Warbred Studios DevBlog!

Lateral analysis and graphing for FlightScale!

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2012-02-20T21:57:40-05:00

I finally have lateral envelope analysis integrated in to FlightScale!

The helicopter template will now allow the user to define a longitudinal and lateral envelope and test against both to let you know if you are within the limits or not. The Email Report feature will also display both graphs and details for you to send out.

Thanks everyone for the feedback. More great stuff to come.

FlightPlan E6B released for Android!

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2012-02-12T01:25:51-05:00

FlightPlan is an application I have been developing for iOS since 2008. The android version is the first step to bringing all of that functionality to the android platform.

The android version has initially launch with the basic E6B functions that FlightPlan is known for. FlightPlan for android will continue to improve as I integrate more and more features, and all new features will be included free of charge. I'm always looking for user's feedback, so please feel free to email me with suggestions!

Also, if you notice any anomalies on your device please let me know. It seems to be difficult to predict how the app will look on all devices, and I appreciate your patience while I work through any issues that are reported.

Check it out on the android market here: http://bit.ly/zHjgYq

Helicopter pilots will be happy!

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2012-02-12T01:17:13-05:00

I have almost completed an update that I know helicopter pilots have been waiting for…lateral plot and envelope analysis!

There will be a smaller update hitting your devices within the next few days. After that, I will be finishing up the lateral plot and envelope analysis changes and submitting them. Then, it is just a waiting game until Apple approves the updates.

More stuff to come. Thanks everyone for your patience while I work on your requests.

Up next for FlightScale

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2011-11-21T23:22:34-05:00

FlightScale has seen a good amount of attention lately. It just got the “Email Report” feature and has already received an update to enhance that further. It’ll get more improvements down the line too, but for the most part people seem to be happy with it so far.

Another large issue I have been needing to address is the ability for helicopter pilots to define “Lateral Envelopes”. I believe this will be coming soon; I’ve started taking steps to prepare for this feature.

Before I tackle lateral envelopes, I decided to redesign how I handle limits in the software. While the interface to the user will remain very much the same, “under the hood” things are changing significantly. The end result will make it much easier for me to change and enhance limit related functionality.

Also, you’ll be getting more limit points available to you too (which will make some of you happy).

After the lateral envelope feature, I want to enhance the “Non-linear Fuel” feature further. Specifically, I’d like to make it so every fuel entry can have its own non-linear fuel table specified.

So, that is what is on my plate right now for FlightScale. Thank you to all of the users that provide feedback, and to those of you showing off the software to your friends and colleagues. Your support is appreciated and helps insure continued developement.

FlightScale's Email Report Feature [Updated]

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2011-10-31T00:00:44-04:00

I have just cut builds of both FlightScale and FlightPlanHD (containing the new FlightScale) and submitted them to Apple for approval! I expect these should be approved within the week!

This first implementation of the Email Report will provide basic data, such as the summary of the resulting weights / CGs and the plot, and allows you to type in extra data if you wish. All of this will be shipped off (via email) to you, your employer, or whomever you send it to!

I’m looking forward to feedback to hear what other data people would like in their reports. I expect to be expanding on the options of this reporting feature quite a bit in the coming months, so send me your feedback!

Here are a couple screenshots to show you what it looks like! (Please note that the data in the following screenshots is not guaranteed to accurately represent a Piper Seneca. Values may have been changed during testing and may not reflect a real aircraft).

FlightScale Email Report Imminent

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2011-10-27T23:40:29-04:00

FlightScale (and FlightPlanHD) will finally be getting the ability to send an email report of your Weight and Balance. This feature has been in my “to do” list for quite some time and I’m happy to say it is finally coming soon!

The report will contain the CG Plot Graph with your Ramp, Takeoff, Landing, and Zero fuel points in your envelope, as well as the text values of the points.

I know a lot of people have been waiting for this feature for some time now and I sincerely appreciate your patience.

I do not have an exact ETA of when to expect the update, but likely in a few weeks it should be out. Watch either this DevBlog or @WarbredStudios on twitter for updates on when to expect this feature to go out.

FlightLogHD Released!

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2011-09-23T14:46:46-04:00

FlightLogHD has just been released!

FlightLogHD brings the log management and analysis tools of FlightPlan to the iPad, and utilizes the larger screen to make it easier than ever to manage flight time.

