Smartphone based weather radar app?

PocketFms as had radar overlay for years. Not in the new app yet though.

On android I use rainy days too.

But all of the is pointless in the air without some data connection.

Recently, a Beech Bonanza crashed in the USA. The pilot had been avoiding wx by using an ipad and a 'radar' app updated through the data connection. To actually think that he could avoid weather and weave his way around cells in this manner is rather worrying to say the least!

I have an Avidyne MLX770 which downloads weather data and lightning strikes via iridium satellite onto my MFD. I use it for strategic decisions on long flights in the air. If you have it on the max update rate, you get a refresh every 5-10 minutes, but of course you have no idea how old the data is before they upload it. My view is that you need to know what's happening before you take off, but if things start turning bad 50-250 miles ahead according to the uploaded radar then you have an opportunity to change plans.

It's useful for watching what's tending to happen. Ie radar returns getting bigger/stronger/smaller/weaker. It's a huge amount better than nothing IMHO.

I wouldn't dream of trying to dodge anything using that data. I have had one instance though where I was in the murk and things suddenly started getting worse where I was (no echos to significant echos) and I found it was useful to know that at least. I aimed for the bit that seemed most open and it worked fine for me that time.

The biggest problem for me based in southern france is that they don't yet have a deal with spain or the area round the cote d'azur.

It also includes I/R cloud cover, but I have found that to be basically useless - doesn't correspond to what's actually there a lot of the time.

That's very useful input.

What kind of costs are you looking at, and at what level of usage?

I didn't know they offered IR images. I use them extensively, to get an idea of cloud top heights, to gauge whether a flight is likely to be possible VMC on top (I do very little IMC enroute) but it is only very approximate at best, and one needs to be prepared to climb high if necessary.

The MLX770 was quite expensive - 6000 quid or so, but I was doing a big avionics upgrade on my Mooney 2 years ago and I was also installing an EX500 MFD, and it seemed like a good idea.

I am paying $35 per month to use it.

I am flying about 100-120 hrs a year at the moment, the vast majority on instrument flight plans in visual conditions - similar situation to you, except I don't have oxygen (except a portable bottle which seems to make very little difference if I'm honest - there's another discussion thread there!)

When I am not in such good conditions, I find the weather data useful (and rather comforting), in the sense of watching 'tendancies', and as confirmation (or not) of what I am expecting.

Occasionally I wonder if I should have gone for a TAS system instead, but I am in controlled airspace most of the time, and when the weather is bad I really appreciate it. I am not sure how I'd feel about long trips without it now.

Incidentally there's an add-on for the MLX770 which gives you wifi internet access in the aircraft using the MLX as a modem ... I don't have that, I hate to think what the data costs would be.

I'm holding back on installing a weather download solution because I think in the near future there must be an affordable solution involving the iPad. Peter's setup is close to that but I don't want to carry a Windows laptop and the whole cabling.

Personally I think that the days of certified MFDs are over. They add very little value over what you can get today from an iPad but they cost a fortune and they don't advance as quickly as the mobile devices. Whether an MFD is certified or not doesn't really make a difference and if you assume that a certified device is more reliable, then just carry two iPads -- which is what I do because my approach plates are only on the iPad.

So what I need is a Thuraya phone that can establish a bluetooth data connection to an iPad. Where is it?

If you are in IMC, and it's rough, I find I am grateful for certified devices.

I use JeppView on my iPad, but I also have paper copies. Why? Because I left my ipad on my dash for 2 minutes once on a hot day in spain, and when I picked it up it said 'device temperature too high, allow to cool and then try again'.

It's a great device! But as a key piece of equipment for flying in IMC? Not yet, for me anyway.

Incidentally - I find ipad JeppView on my crashes all the time, especially when switching back to it from another app. Am I the only one?

Hi guys,

I write from SkyDemon, and I can certainly say it would be great if we could work with one of these data providers and bring more detailed weather breifing to the table. I have already contacted some of them, but if you want to drop any more data source suggestions through to me directly my email address is rob(at)skydemon.aero.

@FatalFlaw: I can confirm the constant JeppFD crashes on the iPad -- very annoying. That's why I carry two iPads on board.

If your electric system breaks down in IMC, so will your MFD. My iPad will keep working

Actually, I've spent a lot of thought about electrical failures in IMC. It's much more likely than an engine failure and it can be as bad. Most devices are not battery buffered, like the ubiquitous GNS430/530.