Due to the crummy weather we've been having I've been investigating SkyDemon, going over the various options. It rocked, but the I updated and it's gone wrong. What's happened with the following:

1. Upgraded to February 2010 version

I was going to register the software, because it's awesome. I upgraded and then noticed that it had given me another 30 days evaluation! Well, that's jolly nice but I work in software too and don't want to steal it so thought I'd press on with registering anyway. Just a heads up, that uninstall, then re-install seems to reignite the trial again.

2. IAS seems to have dissapeared from the route ?

Even though I set the PA28 to 100kts IAS when I put my legs in the thing only displays TAS rather than IAS. Is that a bug ? Or is it trying to be clever ? It's only out by a few kts (shows 103, whereas I have 100 set in the PA28 aircraft). I'm just worried that when I glance down I'll see 105 and start flying that, where as I need to be flying 100kts. Is there a way to replace the column with IAS rather TAS as the previous version ? This is in the "route plan" window at the bottom.

3. Global wind seems to have been removed from the top

I used to be able to type in the wind to use i.e. 030/15 at the top of the planner and it would be used for all legs, unless I overrode it. Now it seems to get the wind randomly (automatically downloaded?) and won't let me set one for the whole route ? I never trust downloaded stuff, I like to set it myself. Where is the global wind setting gone ?

4. The clipboard icon has gone for generating plogs

The ULTIMATE feature of this software was the fact that I could click the kneeboard icon and a plog would occur. This seems to have gone. I'm sure it's just hidden, but it used to be up there. As an aside, a way to edit this (remove some of the unwated frequencies would be cool).

I'm sure things have simply been "refactored" but it now makes the whole process very complicated, and I don't really trust it enough to use. Can anybody provide guiding lights as to where it's all gone ? If so, I'll then register in a shot. I even bought the Garmin to go with it, but now SkyDemon seems to have gone wrong!

I will try & answer some of the points but am no sure what u mean in all cases.



First, am not sure which version u were using before. But if it was previous full version then product has changed enormously in the intervening betas to v2. Much as a result of posts on this and other blogs. Tim & co are v responsive as well as having their own great ideas.



I wd recommend you open all the pc widows and see what they do. The one that sets take off time and cruise height also sets the wind from en route tafs .. So wind setting has gone. Plog is now part of a superb print centre.



Suspect ias vs tas is also to do with automatic wind pickup from tafs .. Not sure.



Regarding Garmin I assume you are aware that many of the great features of SD mobile are not available on Garmin. .. Vertical nav, notam and othe alerts etc. I use a 496 for primary route nav but a SD mobile device for all the other excellent stuff.



Hope that helps. D



Hope that helps.

Paul,

1. When we release significant new versions, we do indeed start a new trial period for people who have previously evaluated and had their trial run out. We're just that nice.

2. SkyDemon has always dealt in TAS, though I can appreciate that IAS would be more useful if following a PLOG. In the new version you can input IAS but the plog still shows TAS. We'd appreciate feedback from others about this. SkyDemon does indeed calculate the actual TAS achieved for the IAS you supply, given the enroute conditions.

3. Global forecast winds aloft are now automatically obtained for your journey. As I'm sure you can appreciate, most people there do NOT want valuable toolbar space occupied by a box that lets you type in the wind manually. You'll find this under the Weather menu by clicking Enroute Conditions, if you'd like to type in your own wind each time. Referring to the new winds as "random" is a little unfair as all our discussion about the 2.0 upgrade has mentioned the new forecast winds aloft feature.

4. The clipboard icon has simply changed to a printer, since the print centre now encompasses a lot more than simple PLOG printing. If you click it, however, you instantly get a PLOG, so it hasn't really changed in that regard.

I would politely suggest that you read what has changed in the new version, read the documentation if necessary, and play with the software a little to discover all the features we spent months adding for you.

Thanks for the replies. It all makes sense, personally I'd still rather have IAS for the plog, then it makes cockpit managment simpler. Follow the bearing, for the time indicated at the speed indicated and hey presto arrive where you want to be.

It would also be great to be able to change the plog before printing, so that you could quantize to 5 degree bearings.