iFly GPS Forum

Sorry, I have to vote no on this one. One big reason I purchased the iFly after seeing it at Sun-N-Fun was for its ease of use. I love the fact that it's uncluttered, unlike some other devices. The more bells and whistles you add, the less simple and uncluttered it will become. I am not against adding features, but in this case I personally think it would be more time consuming to pick up the iFly remote to change the altitude than it would be to pick up a pencil and jot it down. Each time you add a new feature you add to the complexity both for the user and for the programmer. It adds program code and the potential for bugs. It comes down to Risk vs Reward. The iFly is advertised as a GPS for Private Pilots and I personally believe it to be the best GPS for the Private Pilot. My concern with this idea is that it would take up more screen space and add another instrument to scan. If it must be,then please Walter, make it an Option, as someone suggested, with an out of the way "option page" that you only need go to occasionally.

Respectfully,

Dennis

Myeh. I'm a "no" too. Fine if it's an option way down on a settings menu somewhere but the more I read of folks trying to turn the iFly 700 into something it isn't the more nervous I get about the device "bloating" out. There is still no substitute for having a notepad and pen onboard and using heading and altitude bugs. If I get to the point I can't remember or write down an assigned altitude it may be time to quit flying. The original fundamental premise of a simple to use private pilot device is one of the great attractions of the iFly. I would suspect if every customer's wish list idea were incorporated into the iFly would be a poor facsimilie of a $23K Garmin 500 setup and loose the majority of it's endearing qualities.

And don't forget that GPS altitude is very inaccurate (Silly GPS computers think the world is a perfectly round sphere). If I made GPS machines for flying I would block access to the altitude information because it's unusable and a liability.

P.S. Walter, could you make the iFly power and control a USB rocket launcher? ()

I agree that it's not a high priority, but there are additional possibilities they may incorporate if there is desire or if it's easy for them to do. Such as a heading bug or deviation from the selected heading. Due to the difference between altitudes (GPS and altimeter) I'm not sure you could do the same with the altitude.

At some point when the big wish list items are covered, then things like this could be incorporated without degrading the product for those who aren't interested.