Land a Plane with your iPad – APP THAT Series
Our new weekly series APP THAT will showcase the best apps that we could dig up each week. Not apps that are boring and useless like most are, but ones that serve a purpose. This weeks app is XAVION.
Imagine you’re on an airplane and both pilots become incapacitated. The plane has no pilot and the stewardess’ are running around the cabin looking for someone who can fly and land a plane. No luck. One person, however, raises their hand and explains that he has an app that can do it. That app is called Xavion and it may save many lives.
Here are a few of the features of the Xavion app:
- airspeed indicator (minus any wind effects, since it knows only your ground speed),
- artificial horizon (based on the iPads’ internal gyros, accelerometers, and GPS if available),
- altimeter (minus any barometric pressure effects, since it is based on GPS),
- slip indicator (based on the the iPads’ internal accelerometers—just as good as a real “ball”),
- heading indicator (minus any wind effects, since it knows only your ground track), and
- vertical speed indicator (minus any barometric pressure effects, since it is based on GPS).
Xavion is the type of app that is the clear head a pilot needs in a time of trouble. If an engine goes out and you need to find a runway quickly, Xavion is on it. If your primary instrument panel goes out, Xavion will be your back-up instrument panel using external GPS that could be even better than your planes original instrument panel.
Think about this app as something a novice pilot could use to train him or her to become a better pilot. It could help them overcome situations that may happen in that air that could save lives, and could teach them what to do if they don’t have the Xavion with them at the time.
What else can this incredible app do?
With point-to-point navigation from Xavion, just enter your destination and desired altitude. Xavion provides easy-to-fly “hoops” to take you there.
Plus, Xavion will estimate your ETA and fuel burn at different altitudes, so you can choose the fastest or the most efficient path. (Via Xavion)
When it comes to flying in the air, you need everything possible at your disposal to keep you are your passengers safe. At $19.99 a month or $199 a year, this app could turn a dire situation into an inconvenience. Head over to the App Store and get it now. Imagine if they had this on the airplane from LOST? That would have saved all of us 6 years!
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Jeff Sorensen is an author, writer and occasional comedian living in Detroit, Michigan. You can look for more of his work on The Huffington Post, UPROXX, BGR and by just looking up his name.