Add a message/alarm option to waypoints

Hook

Hook

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It would be good if any custom waypoint would have the option to "pop up" a user-supplied message/alarm when the user approaches that waypoint (gets within a specified radius). This option should be accessible via the map or the Flight Plan. To make it maximally flexible, allow this option for any waypoint (whether custom or not). E.g. an airport

Examples:
  • A fly-in requires that you make a radio call at xyz location, so you set up a custom waypoint centered on xyz and specify that when within 5 miles of that waypoint a message box appears that says "Give aircraft type/color on 123.45".
  • You're a low-flyer, and you know there are wires crossing your route at xyz, so you define a custom waypoint that pops up the message "East-West wires across river at 50 ft" when you get within 2 miles of that waypoint.
Besides the message and the radius, maybe provide an additional option to say whether this is just a message, or it's an alarm.

If you'd like to see this feature, then upvote it by using the up-arrow to the right of this post.
 
Upvote 8 Downvote
You can already add a Custom Waypoint, and add "info" as name. If you add the Name & Distance instruments to your EFB display, you have the 'warning' of an ongoing countdown to that Waypoint. Easy, and already available
 
Thank you for your suggestion, but... If I understand your proposed solution (use the waypoint's name as the message/warning that I want to see, and use the Name instrument to somehow bring this message to my attention [the Distance instrument is not a help for what I'm asking for, though I have that instrument]) then I have to give you an "A" for effort, but "D" for solving the problem. [Edit: Sorry BobW, I aplogize for an unnecessarily snarky throwaway line.]

I should say here that what you're suggesting is what I've had to do in the past. It doesn't work well.

I do have those instruments, and am familiar with them. Doing it as suggested just provides a short line of very tiny text in a small box on the screen that I basically have to be looking for the whole flight, because nothing brings it to a person's attention. And that box can get populated way before I want to see the message if the leg leading to that waypoint is long. And then I have to tap on it to read the full text. Which, again, is very tiny if the message (name) is long.

It does not provide the persistent popup window I'm asking for, or the ability to make it a warning (with presumably a warning sound).

As a practical matter, there are some other issues... If the name of the Waypoint becomes long, it doesn't display on the map unless you know where it is and zoom in hard on it. When it's long enough (which is not very long): A) it doesn't display at any zoom level; B) you can't (or barely can) read the text as you're typing it in as the waypoint name because the font has gone so small. Lastly, if you have multiple waypoints that all start with similar text in the first 26 characters then they all look the same in the flight plan page (26 or so is all that displays on my phone -- it probably is better on a tablet though).
 
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Hook said:
Thank you for your suggestion, but... If I understand your proposed solution (use the waypoint's name as the message/warning that I want to see, and use the Name instrument to somehow bring this message to my attention [the Distance instrument is not a help for what I'm asking for, though I have that instrument]) then I have to give you an "A" for effort, but "D" for solving the problem.

I should say here that what you're suggesting is what I've had to do in the past. It doesn't work well.

I do have those instruments, and am familiar with them. Doing it as suggested just provides a short line of very tiny text in a small box on the screen that I basically have to be looking for the whole flight, because nothing brings it to a person's attention. And that box can get populated way before I want to see the message if the leg leading to that waypoint is long. And then I have to tap on it to read the full text. Which, again, is very tiny if the message (name) is long.

It does not provide the persistent popup window I'm asking for, or the ability to make it a warning (with presumably a warning sound).

As a practical matter, here are some other issues... If the name of the Waypoint becomes long, it doesn't display on the map unless you know where it is and zoom in hard on it. When it's long enough (which is not very long): A) it doesn't display at any zoom level; B) you can't (or barely can) read the text as you're typing it in as the waypoint name because the font has gone so small. Lastly, if you have multiple waypoints that all start with similar text in the first 26 characters then they all look the same in the flight plan page (26 or so is all that displays on my phone -- it probably is better on a tablet though).
Click to expand...
Hook, I've been marking wires with a custom waypoint and then setting the Size to Medium or larger. That makes the waypoint easy to see, and I can set it as an actual waypoint in a flight plan--so that I'll fly directly to it if I choose to. That doesn't address the problem of small font if the name is long. But there's a Description window in Edit Custom Waypoint that lets you identify each of several waypoints with the same name. Unfortunately, the description doesn't appear on the Map; but it does in the alphabetical list of waypoints, so you can tell them apart there. This is not what you want, but it helps me as a workaround. Here's how one (that almost killed me) looks in the editor and on the map:

1684547304821.png
 
Don, thanks for the additional info and 3 tweaks I don't normally use (font size, color, and description). And those all make for a good waypoint if you can see it in the map clutter, and you're looking at the map at the right time, and as long as the text is short.

However, again, I'm asking for a popup window, which will bring the user's attention to the screen, to text (which may be long) that they provided, at a user-settable distance from a waypoint.

If tweaking the current waypoint logic or structure in the program would be hard, perhaps a different entity could be created. Call it a "Hotspot" or something, instead of Waypoint. To me, it just seems logical to make it a waypoint option, and seems like a useful enhancement. At least 6 whole people agree, woohoo!
 
