Have anyone of you heard of any good flight planning/navigational software that I could purchase to use with the GPS? I'd love having a GPS map with a 15 inch screen on the old and greasy 172's that I fly
not sure...but I have heard of operators using these systems as naviagational devices in the USA...me, not sure I would trust them THAT much, but I guess some do
I've tried PocketFMS in the air with a laptop - the program works more or less as expected. The flight planning/weather features are pretty thorough and in my experience work well. Airspace definition seemed pretty good, and the program has numerous customization features regarding airspace warnings, etc. that you would expect for any aviation GPS.
However, at the end of the day, I didn't really feel it to be of any net use given the awkwardness of securing/using a laptop in flight (despite the machine I have being a 2.5 lbs, 12" 'ultraportable' laptop) unless the seat beside you is empty. If I were flying into the USA more perhaps the benefits would make it worthwhile. One thing I have considered should I be making a more challenging flight is to get PocketFMS running in the plane, and then just store the laptop under the seat running (disable standby), so that in the event that you could use the map your passenger can get it within a few seconds. But for regalar use I'm more than happy using the Mark I eyeball, with a KLN-90A for reference.
A better alternative that I have been considering is using PocketFMS, as the product name would imply, on my Pocket PC. You can either buy a bluetooth enabled GPS, or buy adaptor cables to connect a wired GPS to a PDA if you have one. I picked up my Dell Axim X5 on Ebay for $75 a while ago primarily for school, but it runs PocketFMS well on simulation (you can output coordinates from MS Flight Sim and trick the PDA into thinking its a real GPS), though I haven't bought the cable yet to connet my GPS for a real-life test run. These units can be easily strapped to the yoke or stuck to the panel/window, and would be a far better option than a laptop in my opinion. The screens are obviously smaller, but you'd be able to get it a lot closer than a laptop in the comfy confines of a C172.
If you have any specific questions about using this program I can try to help, but my experience with it is pretty limited -- for me as a private VFR pilot it is really just a novelty. The forums at pocketfms.com are quite active and I've sure they would have the answers to any of your questions.
