What do you guys think?

[bonal]

Finally got round to updating my Fore flight to 6.3 what an amazing product. With that and wing X and Garmin there is quite a bit of capability available. If you were to make it more about the pilot and the aircraft you might have something like have a data for all types so your checklist would be specific for type and like a Hobbs for the pilot and as you note keeping track of hours to and from required maintanence. It could record all your flight history.

That being said I am one who hates data don't trust any of this high tech stuff but what can one do.

Good luck with your idea.

[yvesg]

I am learning mobile and would like to build a useful aviation related mobile app.

I was thinking of starting with a checklist app that doesn't crash like the one I bought for my android. I think it would go above and beyond and be like a mini efb including a mandatory weight and balance as part of the checklist. I'd also like to have it ask me for the tach time and record it each time. When I run the post landing checklist it should ask again and it should calculate Hobbs time from that.

It would also use location services to auto track my flights like a logbook app I have but that logbook app doesn't do checklists.

The emergency checklist page should display nearest airport info and have a scrolling ticker tape of frequencies like the current Tampa approach plus nearest tower freq.

When I land it should text my wife to tell her I'm not dead. That is one item I am supposed to do but always forget. Remember I am a low time pilot.

Before I start it should show me the status of the time based maintenance items like my transponder and ifr cert, and my ADs, and my oil changes etc. That maintenance data should be tracked and entered on a tablet or web site for ease of entry.

I should also have to compute takeoff and landing based on my field and runway. The app could pull the metar and do it all by itself and ask me to confirm.

Once in the air I should have performance data available and it should always present the direction to the nearest airport and have a ticker tape scrolling useful info like winds aloft or METARs that are in my general vicinity or airspace warnings. This ticker tape would be configurable.

I'd also like the app to have a docs page where you can add any type of document.

Any more ideas?

What do you guys think?

There are a few things you need to decide up front:

1. Do you want to make this only for you? For you and others as a free app or charge for it?

2. What about liability? Assume someone uses it and something goes terribly wrong because they used this. Regardless of what the user will agree with, some lawsuits could be triggered against you. You need some form of insurance. I think this is what happened with Navion.

3. As any software development project, you need to define (and limit) the scope of the project and come up with well defined requirements. The group here could help do the formal requirement inspections which is a step that is often overlooked which is primordial for success to my opinion.

But this is just the start... more "good practices" items are required.

Just my 2 cents.

My job is Software Quality Analyst. I have seen many projects went berserk because the above was not religiously followed.

Yves

[N201MKTurbo]

That sounds like a lot of work for one developer.

Just doing a simple checklist could spiral out of control. Would you have the user enter his checklists? Would you have a database of checklists? Maintaining that database could be a full time job. Of course you will need an editor to modify the stock checklists. All these forms will need to work on small phones, big phones and tablets. I think android has 5 size formats defined. You need to test your app on all the formats. Do you have your requirements defined? A development and test plan? A marketing plan? The coding is the easy part. Reality is such a buzzkill.

On the flip side, go for it, I can't wait to take a look at it!

[ryoder]

Just ideas really. I have been a professional software developer since 1996 so believe me I know scope creep. Scope creep is really cheap when brainstorming though. Throw out the ideas, see what sticks etc. I really didn't think about the liability issue at all. That is the worst buzz kill of all.

As for the checklist editing I'd have no problem editing it inline. I actually built a bunch of checklists for my mooney using a four dollar android app. It works ok but crashes. It also doesn't automate anything and doesn't allow for user input in checklist items. Like a record tach time item doesn't allow the user to enter the data. My myflightbook,com app has this feature though but it doesn't have a checklist.

I was also thinking of adding s breathalyzer to it for bottle to throttle calculations

[carusoam]

From a technical point of view...

+

Important for me...

1) weight and balance...

2) take off distance...

3) check against actual runway using actual density altitude.

4) fuel use, fuel to destination.

5) final approach speed, for actual final weight. Level stall speed with landing flaps

Basically, all the data I usually derive from the POH for a safe flight.

Then add the emergency things....

Best regards,

-a-

Note: Expect that it will take so long, you will own an Ovation by then. Feel free to use my POH for data and testing...

[ryoder]

Thanks! It's just for me and a few mooney friends and it might never be finished but I will do the checklist at least. Who knows if I will actually build it but if I do I'll let you guys test it. Not looking to get rich.

[47U]

Tracking mx and pilot/IFR currency would be at the top of my list...

[Jim Peace]

Finally got round to updating my Fore flight to 6.3 what an amazing product.

Do you know what fore flight has over fltplan.com?  I have flown coast to coast with fltplan.com and never had an issue and its 100% free.......

 

Thank you in advance....