If you have been using the legacy version of FlightSpan™ on the EFB, the first thing you will notice on the new version is a fresh new look. Most of the functionality remains the same, and you will be able to easily adapt. There are, however, some important differences to note as you make the transition.
General
IMPORTANT: Units and conversions need to be defined carefully in FlightSpan™ Ops since the new app uses them and not hard coded values.
No matter what tab you are on, you will now see a note at the very top indicating both the current status of the flight and the flight following status.
Flight Status
- On The Ground
- Taxi
- Climb
- Cruise
- Top Of Descent
- Descent
- Approach
- Landed
Flight Following Status
- Sending Manifest
- Manifest SENT @ <time>
- Manifest Not Sent
- Leg Armed (when v2Track is switched off in FlightSpan™ Ops and the Arm Leg button has been tapped on the Flight Following tab)
FlightSpan™ can now run in the background, so you can switch to another app, and FlightSpan™ will now capture flight data from the v2 tracker without interruption.
Landscape view is now available to all aircraft types, not just helicopters.
DFR
Hobbs entry is now made from the Hobbs meter icons above the LEGS section of the DFR.
A Delete icon has replaced the Clear All button in the header, and is now available for all flights, not just manually created or Scratchpad flights. The delete button will be disabled once the flight is in progress.
Note also there is no longer a paperclip icon for viewing documents, or a schedule icon for viewing the flight schedule. Instead, a new Docs tab for both viewing the schedule and viewing and managing documents has been added to the right of the MSG tab.
The interface for entering approaches has changed slightly, eliminating extra button pushes.
When adding a new load to the LOADS section of the DFR, the interface for selecting the route is now more intuitive, allowing you to select the departure and arrival points instead of selecting from a lengthy list.
Nav
A Toggle Leg Complete button replaces the Delete Leg button. Tapping it will complete the highlighted leg (without adding actual reserve fuel). Tapping it when any completed leg is highlighted will un-complete the leg and any following legs.
To remove a destination, tap on the leg to open the waypoint select page, and tap the red X to eliminate a destination from the route.
When inserting a destination or an en route waypoint, the new waypoint will be added after the previously highlighted leg.
Change waypoint order by clicking a waypoint and dragging it to the desired position.
For organizations that have had the full list of waypoints hidden, the full list now shows.
W&B
When copying a load, you now copy to rather than copy from a leg.
First highlight the leg with the desired load, then tap the Copy Config/Load To button to duplicate the load and/or configuration, and add it to one or more flight legs.
Switch the Copy Load as well? switch to off to just copy the configuration.
When exporting a load to the DFR, the route will default to the selected tab. Tap the Quick Select arrow next to the desired route pair if necessary.
Tap on the departure point and the destination if the load will continue to a subsequent destination, tap Done, then continue adding the load as in the legacy version.
Some aircraft have had the layout changed slightly.
Runway Charts
The Custom tab is now labeled CUST, and when a runway is selected, it will always display the runway name instead of CHNG.
The NRST tab is now labeled with the name of the runway once a chart has been selected.
You can now pinch and zoom Runway Chart images.
Map
You can now pinch to zoom on the map.
Use the Declutter button if airports are too close together to only display the ones with the longest runways
If you move the map off center, a Recenter button appears under the Track Up / North Up buttons. Tap to recenter on your current position.
If you want to navigate to an en route waypoint, tap the Sequence button which appears if the route is other than Direct.
Then select the desired route segment.
The After Takeoff checklist now only dismisses automatically after the Checklist has been armed by sending the trip manifest. The armed condition is indicated by the Checklist button turning blue.
MSG
The message tab has undergone a complete redesign, with more message flexibility.
The tab is divided into two sections. On the left are the different conversations, and on the right are the messages from the selected conversation.
Any time the flight manifest or on the ground reports are sent, those messages are added to the FF Log.
Passenger lists and ETAs are added to the Flight Follower conversation.
To add a new message to an existing conversation, select the conversation, and type the text in the message box, then tap Send.
