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HornetBall@aol.com wrote:
In a message dated 8/21/99 5:48:53 PM EST, rotaryeng@earthlink.net writes:
<< A lot of the stuff
you see on commercial AC hardware such as Archangel
and Avidyne is really off the shelf PC software.
For example look on page 20 in Sept 99 kit planes.
There is an ad for Sierra Flight Systems hardware.
The top screen shown in the ad is Free Flight software.
See the ACRE NL web site link list for Free Flight's
web site. >>
None of the current software from Archangel, Avidyne or
Sierra is even remotely based upon off the shelf PC software. Archangel used
to use a version of Flitemap but gave it up and wrote its own (to DO-178B
standards) in its certification effort. As for Sierra, Free Flight is
capable of rendering a 3-D terrain display in two to six seconds (depending
upon computer). Sierra's 3-D terrain display renders six times per second on
a 200Mhz machine. In addition, Sierra renders airports, obstructions,
overlays air data, etc. And, Sierra's software is being developed to the
dreaded DO-178B standards for certification.
However, there is some cool OTS PC software out there that will run just fine
in your intended application.
It sure looks the same.
Do you write for them? I know they tell people that.
The last thing they want is for people to go with interchangeable
software as software is were the profit center is.
Many outfits are resisting makeing a generic A/C PC computer to run
off-shelf standard MM software as it is too hard to make a profit.
I avoid those outfits like the plague.
I also bug them at airshows by walking up and asking if it
runs off-the-shelf PC software :-) I highly recommend this
procedure :-)
With a generic PC computer if you don't like someones software it is
too eazy to dump them and run somebody else's.
BTW Free Flite software updates pleanty fast enough for me.
Paul Lamar
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