Check it out on iTunes here:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/flightloghd/id466199184?ls=1&mt=8

If you are an existing user be sure to back up your existing flight time using the Dropbox backup/recovery feature built in to FlightLog. If you do not already have your free Dropbox account, use this link to create it and get an extra 250mb of free storage! http://db.tt/XfNTSbj

From the original version of FlightLog simply log in to the Backup/Recover feature and tap “Backup to Dropbox”. Then, from FlightLogHD on your iPad log in to the Backup/Recover feature and tap “Recover from Dropbox”. Simple as that!

Thank you everyone that has provided feedback and requests. This knocks a large item off my “To Do” list. Now on to the next…

Sneak Peek - FlightLogHD

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2011-08-23T22:43:01-04:00

As many of you know I’ve been working on preparing an iPad native version of FlightLog. This version will be designed to take advantage the beautiful screen of our iPads!

I’m getting closer to completing the initial version of this project and I thought I would post a couple pictures of what screens may look like. Please note that these screen may not represent what the final released version will look like, but are presented to demonstrate how the larger screen will be utilized to aid in entering / displaying data.

Enjoy!

FlightScale Enhancements

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2011-06-26T21:12:43-04:00

The update for FlightScale I have been working on is almost ready to go and I will be submitting it very soon. I wanted to mention that I have improved how FlightScale handles Landing Weight.

Now, instead of adding an entry to the weight / arm table to specify the landing weight, you’ll be able to specify a “Ramp Burn” and a “Trip Burn” on each fuel entry. I believe this is a much easier approach and less confusing for the user. Plus, who wants to have to pre-calculate the landing weight anyway? You’re entering data in to a computer...it should do that for you...right? :)

So, this update currently will bring the following improvements:

Ability to specify a utility / acrobatic envelope (for visual purposes).
Improvements to landing weight entry.
Ability to provide Ramp Burn and Trip Burn values.
Ability to specify Max Ramp Weight, and Max Zero Fuel Weight

Here are a couple screens showing the new Ramp & Trip Burn

More goodies for FlightScale Coming!

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2011-06-19T23:13:23-04:00

As some of the followers know I have been working on adding the Utility/Acrobatic envelope definition to FlightScale and am almost done with it. While I’m knee deep in the code I’ve decided to try to get even more features integrated for the next release.

You can look forward to being able to define a “Ramp Burn” for fuel. This is the amount of fuel you burn during your taxi and run-up.

Also, you can now define a Max Ramp Weight as well as a Max Zero Fuel Weight along with the Max Takeoff and Max Landing weight already provided.

If you provide a “Ramp Burn” value you will see up to 4 dots on your plot now. An “R”, “T”, “L”, and “Z” (for Ramp, Takeoff, Landing, and Zero Fuel).

It is all still in the works, but I hope to have this update wrapped up and submitted to Apple very soon. Stay tuned!

Utility Envelope Plot for FlightScale / FlightPlanHD

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2011-06-16T00:37:04-04:00

I have been working hard to integrate more functionality in to FlightScale and FlightPlanHD. I’ve had requests to allow a utility/acrobatic envelope definition to be added to the plot alongside the normal plot. I’m happy to say it is coming along nicely!

The interface for entering the new envelope will be familiar to current users. On the top of the limits list there is now a selection control where you can switch over to define the utility category.

It is important to note that the utility envelope is passive in that it won’t automatically check if you are in or outside of it. It is a visual aid that will plot in your graph so that you can visually do the checks yourself if you want to.

Even though the feature isn’t complete yet I want to give you a sneak peak at what it may look like. Please note that the interfaces may change before release and that this is a sample only and does not represent actual Cessna 152 Utility Envelope data.

FlightLog 3.4 Submitted

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2011-06-06T23:55:45-04:00

FlightLog 3.4 has been submitted to Apple! This update brings the new “Legacy Time” entry screen that will allow bulk entry of previously obtained hours.

I was hesitant to add this feature because it presents a limitation that I discuss in the User Guide for FlightLog:

http://warbredstudios.com/flightlog/flightlog_user_guide.html

I did receive a lot of requests for this feature, however, so I decided to make the option available to users if they want to use it.

I welcome feedback from users if they have ideas on how to improve the functionality of this and other features.

Thank you all for writing me with your feedback about my software, and your patience while I do my best to get your requests completed.

WarbredStudios is on twitter!

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2011-05-22T22:47:16-04:00

I've been trying to find the best avenues that gets news to you guys about what I'm working on and when to expect new features. Currently I have the Community Forums, the News screen in FlightPlan, and the DevBlog.

I realize that checking websites and subscribing to RSS feeds is very 2005. People like their news/updates quick and delivered to them instantly. For this reason I created a Twitter account just for you!

Follow WarbredStudios on Twitter and you'll receive my tweets about my current development and when to expect new features.