Or you can select Quick Text, and choose from the list of quick text messages.
To create a new conversation, tap the pencil icon.
Next select the message recipient.
Messages to the Flight Follower, Aircraft, and to V2 Contacts function as in the legacy app.
If you choose address book, the contacts from the Apple Contacts app on the iPad will be displayed.
Search and select the desired contact. You can select their email or phone number, which are listed separately.
Type your message and Send.
The text or email will be sent via v2Track messages. The recipient can respond by replying to your message.
Acknowledge, Quick Text, and Dismiss buttons are under the conversation header.
Delete all conversations by tapping the trash can icon.
Docs
Under the Docs tab, there are three sub tabs: All Documents, My Notes, and Schedule.
All Documents
When you open the Docs tab, the All Documents tab will be open with My Flight Documents selected. My Flight Documents are all documents that pertain to the flight:
- Any document attached to the schedule for this particular flight (such as passenger documents)
- Any document attached to the aircraft you are flying
- Any document attached to any of the waypoints you have planned
- Any document, note or photo you have created and linked to this flight
Tap the Viewing By link to open other display options.
Tap the Add Note link to add a note or photo.
Select Note, Camera, or Photo.
If you are viewing My Flight Documents when you add the note, it will automatically be attached to the flight. Any notes or photos attached to the flight will be uploaded to FlightSpan™ Ops with the DFR.
Tap the paperclip to attach to or detach from the flight, and the trash can to delete.
If you select Note, you can either type your note or tap the drawing tools icon for drawing options.
My Notes
The My Notes tab will display all notes or photos created on this iPad.
Notes or photos added while on the My Notes tab will not be automatically attached to the flight.
Add a title to any note if desired.
Tap the share icon to upload a note or image to FlightSpan™ Ops. You will be warned you will no longer be able to edit.
If you are connected to the internet, the note will be uploaded to the FlightSpan™ Ops Documents List, removed from My Notes, and added to the Unlinked Documents section.
Schedule
The Schedule tab displays the two week schedule.
Tap the Previous Day and Next Day buttons to jump one day back or ahead.
Settings
Tap the Settings icon to open the settings menu.
Tap Submit an Issue if you have any suggestions for improvement, or to report any bugs.
Switch off Dark Mode to invert the colors.
Switch off Lock in Portrait for Landscape use.
Note: Use the iPad screen lock to lock in Landscape orientation.
Logging Out
If you need to reset FlightSpan™, select the Server menu,
Then Log Out.
Note: Flights that have been opened for editing are now be retained for the next time you log in.
Company Preferences
Company Preferences are set in FlightSpan™ Ops, and can be viewed here.
The Default Passenger Weight and Local/Zulu time can be changed for this iPad.
It will retain the settings until you tap Reset Settings, or until the next time you log out.
Return to the main Settings menu by tapping the back button, or exit Settings completely by tapping outside the window.
Aircraft Preferences
Aircraft Preferences are also set in FlightSpan™ Ops.
Preferences for the aircraft you are viewing on the DFR tab will be displayed. Change aircraft type if desired by tapping on the dropdown list.
Only a few preferences that are not locked can be changed for this iPad. It will retain the settings until you tap Reset Settings, or until the next time you log out
Charts
If your Nav or Runway/LZ Charts are not displaying correctly, you can delete and resync them from the Charts menu by tapping their respective blue Delete Chart Data and Resync buttons.
Chart version information can also be viewed by tapping the blue arrow next to the chart.
Tracker
The Tracker tab details the connection status between FlightSpan™ and the v2 tracker.
- The connection to the tracker can be closed with the v2 Tracker switch.
- The Tracker Address can be edited if your v2 tracker is not using the default. Normally it should be left alone.
- The Tracker ID contains the name of the unit you are connected to.
- Log Tracker should be left on. With the Log Tracker on, if you encounter any errors or bugs, you can email the log to the FlightSpan™ development team.
- Tap Sync Addresses from Tracker to update any new contacts that have been entered in the v2Track website.
