XPLAN IPAD APP SOFTWARE
“I wanted to avoid complexity I wanted to provide mission-planning software that anyone could use, which would also be rock-solid and very cost-effective,” said Sandford, now a colonel and still flying fighter jets. “But updates for pilots come out every five minutes, and an electronic flight bag can go out and get the most recent notices for airmen right before takeoff.” “Paper is stale the day you print it,” said Millard. But its biggest advantage lies in being able to provide the latest versions of its vast electronic library. The tablet computer’s ability to carry reams of electronic documents is important, as is its lighter weight. Delta Air Lines, for example, recently announced it was supplying all its pilots with tablets. Now electronic flight bags, consisting principally of tablet computers, are taking over in both the military and civilian arenas. This bulky item is typically stuffed with emergency manuals, maps, and other reference materials. Mobile computing devices are currently replacing a time-honored pilots’ tool: the black flight bag.
“And that usually helps a lot in locating your objective.”įalconView now runs on tablet computers, which are convenient for pilots to carry and update.Īdapting FalconView to tablets can also benefit aviators, Millard explained. “With these tools, you can first reconnoiter the mission area on screen and basically go there before you go there,” said George Menhorn, a GTRI senior research scientist and lead engineer for FalconView. Compared to a two-dimensional view from above, it can give them a more intuitive picture of their situation. This 3-D capability, Millard adds, is important to surface forces as varied as Army and Marine infantry units, tank units, and naval vessels – even Navy SEALS. “I want something that shows me my situational awareness in perspective, so that I can see the good guys and the bad guys relative to my position.” “I can sit in my office and have big 3-D displays around me, but I can’t take them with me when I’m out in the field,” said David Millard, a GTRI principal research engineer who helps test FalconView products. The A-10 Warthog is among the aircraft whose pilots benefit from using FalconView. “It’s the glue that helps provide broad situational awareness to the operator.” “FalconView serves as the framework for a wide variety of tools and increases their interconnectivity,” said Pyles. FalconView can also aid combat operations by displaying incoming tactical data in real time. It also supports multiple types of overlays, allowing them to be displayed and printed over any map background.Ĭombined with global positioning systems (GPS), FalconView supports the use by aircraft of moving-map displays, which are more complex versions of now familiar consumer applications in which a symbol representing a cellular phone or other GPS device remains stationary on a display screen while a route map moves underneath. For the sake of convenience, users often refer to the graphical portion of these tools as FalconView.įalconView can display many types of maps, including aeronautical charts, satellite images, and elevation maps.
XPLAN IPAD APP PORTABLE
The FalconView of today serves as the interface for a varied group of mission planning software tools known as the Portable Flight Planning System (PFPS), the Joint Mission Planning System (JMPS), and XPlan – all of which analyze and display vital geographical data. In addition to Windows, the new FalconView versions will run on a variety of other operating systems.
FalconView Mobile extends these capabilities to tablets and smartphones.FalconView 3-D adds capabilities to better support surface missions carried out by ground units, ships, and others.This year – FalconView’s 20th anniversary – two new editions of the program are being developed to extend the original Microsoft Windows-based 2-D version of the software: “Both aircrew and analysts routinely use FalconView to help gather intelligence, and that intelligence can then become part of a FalconView mission package that pilots can rehearse almost like a video game.” “Our current numbers on FalconView’s distribution are in the 80,000-user range – it’s used today by the military, federal agencies, and allied countries for a wide variety of intelligence, planning, and operational tasks,” said John Pyles, the principal research scientist who leads FalconView development for GTRI. In addition to topographical information, the maps include obstacles, enemy positions, and other rapidly changing information. FalconView provides pilots with maps that help them anticipate what they will find as they carry out a mission.
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