I have also been flying with the Beta Release 7 on the iFLY 720. The biggest addition in release 7 is the terrain awareness. While that may not be important to those in the flatlands, it is critically important to me in the mountains, especially at night. If there is a portrait mode in Beta 7, I haven't found it yet.
I don't know where our nearest ADS-B station is located, but I can usually pick up ADS-B sitting on the ground in Los Alamos. I guess it is line of sight reception, so our nearest station is likely just across the river in Santa Fe. I use the iFly sitting on my kneeboard in the KR and have it mounted below the instrument panel in the Cub. In either case, it always has GPS lock within seconds of turning it on. Yes, it is easily sunlight readable unless you pick up a direct reflection. I use the Ram Mount ball on the back of mine to tip it towards me a bit so I don't get a direct reflection of the sky through the canopy in the KR. The only disappointment with the iFly 720 has been the poor quality of the WiFi. It only gets about half of the range of my cheapo laptop, and large updates almost always fail when using the WiFi. It is my understanding that the guys at Adventure Pilot are working on a fix for the updates failing. It has been much more expedient to download the updates on my laptop (also using WiFi) then plug them into the iFly with a USB memory stick. There is also a newer version of the update where you can just plug the SD card from the iFly into your laptop and have the update program update everything on the card that isn't already up to date. As compared to the iPad, my friends are telling me that major updates to the charts with their iPads require leaving it running the update all night. A comparible large update on the iFly requires about an hour to an hour and a half. -Jeff Scott Los Alamos, NM ----- Original Message ----- From: Dan Heath Sent: 06/19/12 06:08 PM To: 'KRnet' Subject: KR> Flying iFly720 and ADS-B Jeff, Thanks for all the good information. I have so little information on it so far, as the trip to Mark's was the first time I used it and there was no weather to see that day. I learned a lot by reading your post. I think one significant thing to mention about the iFly720 is that it is really sunlight readable, which the IPad is anything but sunlight readable. My iFly had trouble acquiring the satellites when I first installed it in the panel, but now that I added the external antenna, it comes up with 13 satellites acquired almost immediately. Also, on the ADS-B reporting weather. The altitude you have to attain to get the signal is dependent on how close you are to a station. We have one about 40 miles away and get the light on at about 200 ft AGL. I also have the SkyRadar-L. The cost for that unit was around $600 and the iFly720 about $800. I have the iFly720 connected to my Dynon D-10A for the NMEA codes which gives me windspeed and direction. On the way back from Mark's I saw 56 MPH right quartering headwinds at times. I am now in the iFly beta program for release 7, so should have something to report on that soon, although I won't be using the portrait option since mine is mounted in the panel. See N64KR at http://KRBuilder.org - Then click on the pics See you at the 2012 - KR Gathering in Mt. Vernon, Il ? MVN ? 40th Anniversary There is a time for building and it is over. Daniel R. Heath - Lexington, SC http://www.krbuilder.org/MyUSA/