Thank you to all of the dedicated users out there, especially those providing useful feedback on my apps. More great updates coming soon!

FlightPlanHD - FlightPlan for the iPad!

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2011-03-17T01:40:16-04:00

It is finally here!

FlightPlanHD is the iPad version of the aviation super-tool, FlightPlan - Pilot's Toolbox. FlightPlanHD isn't just a port of FlightPlan's iPhone functionality, it has some special tools built in specifically designed for the larger screen format.

FlightScale is built in! FlightScale is a powerful and evolving weight and balance app for the iPad. Rather than just bring over the iPhone's weight and balance tools (that are a bit more limited because of the smaller screen) I integrated the full version of FlightScale right in to FlightPlanHD! For a full list of FlightScale's features please read about it on the website.

The Navigation Log Calculator is a new FlightPlanHD feature that doesn't yet exist in the iPhone version. This screen makes quick work of calculating your VFR navigation log reports.

All of the tools available for the iPhone version have been brought over too, and the larger screen makes these functions more useful than ever! Here are a few screenshots below!

Spring is coming, enjoy the skies!

FlightScale Update Coming

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2011-02-28T00:16:50-05:00

The passed couple months I worked heavily on FlightLog to get the new backup/recovery system in place. That feature has been a big success with users and I’m glad to finally get this frequently requested feature integrated.

I now want to get some updates available for my other apps, and the next up is FlightScale! I have just submitted the first of a couple updates I plan to get done over the next few weeks. This update, 1.5, will allow you to expand your plots to full screen so you can get a good look!

Also, you can define a max forward and aft center of gravity in all of your templates!

I’m anticipating this update will hit your iPads sometime around the first weekend in March.

Thanks everyone for your feedback. Keep it coming and I’ll do what I can to get it integrated.

Exciting Feature for FlightLog Coming!

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2011-01-18T00:40:49-05:00

I want to let everyone know that the number one requested feature will indeed see the light of day, and sooner than later! A smaller patch should hit your phones in the next couple of days, but as soon as that clears I’m ready to submit the “big ‘un”.

How does manual data backup from FlightLog sound? How about backup to the cloud? Even better? Wait ‘till you hear this next part-How about online data backup to the cloud and it being absolutely free? How about being able to import your data on other devices running FlightLog, such as your iPad? How is that for a free update?

I know it has taken me a lot of time to get backup functionality out to you but I needed to make sure it was done right. Free and low maintenance were requirements and it is ready to go. I’m sure I’ll receive a lot of feedback once it hits people’s devices and it will continue to improve from there.

I also want to say thank you to everyone for your continued support and enthusiasm about FlightLog. Your feedback is shaping it to be the best logging app for flight time, and it will only get better.

Non-Linear Fuel CG coming!

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2010-12-07T22:55:41-05:00

It has been awhile since I have updated this blog. Life has been quite busy lately and I’m hoping it will calm down a bit after the holidays.

One thing that I have been working on that I wanted to share with you is support for Non-Linear Fuel CGs! This will allow you to enter the table of data from your POH for the fuel trends as the fuel weight changes, and FlightScale will now plot the CG changes for your fuel tank from full fuel down to empty! Also, when you enter a fuel weight (or landing fuel weight) it will look up the CG from the table and fill it in for you automatically.

It is important to note that these enhancements can only be applied to the longitudinal CG at this time.

A number of other improvements and interface tweaks are on the way soon. Stay tuned!

Below is a sample screenshot of FlightScale showing a plot using the new variable CG feature (note that the upper bounds of the envelope for the aircraft have been reduced to make relative plots larger). Compare the yellow line on the graph, which shows how the actual longitudinal CG varies with fuel consumption, with the graph of the Fuel Center from the POH for this aircraft. Notice the similar trend in the two graphs.

FlightScale v1.4 Screenshot showing Non-linear fuel CG

Fuel Center variable CG graph from POH

FlightScale 1.2 Submitted

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2010-09-19T22:54:16-04:00

I have just submitted FlightScale 1.2 to Apple for approval. Not sure how long it will be before Apple pushes it out, but this will be a good update!

One of the biggest additions is that you can define landing weight for your fuel tanks! Your plot graph will now show you 3 points, your Full Fuel, Landing Fuel, and Empty Fuel. Not only that, but your graph will label values to your envelope points so you can see the thresholds easier.

You also will now have up to 12 limit points to work with!

You can now define a Max Takeoff Weight and a Max Landing Weight, each will show a horizontal line on your graph for reference.

Good stuff, right? There will be more to come! Thanks everyone for your input. If I haven’t gotten your requests integrated yet I’ll be working on them soon.

