Features
Airbox Fastplan is the companion planning software to Airbox navigation systems. Fastplan is provided free of charge to all registered customers who have purchased Airbox Clarity and Foresight hardware platforms and is available for purchase to Aware Plus users.
Fastplan allows you to plan routes from your home or office PC and transfer those routes, along with flight logs, user waypoints and other data, to and from your Airbox navigation system.
The essence of Fastplan is its simplicity. Essential functions have been made intuitive, so that planning your route becomes a joy rather than a chore.
Requirements: PC or Apple Mac running Parallels, Window XP or later, 512 MB RAM, minimum screen resolution 1024 x 768
Map
The first part of a pilot’s planning process involves looking at their map to ascertain where and how they are going to get to their ultimate destination. Fastplan allows users to quickly and accurately pan around any of the charts they have loaded on their system. Smooth scrolling, zooming and the ability to switch chart types make the planning process a pleasure from the start. You can drag the map around, pan around using the arrow keys much the same way as you might navigate about Google Earth.
The Search function gives rapid results; anything from airfields, to VRPs, postcodes, user waypoints and IFR intersections can be retrieved, plotted and displayed at the touch of a button.
- Pan and zoom the map simply by dragging it with your mouse
- Access important functions quickly through the tool bar
- Search for airfields, VRPs, Navaids and User Waypoint
- Print sections of chart with your route
Download live NOTAMs
Definition: “NOTAM – A notice distributed by means of telecommunication containing information concerning the establishment, condition or change in any aeronautical facility, service, procedure or hazard, the timely knowledge of which is essential to personnel concerned with flight operations.”
NOTAMs form a vital part of the modern day flight planning process and can confuse even the most experienced pilots if not presented in a clear and concise manner. Airbox Aerospace receives its NOTAM data direct from EuroControl, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation.
This data is downloaded from the European AIS database and presented to the user in a visual format, overlaid onto Fastplan’s map display screen. Right clicking on a visual NOTAM opens a more in depth analysis of the NOTAM which the user can then choose to mark as read or unread.Users can filter this data by relevancy e.g. by date or by region
NOTAM data is delivered live to Airbox users and will appear automatically on Fastplan.
- Overlay NOTAMs directly onto the map
- Quickly read through multiple overlaid NOTAMs
- Easily filter NOTAMs by exact time of flight, height, flight rules and many other criteria, to leave yourself only the NOTAMs which interest you
- View a NOTAM inbox and search through for particular NOTAMs
(requires NOTAMs & Weather subscription)
Check airspace for the route
Europe, and in particular the UK has some of the busiest and complicated airspace for pilots to navigate through and around. Airbox Aerospace airspace definitions come direct from the sources that generated it; in the case of the UK this data is compiled and hosted by NATS. Fastplan will automatically download these airspace definitions on the day they are issued.
The definitions can change up to 13 times a year on the 28 day AIRAC cycle so its important that pilots have access to data that is current and has a high level of integrity. Pilots can be assured that Airbox Aerospace Limited goes out of its way to source pure data.
We only use data that we know to be accurate.
Display of Fastplan route profile
- Set the height at which you plan to fly and then press the ‘Airspace’ button to highlight all of the airspace which will be controlled at your planned flying height
- Get more information on any airspace simply by right-clicking it
- Bring up a height profile of your route complete with airspace and terrain. Simply move your mouse over the airspace to bring up more information
Find out about airfields
More often than not you’ll want to find out about an airfield you plan to visit. How long is the runway? What hours is the tower manned? What types of fuel are available. Right clicking on an airfield or conducting a name search brings up all the relevant information you might need. If its greater detail you are after then selecting the approach plate option once you right clicked an airfield will produce the relevant Pooley’s plate(s) for that airfield.
The Pooley’s approach plates are geo-referenced and can be viewed both in Fastplan and on the Clarity and Foresight devices.
- Simply right-click on any airfield to bring up more information
- You can also visualise runways on the map and, if you have a weather subscription, overlay wind to see which runway is likely to be in use and whether there’s a crosswind component
- A weather subscription will also give a much more detailed airfield weather report including cloud base, visibility, general weather conditions and temperature
If its greater detail you are after then selecting the approach plate option once you right clicked an airfield will produce the relevant Pooley’s plate(s) for that airfield (subject to availability).The Pooley’s approach plates are geo-referenced and can be viewed both in Fastplan and on the Clarity and Foresight devices.
The digitised version of Pooleys 2011 United Kingdom Flight Guide available to Airbox users is illustrated in full colour . It sets the standard in aeronautical information and presentation. Published annually (and updated four times a year) the approach plates are produced with the assistance of the Civil Aviation Authority, pilots, and aerodromes.
