EFB's With Bravo Entry Warnings

[Sinistar]

I was wondering if any of the EFB's have a real-time Bravo entry warning feature?

I see on Garmin Pilot I can add a alert with a distance to a waypoint. When my wife (PIC), daughter and I have been flying I tried it out for nearing our destination...call it a descent waypoint. Worked sort of slick. But the Garmin implementation only allows alert waypoints that are part of the actual flight plan So if you wanted to be alerted that you are within 10 miles of a B,C,D that is not a current planned waypoint it won't work. And making it planned waypoint throws off the whole plan. Obviously I can make a artificial waypoint along the path and base the alert from there. Sounds like too much work. And it still doesn't address altitude.

What I am looking for is something more 3D, if I am coming in from the west to a Delta that is under a Bravo and I was about to enter the Bravo...just a quick notification...blink the screen or something. Whether I have a code and "Cleared to enter the bravo" or not, the notification would be a nice backup to paper and pilotage. Ideally you would maybe select the Bravo's of interest and it would warn at a user adjustable distance before entering from underneath or laterally?

You think the FAA would pay the EFB makers for this feature!

 

[Jim Logajan]

Real time airspace alerts like that are available on the iFly GPS software, which runs on both Apple iOS and Android (and now MS Windows I believe.) Altitude buffer and distance are configurable. It will generate both visual and audio alerts. I have routed the audio from my iPad so I get the alerts in my Halo earphones.

I love the audio alerting capability. I get an audio alert even when nearing the local stadium. Audio alerts for traffic, terrain, airspace, and AHRS extremes (if equipped) are all configurble.

I don't have to include my iPad in my scan except for the occasional course check. I no longer use WingX even though there are couple features I prefer in it - the audio alerts are just too valuable to have. Why people settle for systems that don't have audio alerts is baffling to me. I believe iFly GPS can be tried for free.

 

[Jim Logajan]

Thanks for the info. I downloaded the app last night (Android version). If I get a chance I will turn it on when I return from the practice area to see what the warnings do as I near the bravo and then have to fly under it. Seems like this should be a no-brainer for the Foreflight and Garmin Pilot apps. Maybe Garmin doesn't want to add it as its another thing that is more exclusive to the G1000 series.

You don't need to actually fly to experiment with (and learn to use) the iFly features because it has a simple flight simulator: Click on the "Menu" button, then "About" and then "Start Simulation Mode". You can enter values for speed in the little controls that appear on screen and use the arrow buttons that appear to control flight direction and climb or descent rates. When experimenting I tend to temporarily crank the speed up to about 500 to 1000 kts when I want to traverse a variety of terrain or airspaces in a short amount of time to see how the alerts work. Also helps to put in a route and fly it in simulation to learn to quickly interpret the various readouts.

 

[Jim Logajan]

On the 430? Yeah, I usually forget about it until it yells.

I just worry that an EFB will really distract me with flashy lights and loud noises at the wrong moment.

The iFly GPS guys tend to use their own product because they suppress a bunch of warnings when they are most likely to distract. From their docs:

The iFly GPS maximizes the relevant notices and alerts, while minimizing “nuisance” alerts that the pilot doesn’t care about. The iFly accomplishes this by analyzing ground track and vertical speed to project upcoming clearance levels.
Terrain alerts are reduced when approaching or departing an airport, and they are totally disabled when the aircraft is within an Airport Zone (a virtual area around all airports in the iFly database). The width and height of the Airport Zone depends on the size of the airport, and also changes if the airport is in your flight plan. When entering an Airport Zone, an alert tone will sound informing you that airspace alerts and terrain highlights are being disabled.
You can Enable/Disable and adjust the Alert Threshold to so that Terrain Alerts and Obstruction Alerts pop less frequently or more frequently.

I note though that it still gives me a "500 feet" callout when I reach that altitude while I am landing. I thought it was amusingly neat the first time I heard it while landing a C-152 with original avionics.