FlightLog 2.0 Almost Ready!

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2010-09-09T02:52:22-04:00

I’ve been telling people that I’m working on a huge update to FlightLog and so I need to push off feature enhancements until the huge update is completed. I’m very happy to announce that huge update is almost ready!

This update has been a monster for me to complete. I’ve sunk tons and tons of time into it. Visually FlightLog only looks slightly different, but under the hood I’ve re-architected the log memory management system to better handle large data-sets.

I’ll be happy when this monster reaches your phones and I’m hoping to get some feedback on it. Be sure to contact me immediately if you have any issues with FlightLog after this update. I’m currently putting it through the paces trying to make sure it will hold up to the crazy things you people put it through...

You can read more details about the individual changes here: http://warbredstudios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=618&p=992#p992

Here is a little preview...

FlightLog Progress

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2010-08-11T00:34:32-04:00

Hi everyone, I owe you all an update. I’ve received a lot of feedback for FlightLog, and I’ve told most of you that I’m in the middle of a huge architecture change but didn’t know when I’d finish it. I have a bit more info on that front.

First off, there is an update for FlightLog submitted. This has a few minor updates in it, most notably the ability for FlightLog to open right where you left it off if you are running iOS4. I’m hoping that compiling this for iOS4 will relieve some of the performance issues some iPhone 3G owners saw after they upgraded their OS. This update will likely be out within 5 days or so.

The larger architecture change...I’ve been working on this update for a couple months now. I’ve had a lot of real life distractions along the way too, which hasn’t helped any. But I did reach a milestone tonight with this update. I’ve completed most of the handling of data, including adding/editing aircraft and logs, and also the query builder...All of these systems will utilize your data in a way where it will use a lot less memory. I still have to do the report generation and A LOT of testing, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

I don’t feel comfortable giving out a timeframe yet. I’d like to say I’ll have it submitted in 2 weeks time, but I don’t like to make promises I can’t keep. So, we’ll leave it at “I’m hoping to get it submitted within the next couple weeks”.

Sorry for the delay in getting this completed. I know some of you are waiting on features you have requested, and I’ll be getting back to adding new features once this big update is done.

Thank you again for your patience and support.

In-Dev Update

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2010-06-27T01:09:52-04:00

Just wanted to post what I’ve been up to App wise the past couple of weeks, and what is in store for your mobile pleasure:

FlightScale: I just submitted an update tonight for FlightScale that will allow you to use up to 7 limit points now in your envelope. Judging from Apple’s recent approval process, expect this to hit your iPads in about 5-6 days.

FlightPlan (iPhone): I’m getting some good enhancements in FlightPlan that frankly should have been integrated long ago. A lot of older calculations aren’t heeding the setting changes for your units, and I’ve been fixing them up to do so. I’ve been finding these by doing testing while developing the android version of FlightPlan, so it really will help improve both products.

FlightPlan (android): I’m still making progress on the initial release of FlightPlan for android, but I’m still a ways off from submitting it to the market. I’ll try to check in again in 2 weeks to see where I’m at; I’m hoping to be pretty close to the initial release in 2 weeks but with family coming to visit...you never know.

FlightLog: I’ve started re-architecting how FlightLog handles its data. Namely, I have a few users that are really pushing FlightLog to the limits of their older iPhones and they are having memory issues. When I complete this big update, they will have issues no longer. I’m still a couple weeks out from completing this as well.

So, all in all, I’m getting some good stuff done. It’ll get to you soon, I hope! Happy 4th to everyone state side. To everyone else, go on holiday anyway! :D

FlightScale Helicopter Template Imminent

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2010-06-10T00:17:32-04:00

I have just submitted the v1.1.0 update for FlightScale on the iPad. This version brings with it the helicopter template which allows for the center of gravity to be calculated for both the longitudinal and lateral axis. Plotting your limits currently only occurs for the longitudinal axis.

This update contains a few other minor updates. More information can be found at the forums.

It will likely take a few days for Apple to approve this update, unfortunately. But it’s coming, I promise!

FlightPlan for Android started

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2010-06-07T09:52:00-04:00

I just wanted to let the community know that I have started development of FlightPlan for android. The release is still a few weeks off, but I’ll be releasing this software in stages, meaning that when I get the core E6B functions completed I’ll submit it to the store. As I finish more advanced functions, like Weight & Balance, those will be included as well.

I do look forward to getting FlightPlan out on android. Feel free to shoot me an email if you have any specific questions.