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Hook said:
Don, thanks for the additional info and a 3 tweaks I don't normally use (font size, color, and description). And those all make for a good waypoint if you can see it in the map clutter, and you're looking at the map at the right time, and as long as the text is short.

However, again, I'm asking for a popup window, which will bring the user's attention to the screen, to text (which may be long) that they provided, at a user-settable distance from a waypoint.

If tweaking the current waypoint logic or structure in the program would be hard, perhaps a different entity could be created. Call it a "Hotspot" or something, instead of Waypoint. To me, it just seems logical to make it a waypoint option, and seems like a useful enhancement. At least 6 whole people agree, woohoo!
Click to expand...
I upvoted. I think this feature makes sense -- it's similar to VST Alert -- telling you "It's time to Descend".

You are wanting a way to set custom triggers that "Ding!" and show a reminder message to you "It's time to XYZ"... or in Don's case "Wires nearby, 100'". The idea is that in case you are brain farting away, this alarm helps to ensure you don't forget to do something important.

I could see this feature having a few ways to set it up:
1. Any waypoint, can have message alarm attached for "X minutes before you reach here" or "X minutes after you pass here", etc.
2. Custom Waypoint with defined warning Radius - pops message if you enter this radius. Custom Waypoint does NOT need to be in your flight plan for this to trigger.
3. Same as #2- but using a rectangular area, instead of circle -- so you define Height, Width, and Rotation of this rectangle -- this would allow you to better define the warning area for wires, or a line-of-something -- which doesn't resemble a circle at all.
 
Great. Thanks.

I was thinking of #2 when I made the request. It shouldn't need to be in the flight plan.

#3 is better, but how to make it simple to set up and intuitive for the user? Put a box on the map and let the user drag-size it I suppose. But #2 is dead simple to understand and specify.

An option to delay the alert by x minutes, mentioned in #1, may also be handy sometimes, and would be easy to understand and set.
 
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Brian said:
2. Custom Waypoint with defined warning Radius - pops message if you enter this radius. Custom Waypoint does NOT need to be in your flight plan for this to trigger.
Click to expand...
I was also picturing something like option 2. Options 1 and 3 are good as well but I'd prioritize them 2, 1, 3.

Option 1 would be a neat feature in the flight plan for popping up a custom timer (count up or count down), a message reminder of some sort (prep for frequency change, or decide xyz or even a last minute warning of "Landing Gear" x distance from the end of the runway). We have routines and mnemonics and checklists but in a busy environment or some other distraction this might provide a little bit of backup.

Like Don I have some custom waypoints that identify wires as well as sandbars and other shallow locations that look ok from above but I know from being on the water doing other sports that these are bad places to go with my seaplane. Having these marked reminds me to adjust my flight path slightly or be aware of them in case of an emergency. Option 3 would allow me to sketch in the sandbar shapes/length.

Tony
 
I like your example of creating a popup at an airport to remind you to check the gear. In fact, just a general gear warning option would be great. I'm going to suggest that.
 
Brian said:
I upvoted. I think this feature makes sense -- it's similar to VST Alert -- telling you "It's time to Descend".

You are wanting a way to set custom triggers that "Ding!" and show a reminder message to you "It's time to XYZ"... or in Don's case "Wires nearby, 100'". The idea is that in case you are brain farting away, this alarm helps to ensure you don't forget to do something important.

I could see this feature having a few ways to set it up:
1. Any waypoint, can have message alarm attached for "X minutes before you reach here" or "X minutes after you pass here", etc.
2. Custom Waypoint with defined warning Radius - pops message if you enter this radius. Custom Waypoint does NOT need to be in your flight plan for this to trigger.
3. Same as #2- but using a rectangular area, instead of circle -- so you define Height, Width, and Rotation of this rectangle -- this would allow you to better define the warning area for wires, or a line-of-something -- which doesn't resemble a circle at all.
Click to expand...
I like all of those ideas--basically, anything that will alert you to whatever you want to be alerted to. With wires, for example, the distance might vary with the terrain. The wire that almost got me over the Ohio River suddenly appeared in front of me at about 800 feet, when I was just beginning to let down for a splash-and-go. I figured out later that it ran from a hilltop well away from on the north bank diagonally downward to a tower about a quarter mile from the river on the south bank. BANG there it was. So for that kind of situation you'd probably want at least half a mile warning, maybe more, because the wire could appear at any altitude. A low wire across a narrower river or pond can kill you just as dead, but because it's low and probably more or less horizontal, you might not need as much warning.

A landing gear alert is really interesting! I hadn't thought of having a GPS do that, but it makes perfect sense--and not only for seaplanes. Any retractable needs the gear in the right place for landing, and I think having the GPS pop up a reminder maybe a mile out would be helpful. (I wouldn't make it much closer, though, because it might be too distracting there.) It would be especially helpful for amphibians, because you need to put the gear down for land, but up for water. That's what makes it hard. Amphib pilots learn to always get the gear up after every takeoff--period. But still, every landing has to get it right, and although gear-up on land is embarrassing, gear-down on water is usually fatal. I have a terriffic landing gear alert on my SeaRey that has saved me more than once. But for iFly to add another reminder would be excellent. Maybe that could be set in the aircraft profile so that fixed-gear pilots wouldn't have to worry about it.
 
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