Not too long ago I was discussing SkyDemon with the instructor who taught me to fly.
She was adamant that the most useful thing they could add would be the ability to tie a Jepp subscription in so that you can view Jepp approach plates within SkyDemon like you can with Pooley's/AFE VFR plates (if you subscribe).
I said that I don't pay for plates, I just use (UK and France, at least) those published as part of the AIP.
She said they were too much hassle, having to calculate your own decision altitude from the data rather than just having it presented.
Really? It takes about 30secs to calculate a decision altitude, and as a non-commercial pilot how often does one actually need to do it?
Thoughts?
Most national AIP plates are free and contain official data from the airport. However the format and layout of the plates are different per country.
Jeppesen merely re-uses this data, presents it in a consistent format and layout, adds a bit of their own stuff like the DA, and sells it on for a lot more money.
If you think it's worth the money, then use it.
I doubt Jepp would allow that and SkyDemon seems to me to be setting up as a cheap competitor to the Jepp product so doubt it would make sense for them.
I much prefer Jepp plates. If you fly a lot of approaches, consistency of presentation has significant value.
Really? It takes about 30secs to calculate a decision altitude, and as a non-commercial pilot how often does one actually need to do it?
Depends how much you fly. I don't want to be stuffing around calculating this. An easy source of error and completely unnecessary.
If you want to have the Jeppesen Charts you can view them in Jepp FD, now they are even georeferenced and show your position. I use that becasue I have to buy the Jepp subscription for my MFD in the airplane anyway. Additionally I use SkyDemon for VFR flight (iPad plus Bluetooth GPS)
The title should say ICAO versus JEPP plates. The ICAO format is not user friendly in a cockpit environment but for limited use it could do I think.
The problem is that in Europe we are missing a standard like in the US with they use the NACO approach plates. The Big advantage of the JEPP is that you have the briefing strip on the top and some additional data like the synoptic for the go around procedure etc...
It would be a great initiative if we could apply a European publication format for APP plates, however this means going beyond Annex 15....
The AIP plates are produced to meet the ICAO obligation to publish the procedures. They are not designed for use by pilots.
I know that is a ludicrously cynical statement but when I once asked the head of UK CAA charts (face to face) why they don't publish the plates in an A5 size that is cockpit-usable, his reply was that they are not in the business of competing with commercial providers.
And Germany doesn't freely publish the VFR plates at all - they charge for them. Until recently Greece and Italy didn't publish their freely either...
So, the whole world - apart from some old niches like British Airways and the RAF - run on Jepps because they give you a consistent representation everywhere you go, and you can choose paper or electronic, at around the same (huge) cost.
Most private pilots either fly with the AIP plates, or they have a friend in a low place who gets them the Jepps as PDFs. It's also obviously possible for a club to buy a copy of Jeppview, stick it on a PC, and anybody walking past can print off what they need.
Skydemon could probably resell Jepp plates (I have no idea of the Jepp policy on database reselling) but the cost would not be any lower than somebody buying a Jeppview sub which for say Europe is c. €2000/year. And Jepp would be mad to allow this, given that their new VFR Ipad charting product is a direct competitor to SD.
The problem is that you licence all kinds of maps and charts, for example I once made such a contract for Air NAvigation Pro for the German VFR Charts, which was easy, if expensive.
But Jeppesen will not give anybody a licence for their charts because they want to sell their own VFR apps ... I tried that!
I think the pricing on Jepp is often overstated. I am paying about €1300 for a three screen g1000, all databases (terrain, obstacles etc), navdata and plates for Western Europe. This includes Jeppview and JeppFD for iPad.
Not cheap I grant you but not as bad as often portrayed.
As others have said, the biggest problem with the AIP plates is that don't print our very well on A5, and are barely readable in flight. If like me, with an IMCr, you may only do approaches at a small number of airports, and can memorise the important parts, then a subscription to Jepp, isn't worth it. If you are interested, have a look at the gCap charts - they are cheap, and simplified, and you download only the ones you need. You have to make sure they are as up to date as the ICAO ones though.
However, if SkyDemon and Jepp approach plates were integrated, I'd admit it would be tempting. Probably wont happen though.
@Jason
Not cheap I grant you but not as bad as often portrayed.
don't forget there are a huge number of pilots out there who are not prepared to pay anything. The same group that resents landing fees, however low, and won't buy up to date charts (in any form) as they are too expensive.