FlightScale for iPad

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2010-05-24T21:30:34-04:00

FlightScale has been released for the iPad! FlightScale takes the core Weight and Balance functionality from FlightPlan and brings it to a beautiful large screen!

There is plenty more on the way for FlightScale. I’m planning to get helicopter support integrated, and email reports integrated as well. I’ll then bring this functionality over to the iPhone version in FlightPlan too.

Stay tuned!

The iPad Evolution

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2010-04-26T11:45:29-04:00

I just got my hands on an iPad! I admit that I wasn’t terribly excited about the device before I got one for myself, but after spending a bit of time with it I know this will be an invaluable tool for many people. The device is awesome for sure.

The screen is simply brilliant. Apps made for the iPad just seem so powerful because of all the information that can be presented to the user. User interaction is also easier because of all the space available to place components.

I certainly want to bring my apps to the iPad because there are some tools I’ve created that will benefit greatly from the larger format. I’m first planning on bringing some of FlightPlan’s functionality to the iPad, but in parts since FlightPlan is so gigantic; it’d take awhile for me to complete the entire app.

I’ll be working on improving UI design as I rebuild these tools, and then I will be moving the improvements back to the iPhone versions of the app.

I’m starting off with the Weight and Balance tools. I’ve already started building these and I’m very pleased how they are turning out. Everything fits on one screen, including data entry, limits entry, and your live graph!

My goal is to have the Weight and Balance iPad app completed and submitted within 2 more weeks. Stay tuned for screenshots and more information about this project!

Thanks everyone for your emails with feedback and requests.

FlightPlan Update Submitted!

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2010-04-05T01:39:09-04:00

I’ve been working on an update to FlightPlan tonight, and I’m happy to say that I’ve made some good progress on improving the Weight and Balance system more. I currently have FlightPlan plotting your weight and balance on a diagram so you can see your envelope and how you fall within / around it!

This is a feature that has been asked for a few times now, and it is something I’ve always meant to add but I just didn’t know how to approach it. The new limits screen gave me a good place to put this information so I figured now is as good of a time as any.

I’ll be continuing work on this update for the rest of this week and submit it by the end of the weekend. You should see a FlightPlan update hit your phones next week sometime.

Read more details about what this update will include here: Version 1.19.0

Trouble Generating FlightLog Reports?

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2010-04-02T09:38:12-04:00

If you are having trouble generating FlightLog reports, meaning that FlightLog crashes when you hit the generate button, and you have FlightLog version 1.4.6 or later, please try the following. If you have an earlier version, please update FlightLog and then do the following.

This will reset your report generation settings, such as your column order and visibility, but it should restore your ability to generate reports.

1. Type “reset” into the field where your email address goes on the report options screen.
2. Tap “Generate Report”
3. Confirm resetting the settings by tapping “Reset”. (This will bring you back to the home screen)
4. Replace your email address in the email field, tap “Generate Report” again, this should complete successfully.

If this does not fix your problem please contact me immediately.

FlightLog v1.5.2 Released

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2010-03-29T10:10:18-04:00

This is a very important update that fixes an important issue with the v1.5.0 update. Please look for this on the app store.

FlightLog v1.5.0 Released!

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2010-03-24T22:32:34-04:00

I have just submitted the 1.5.0 update to Apple. Apple’s approval time has been getting better lately, and we may see this go out as soon as a couple days from now! I wasn’t able to get all of the new features I plan to add into this update, but this update is still very big. Read about the specific changes here on the forum post.

The major enhancement in this update is the ability to mark your favorite fields so they are easier to find when logging your entries.

FlightLog's Immediate Future

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2010-03-19T16:24:35-04:00

FlightLog has been receiving a lot of attention lately. This is mostly because I have been receiving so much feedback for it. I have some big enhancements I want to get integrated. I am not sure if I can get them all in for the next update, but these are all things that should all be available soon.

I of course have a few more fields that people have requested to be integrated into the system. Of course I want to get these in, but as most of you know there are so many fields available now for FlightLog, it sometimes can be hard...

FlightPlan v1.18.4 Update

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2010-03-17T00:33:00-04:00

This minor revision has been released by Apple and addresses an issue with the Great Circle and Course calculation suffering from error within certain quadrants of the world.

Welcome to the DevBlog!

cardillo@warbredstudios.com — 2010-03-16T22:04:58-04:00

The software I offer on the app store is a product of evolution shaped by its users. Almost daily I receive emails from users who provide valuable feedback on the software, and these users generally also provide me a list of requested features that they feel that would make the product perfect for them. I would love everyone to think the product is perfect for them, so I try to incorporate everything possible!

There are some great things in the pipeline for my apps and...