[ACARS] Air Nav 4 - Feedback Invitation

Tue, 16 Apr 2002 09:39:51 +0100 (GMT Daylight Time)

Hope that wasn't considered too critical of AirNav.=0D
=0D
Sits back and awaits flames due to voicing an opinion again :-)=0D
=0D
Mark=0D
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-------Original Message-------=0D
=0D
From: [email protected]=0D
Date: 16 April 2002 15:37:18=0D
To: [email protected]=0D
Subject: Re: [ACARS] Air Nav 4 - Feedback Invitation=0D
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I would add my comments, but, since AirNav shut down after the 30 minutes=
=0D
trial with the ACARS Realtime interface open, I've been unable to restart=
=0D
the program! Probably for the best... =0D
=0D
In summary - AirNav 3 with nice maps. =0D
=0D
Cheers, =0D
=0D
Mark =0D
=0D
-------Original Message------- =0D
=0D
From: [email protected] =0D
Date: 16 April 2002 15:30:22 =0D
To: ACARS Group =0D
Subject: [ACARS] Air Nav 4 - Feedback Invitation =0D
=0D
Hi Everyone, =0D
=0D
I have provided the following feedback to the Airnav 4 team on the limite=
d=0D
use I have so far made of the product. I now invite your comments if you =
so=0D
wish but also request that you CC Airnav so they can get a handle on user=
=0D
feedback. =0D
=0D
Hi, =0D
=0D
I am sure that this product was well "beta" tested on a range of computer=
s=0D
but feel that some user feedback on the released product may be warranted=
=0D
given some of the well documented problems with its predecessor. I have h=
eld=0D
of ordering Airnav 4 based on my experience with, and problems encountere=
d=0D
with Airnav 3, a summary of my thoughts and findings follow: =0D
=0D
a. I own a computer that lives in room with plenty of daylight and find t=
he=0D
colours chosen for the map do not show up well at all in daylight. In Air=
nav=0D
3 there was a utility to change the colours but in version 4 this seems t=
o=0D
have either been missed by the developers or I cannot find the tool for=0D
changing the colours. Is this meant to be? =0D
=0D
b. I have the Airnav Selcal Decoder running on one soundcard and the Airn=
av=0D
ACARS Decoder running on a second sound card, which seems to be working O=
K=0D
but when I try to interface the Selcal decoder with Airnav 4 it doesn't w=
ork=0D
I have removed the ACARS decoder and runn the Selcal decoder on bothe sou=
nd=0D
cards but still the Airnav 4 interface does not recognise the Selcal deco=
der=0D
I cannot integrate the selcal decoder into Airnav 4. =0D
=0D
c. Airnav 3 had a utility to automatically plot the proposed route of an=0D
aircraft if two or more waypoints were entered. This does not happen now =
in=0D
Airnav 4 causing additional work to find out the advancing track of an=0D
aircraft. Again, is this missing on purpose? =0D
=0D
d. On ocassions during the 30 minutes trial period. opening up the Help t=
ool=0D
slows down the overall processes running on the computer until the comput=
er=0D
freezes and a reboot is required. This may be because I am trying to do t=
oo=0D
much within the limited time but I don't think it shoul crash my system! =
=0D
=0D
e. When running the acars interface to the Airnav ACARS decoder, position=
=0D
reports being reported by aircraft are displayed on the map but no aircra=
ft=0D
label can be found. There is no effect when I try to Show/Hide Label Deta=
ils=0D
I cannot get the details of the flight displayed on the map. =0D
=0D
f. In the Flight Management Mode there is no Flight Number box to enter=0D
flight number details, therefore I cannot manually create a flight unless=
 I=0D
do so in a Terminal Mode window. =0D
=0D
g. Someone has omitted the South West Pacific (SWP) HF frequencies from t=
he=0D
list! =0D
=0D
h. There appears to be no speed indications anywhere for a flight. In Air=
nav=0D
3 this feature displayed in the Flight Management mode was really useful =
to=0D
confirm that the times heard from listening to a HF position report were=0D
entered into Airnav correctly by checking that the speed was something=0D
realistic. =0D
=0D
g. On one of my computers running Windows XP Airnav 4 will not download d=
ata=0D
from the internet. =0D
=0D
The things I like about Airnav 4 are: =0D
=0D
a. the dynamic map, =0D
b. the display of waypoints, airports and flight routes, although the=0D
program crashed when I displayed the flight routes and zoomed out, =0D
=0D
The things I hate about Airnav 4 are: =0D
=0D
a. the database still sucks!!!! I cannot think of a more restricted, leas=
t=0D
accessible database known to aviation enthusiasts. The concept of only be=
ing=0D
able to edit a single entity is really outdated. I want to be able to rem=
ove=0D
hundreds of records from my Airnav database to speed up performance, tail=
or=0D
the system to my needs and have control over which database tools I use f=
or=0D
the job. As an example, the SW Pacific airlines and aircraft are not=0D
particularly up to date so the add 8 Boeing 737s to the Air New Zealand=0D
fleet in the Airnav database I have to do this one by one. If I could use=
 MS=0D
Access or a text delimited database I could block copy or cut and paste=0D
repetitive data to ease the method of updating. The same goes for deletin=
g=0D
records, why can I not select 20 records and delete them without having t=
o=0D
do it one by one? The databse is the one BIG let down that won't sell Air=
nav=0D
4 to me. I have expressed my dislike before on the database issue but it=0D
sounds like my voice hasn't been heard (and I am sure others feel the sam=
e=0D
way) and cheap and nasty solution has been used. =0D
=0D
The product has been run with varying levels of reliabilty over the 30=0D
minute trial period on the following two computers: =0D
=0D
Pentium 2 300MHz 256 Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, trial versions of the Airnav=0D
Selcal and ACARS decoders. =0D
=0D
Pentium 4 1.6 GHz 256 Mb RAM, Widows XP, Airnav 4 standalone for internet=
=0D
flight tracking (see above). =0D
=0D
I am sorry but I will not pay for another Airnav despite it's appealing=0D
nature and specky GUI. =0D
=0D
Regards and good luck with the support issues as they arise. =0D
=0D
Mike Jackson =0D
=0D
=0D
=0D
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_____________________________________________ =0D
Acars info and Aircraft ID answers at http://www.acarslink.com =0D
like to join the ACARS Web Ring go to http://www.acarsonline.co.uk =0D
[email protected] =0D
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/acars =0D
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_____________________________________________=0D
Acars info and Aircraft ID answers at http://www.acarslink.com=0D
like to join the ACARS Web Ring go to http://www.acarsonline.co.uk=0D
[email protected]=0D
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/acars=0D
=2E

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