July 9, 2009 - For Immediate Release
Affordable Electronic
Charts Finally Reach the Cockpit
Atlanta, Georgia -
Instrument pilots have long had to deal with a frustrating
problem - picking their way through stacks of approach
charts during flight. EFB (electronic flight bag)
applications have provided paperless flight for some time,
but their high price tags put them out of reach for many
pilots. The solution seems to have come from an unlikely
source: Amazon's new generation of Kindle ebook readers,
including their large-format Kindle DX.
Gold Seal, a Georgia-based publisher of pilot training
multimedia products, seized the opportunity and developed a
new product called AirBrief. Using the internet, the site delivers
instrument approach charts, Airport/Facility Directories, and
a number of other aviation documents, ready for use on the
Kindle DX ebook reader. The device's screen has almost the
exact same dimensions as an approach plate. Charts and A/FD
pages appear on it full scale with an astonishing degree of
clarity. Gold Seal is also developing support for the
smaller
original Kindle as well as other platforms.
|
| Rob
Resnik and Scott Yanke are representative of the dozens of
pilots that have been involved in the new product's beta
test. None had any affiliation with either Amazon or Gold
Seal, and participated in the trial independently.
"The charts are full sized and look beautiful," said Resnik. "With the page index, it's two clicks
and you have the approach plates for any airport in the
country. Tremendous utility and I don't have to worry about charts blowing away
when I open my vents on a hot day."
Scott Yanke reported, "For
several years I've been looking for a way to replace 40
pounds of paper charts in the airplane. AirBrief on the
Kindle DX seems to be the ultimate solution to this problem.
It provides the perfect combination of size, readability,
and battery life, and best of all with no panning or zooming
needed." While
the Kindle DX allows users to copy their own .pdf files
onto the device, a fundamental problem immediately appears
with this technique -
inability to quickly search for specific pages or charts.
|
 |
"One solution is for people to make every approach a separate
file on their Kindles," noted Gold Seal's technology chief,
Paul Kiefert. "This works fine if you only want charts for a
couple of airports. But if a pilot needs plates for several
states, this quickly turns into thousands of files. It can
be a real mess." AirBrief solves the problem by
computing page indices that allow users to instantly jump to
any airport in an A/FD or TERP volume.
In addition to providing current
FAA charts and documents, AirBrief includes an
on-demand component called LiveBrief. Kindle users
will be able to request and receive books tailored to
specific airports. These are defined by the user and can
include any combination of A/FD information, current weather
charts, airport diagrams, and approach plates.
"LiveBriefs
are delivered straight to the pilot's Kindle in under two
minutes," Kiefert said. "Because it uses the Kindle's
built-in Whispernet access, pilots can get these almost
anywhere in the country. No wifi connections needed."
Users may register at
www.AirBrief.com for
free. Access to all components of the service is free during
an introductory period.
#
#
#
For more
information email:
russell@goldsealflight.com
Gold Seal
Ventures, LLC
460 Briscoe Blvd.
Gwinnett County Airport
Lawrenceville, GA 30045
www.GoldSealFlight.com |
(c) Copyright 2009 by Gold
Seal Ventures, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
|