On 25/08/2011 05:35, Matthew Scutter wrote: > Whether it is legal or not to connect to the phone network doesn't > affect the usage of XCSoar in it's current state. XCSoar will run > quite happily in 'flight mode' for which support is baked into > Android.
Totally off the topic of XCSoar: Our members are encouraged to carry a cell phone that is fully charged and switched on while flying. We keep record of the phone numbers and the club subscribes to a web based cell phone utility which can track a cell phone via triangulation from cell phone masts. Each member has to consent to his/her phone being tracked. The idea is to have some means of locating a glider if it is over due and missing a the end of the day. We have had to resort to this in the past. The air traffic authorities are aware of this too - they use it regularly for S&R efforts and they can get a cell phone traced without the pilot's prior consent (but there are administrative delays). We have had reason to resort to this too... I suspect that there were (may still be) regulations in South Africa banning the use of cell phones in aircraft, but if there are, they are not enforced. Technically, I understand that the range of the masts is limited and they are focused on the ground, not up in the air, so the system has its limitations. But a lot of our flying is ridge flying and we often get coverage. Getting back to XCSoar it would be nice if it could upload live track data via gprs or SMS to a website, whenever the phone got in range of a tower. It should keep a queue of logged trace points and upload them whenever a connection is available and start queuing again when the connection is lost. Besides the obvious entertainment value for those on the ground, it would allow a means of determining the "last known position and heading" of a glider which becomes overdue. Ian ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ EMC VNX: the world's simplest storage, starting under $10K The only unified storage solution that offers unified management Up to 160% more powerful than alternatives and 25% more efficient. Guaranteed. http://p.sf.net/sfu/emc-vnx-dev2dev _______________________________________________ Xcsoar-user mailing list Xcsoar-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/xcsoar-user
