iPad app approved for general aviation
NATS has awarded its 'Airspace Awareness Compliance Mark' to the Airbox iPad and iPhone apps.
The national ATC provider has announced that it has collaborated again with Airbox to produce iPad and iPhone versions of the popular 'Aware' airspace warning and avoidance tool - of which the original version won the Institute's first Technical Excellence Award in 2010.
The compliance mark indicates that the product meets NATS’ criteria for airspace awareness and infringement prevention.
The app replicates the functionality of the original Aware device - launched in 2009 following collaboration between NATS and Airbox - which NATS believes has contributed to a decrease in the risk of airspace infringements.
NATS Safety Director, David Harrison, comments 'With an increasing number of iPads in use in the cockpit, our intention is to encourage the development of products that will be a real asset to pilots. The Aware app makes excellent use of the iPad and iPhone functionality to give real time moving map information to help pilots retain their positional awareness and avoid infringing controlled airspace.'
The criteria for receiving the Airspace Awareness Compliance Mark are:
- low cost (<£200)
- suitable visual chart (eg a CAA VFR chart)
- 3D airspace warnings
- portable
- free updates of airspace in accordance with the normal civil air cycle
Airbox's Technical Director, William Moore, explains that, having achieved an improvement in infringement statistics with the release of the original Aware GPS, the natural progression was to produce an app for iPad and iPhone - given their popularity within the GA community.
The Aware app expands the functionality of the original Aware by offering smooth map scrolling, improved high-resolution CAA charting and an incredibly simple user interface - and new multi-airspace alerts let pilots anticipate multiple complex airspace configurations in good time.
Airspace updates (free) and new charts (on subscription) are downloaded automatically to the iPad/iPhone when the app is activated. And a new emergency screen pre-populates an R/T 'calling card' with aircraft position and level to give clear guidance on what to communicate to ATC.
Details (and the apps) from NATS below.