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Posted

I'd like to get a decent W&B app for my iPhone that I can input data and use for my M20F.

I used to have one years ago but somehow I lost it or it stopped being supported... What do you guys use? 

Pictures would help to understand it better and free is good... :P

Posted (edited)
44 minutes ago, Igor_U said:

I'd like to get a decent W&B app for my iPhone that I can input data and use for my M20F.

Are you using an EFB (ForeFlight, G Pilot, WingX, etc.)?  There should be one in there.  

Unless you're an FF and Android user like me! :D  If that's the case, look at FltPlan Go.

 

 

Edited by PeteMc
Posted
16 minutes ago, PeteMc said:

Are you using an EFB (ForeFlight, G Pilot, WingX, etc.)?  There should be one in there.  

Unless you're an FF and Android user like me! :D  If that's the case, look at FltPlan Go.

 

 

Pete,

I used WingX since beginning but dropped it and switched to FlyQ EFB which I also have on the iPhone. I guess I could try that. fltPlan is what I use on PC and have it on my iPad but I'm not proficient using it... 

I'll definitely spend some time checking out EFBs and also apps people recommend... 

Posted
14 minutes ago, Igor_U said:

I used WingX since beginning but dropped it and switched to FlyQ EFB

I used WingX way back when before I got Garmin gear and Garmin wouldn't let them talk to their stuff.

Really shocked that FlyQ EFB does not have W&B, especially as a PAID product.  I primarily fly with FF, but since it doesn't work on my Android phone I got FltPlan Go.  I only use it for looking things up when I don't have my iPad/FF.  But it does have W&B.  One "gotcha" at least for my Aircraft is that it showed a diminishing fuel burn for every hour I was flying.  Sure, I get that for big planes, but I don't reduce my fuel burn every hour.  It also added extra fuel to have something in every box for 7 hours.  I hadn't noticed at first until I went to do the W&B and my total fuel was too high.  Easy fix, but not something you'd initially look for.

 

Posted

I did a Google search many moons ago and found a spreadsheet that some kind soul had put on line. I fly a C, and I think this one was for an E. No matter, same fuselage, same stations, same gross weight; I just entered my own empty weight and CG. Works great all these years later! And is compatible with all EFBs, since it's a standalone spreadsheet that pre-dates most EFBs . . . .

Posted (edited)

+1 for FltPlan Go.  Especially if you already use the PC version.  When you put it on  your phone you can log in with the same username and it will automatically pull all of your online data through.  That's nice for building and filing flight plans on the PC and then their already there on your phone when you go flying.

If you really want to get into all the details, you can modify the performance criteria specific to your airplane.  I did that, but kind of guessed at the numbers.  Now that I have a JPI 900 engine monitor that tracks fuel burn, etc., I should go back and update it.  However, I find that I'm usually not off by more than a few minutes and less than a gallon of fuel when I hit my destination, which is good enough for now.

 Here are a few screenshots from the phone:

IMG_4125.png.9168fb5841ea478dc25aca036bb1d31a.png

IMG_4127.png

IMG_4128.png

Edited by skydvrboy
  • Like 1
Posted
10 hours ago, skydvrboy said:

+1 for FltPlan Go.  Especially if you already use the PC version.  When you put it on  your phone you can log in with the same username and it will automatically pull all of your online data through.  That's nice for building and filing flight plans on the PC and then their already there on your phone when you go flying.

If you really want to get into all the details, you can modify the performance criteria specific to your airplane.  I did that, but kind of guessed at the numbers.  Now that I have a JPI 900 engine monitor that tracks fuel burn, etc., I should go back and update it.  However, I find that I'm usually not off by more than a few minutes and less than a gallon of fuel when I hit my destination, which is good enough for now.

 Here are a few screenshots from the phone:

IMG_4125.png.9168fb5841ea478dc25aca036bb1d31a.png

IMG_4127.png

IMG_4128.png

I've been using Avare with FltPlan Go as a backup, but the Avare developers have been having sufficient issues that I'm thinking of switching those roles.    This is more motivation to do that, I think.   FltPlan Go is a very good EFB.

  • Like 1
Posted
22 hours ago, EricJ said:

 FltPlan Go is a very good EFB.

Shhh… If you say that too loud Garmin will start charging for it…

  • Like 1
Posted

ForeFlight is my primary Performance and W&B tool, but I've used FltPlan.com for and Wx and other things over the years.  So I started looking at it again because of this discussion and discovered a couple of FYIs...

The Performance Profile they had for my K was a bit off.  The numbers were close, but not exactly the same as my POH.  But the bigger issue was that the numbers did not track as it went up in Altitude.  The obvious one is the first column, IAS.  It moved in the correct direction with the IAS going down for a few 1000ft, then the IAS  would go UP.  It would then bounce around between showing a decrease as you went up and then an increase as you still went up.  There were other issues in other columns.  I sent them an email and basically got back that I had changed my numbers (which I had) so they didn't know what I was talking about.   I guess the concept of checking the "default Performance Profile for the M20K/231" was a bit much for them.

I also noticed that they had turned ON their Advanced Fuel Burn Calculations, which has a decreasing fuel burn per hour (think big jet burning off lots of weight and reducing power).  Stepping back a moment, I had noticed my Total Fuel in the Flight Plan page was off a bit, but never really knew why, but I don't file with them so never pursued the issue.  This Fuel Burn they had turned on had 7 hours of diminishing fuel burns.  And when I added them up, they totaled more fuel than I had entered in my Aircraft Profile and this was the number going to the Flight Plan page.  Turning it OFF does not hide or collapse the entries or zero out the numbers.  I'm unclear if turning it OFF really did anything, so I entered a high number in the first hour for climb, 14 gals (just because) four more hours and then the balance of my Usable Fuel in the last hour.

And the final FYI is that in my email from Support they told me "...Since we are not saving user editing in these fields take snapshots of what you are editing and keep that safe on your device in case your inputs are lost..."  Now that's a scary thought!  I guess if you're a frequent FltPlan users you need to go in and check your Profiles every so often.  That trip where you were pushing it, but you thought you had just enough for your personal reserves may or may not be correct.  If the specific numbers you've put into your Profile for YOUR plane change and you did know it, you may be in for a surprise! 

 

Posted
1 hour ago, PeteMc said:

And the final FYI is that in my email from Support they told me "...Since we are not saving user editing in these fields take snapshots of what you are editing and keep that safe on your device in case your inputs are lost..."  Now that's a scary thought!  I guess if you're a frequent FltPlan users you need to go in and check your Profiles every so often.  That trip where you were pushing it, but you thought you had just enough for your personal reserves may or may not be correct.  If the specific numbers you've put into your Profile for YOUR plane change and you did know it, you may be in for a surprise! 

I think they mean that they're not saving the history of your edits.  I customized mine seven years ago and they are still the same as I entered back then.  Like you, I wasn't impressed by the slowly decreasing fuel burn so I changed the first hour to reflect takeoff and climb fuel burn and the remainder to equal my cruise fuel burn.  You have the choice to use the hourly fuel burn method or the more advanced fuel burn method that includes your climb speeds, rate of climb, etc.

Posted
1 hour ago, skydvrboy said:

I think they mean that they're not saving the history of your edits.  I

Could be, but that should mean that what I just did is an "edit" strictly speaking.  I took it to mean that if they make some changes it is possible for everything to go to the Default and not reload when you log in next time.  It just seemed like a strange comment to send me.

 

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