Pooley’s approach plates provides definitive information on more than 370 UK aerodromes, with over 320 landing charts and multi-coloured area charts, private airfields and farm strips, helicopter landing sites, microlight sites, glider sites, parascending sites, free-fall parachute sites, notified controlled airspace, airspace classification, VFR criteria & VMC minima, specified minimum weather provisions, recommended aerodrome operating minima, ATC regulations & procedures, air traffic control services, controlling authorities & comms frequencies, MATZ & LARS, DACS & DAMS, meteorological services, landing fees, sunrise/sunset tables and many other items of useful aeronautical information.
Plan complex routes
Whether you are out for a local “bimble” or flying to Italy via the Swiss Alps, the ability to quickly visualise your route on a chart, create a start and end waypoint and add and delete waypoints quickly is key to successful flight planning.
With Fastplan users can quickly set up complex routes, avoiding prohibited airspace, routing via key airfields, and generally experience a level a flight planning simplicity that making using the software a complete pleasure.
Your route goes through restricted airspace? Simply drag it out of the way.
Once you’ve created a route you can save it, view it in Google Earth or transfer it directly to your Airbox device. Planning has never been this easy.
- Plan routes by searching for start and destination points (which can be airfields, VRPs, User Waypoints or Navaids)
- Plan routes by simply finding your start and destination points on the map
- Click and drag the route to insert new waypoints and route overhead VRPs and Navaids and around controlled and restricted airspace
See your route in Google Earth
Eradicate the uncertainty of flying into a new airfield for the first time without having researched your approach previously.
By viewing your route in Google Earth™ you can do just that. Now pilots can effectively visualise important stages of the route and airspace while creating a mental image of their final approach.
- Send routes and airspace into Google Earth in 3D
- View airfield approaches from the direction from which you’ll be arriving
- Visualise airspace structures and how they relate to your route
- Share Google Earth tracks with your friends
Check the weather
Airbox Aerospace has created a quick reference weather system allowing pilots to assess the weather, at a glance, for their route. Weather data is derived from N.O.A.A., the United States’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which provides highly accurate weather data for the entire planet.
METAR data shows an icon depicting airfield weather type, wind direction (the size of the arrow gives an indication of wind strength) and a colour code currently in use by the British Armed Forces to depict visibility and cloud base. Right clicking on these weather icons gives users access to a more detailed “weather card” displaying data such as wind speed, dew points, temperature, actual cloud base height and visibility etc.
- Each zone is classified according to military colour codes, from VFR to IFR
- An arrow overlaid onto the map shows wind direction
- Clicking on the weather station allows viewing further information including cloud base, wind and visibility
(Requires NOTAMs & Weather subscription)
The Sidebar
The sidebar gives users rapid access to information; find an airfield, VRP, user waypoint, postcode, or filter NOTAMs, display an obstacle database for the UK, or a previously flown route. It’s here you can display airfield information, turn on extended runway centre-lines or filter out airspace that is irrelevant to your flight plans.
- Search and find Airfields, Navaids, and Postcodes
- Filter Airspace by height
- Filter NOTAMs by height, date and time, traffic and a range of other options
- Turn on and off map overlays
- View waypoint lists with distances and headings
Load, save and sync routes
Once you’ve created a route, however complex, you may want to use it at a later date so simply give it a name and save it. Previosuly saved routes can be loaded from either Fastplan or an Airbox device that has been synced with the software. All saved routes are automatically transferred to your Airbox device when you sync it with Fastplan so wherever you are, you can retrieve saved routes for your GPS device.
- Load and Save virtually unlimited numbers of routes
- Load, view and edit routes not only made in Fastplan but also from your Airbox navigation system
- Mark routes as Favourites for quick recall
Custom waypoints
Often a grass strip or private airfield simply won’t be in the Airbox database so Fastplan allows you to make and view custom waypoints.
- Add unlicensed strips and often used waypoints to your own Airbox database
- View and edit waypoints created both in Fastplan and on your Airbox navigation system
Synchronise your Airbox GPS
Synchronise Fastplan with your Airbox Navigation System.
- Synchronise Flight Logs, User Waypoints, Routes and other important data
- Install software upgrades to your Airbox Navigation system via Fastplan
- Use Fastplan to download the latest charts and airspace data direct to your GPS
Choice of charts
Your Fastplan will come supplied with the charts that you have on your Airbox Navigation system, typically the ICAO 1:500,000 charts that most pilots learn to fly with. This familiarity instantly helps to improve a pilot’s situational awareness as he or she flies through an ever more crowded airspace. Many other chart types and scales are available and can be installed onto both your desktop and GPS device via Fastplan itself. If you prefer me can mail out a disc or SD card with the chart data on.
Fastplan displays data as layers above these charts such as weather, NOTAMs, airspace and previously flown routes so pilots will never be in doubt as to whether information displayed is relevant to their route planning.
- Updates to charts can be installed onto your navigation system through Fastplan
- Subscribe to chart services and download them on the same day that they become effective
- Quickly switch charts with the dropdown menu at the top of the Fastplan screen.
Automatic updates
Fasplan will update itself automatically over the Internet
- Changes to both the Flight Planning software and Device software will automatically download, so you’ll always have the latest features
- New airspace will download, so that you can always fly with the latest definition
