MAPGLIDE VERSION 1.01 |
MAPGLIDE is a software for glider pilots. It allows among other things map printing with useful flying information. Additional information includes latitude and longitude grids, airports or landing fields
with distance circles, flying zones, turning points and planned circuits. Mapglide is open. You can add fields, turning points and flying areas to the basic list provided. Circles around fields may be
graduated as usual in kilometers, or with security altitude for a given angle.Other possibilities are available: the printing of circuit panels, rulers, way points and airport lists, and distance measurement ...
Mapglide is bilingual, English and French. If you want other language, please contact the author, this can be done rather easily.
The standard LOGGERS files can be displayed with Mapglide, in order to analyze your fly record.
Scanned maps can be used as background.
SECURITY WARNINGInformation given in this software are just indications and have no guaranty off reliability. Mapglide must never be used in any way that could compromise flight safety.The author will never have in any way have any liability for an accident linked or not to a usage or misuse of the software. |
Mapglide only runs with Windows 95, 98 or Windows NT. To install the software, double clic on file install.exe which will auto uncompress. After uncompression, some files are created . Double clic on file setup.exe to start actual installation. By default, the program is installed in directory « c:\program files\mapglide ». The manual file (this file) named manual.html, is in the same directory.
To uninstall Mapglide, use Windows 9x mechanism (Configuration Panel then Add/Remove software), then remove the installation directory.
The area displayed on the screen can be moved by dragging with the mouse while the left button is down. You can also use the scroll bar on right and bottom of the window. The first time you use Mapglide, you are in the south east of France, a nice place to flight in the Alps. Then you will retrieve the location where you close the program the previous time using "file->exit". "File->Abort" quits without saving the options. Most of the options are memorized when you quit the program. You can also go to any place using the menu "option->screen center" or by selecting any airport or turning point then clic on the "Center" button. The "Screen center" menu let also you choose an altitude. This altitude is only used to know if the position pointed to by the mouse allow you to reach the nearest airport using the selected glide angle. In that case, the distance and cap are indicated in the status bar.
The scale is changed using "+" or "-" key, or from the "Scale" menu.Back to summary
A circuit can be set by clicking with the right mouse button on the starting point then on all the turning points. You close the circuit by clicking again on the starting point. To close a circuit on a point different from the starting point, use the shift key while clicking on the closing point. Circuits are not automatically memorized. Create a circuit remove the previous one. If you clic near an airport or a turning point, the circuit you are creating will use this location automatically. The distance to "catch" one of these point can be changed in the menu "Option -> Generals options" in the field "Max distance to close circuit". It's 2 km by default. To set the turning point at the exact mouse pointer position, regardless of any airport or turning point, hit control key while right clicking.
The "File" menu allow you to print the circuit panel. If no circuit is set, PLANNED location will stay empty. Otherwise, it will be filled with the selected turning points. The "circuit -> record" allow you to record the circuit in a file. The "circuit -> Find again" let you reload a previously recorded circuit. The "circuit -> modify" let you change the departure time and the planned average speed but not the turning points. The "Selection -> Turning point" menu let you add a turning point to a circuit while creating the circuit by selecting it by it's name rather than clicking on it's location.Back to summary
By default, the program propose you to choose an average speed when you close the circuit. If you don't want to see the planned hour displayed, just select "CANCEL". You can also invalidate this option in "Option -> Generals option" with the selection "time management in circuit".
Airports and landing fields can be edited through the "Edit -> airport" menu. You can also double clic with the left button near the airport location. A simple clic with the control key brings to the same result. The number of circles around the airport is chosen in the "Option -> display field" menu. However, this value common to all airports can be overloaded for each airport. To achieve that you have to select a radio button different than "standard" in the particular airport menu. This let you choose 0 circles as the standard and to only display the field you need for your circuit of the day.Back to summary
Turning points can be edited through "Edit -> turning point" menu. To add easily a turning point, set the mouse cursor at the desired location then hit the "INSERT" key. The turning point edit window will pop up. You just need to replace the default name then validate by clicking on the OK button.Back to summary
To add a flight area, hit the "z" key which switch between normal mode and flight area edit mode, then right clic on the different points that limits the area.Back to summary
Circles may have usual kilometers marks or safety altitudes. In that case, you will have to select to correct pre landing altitude and the glide angle you want to use for your glider. These choices are selected in the "Option -> display field" menu. You can also choose to not display circles or to change the distance between 2 circles. The distance between 2 circles is in kilometers.Back to summary
Mapglide can be used to measure the distance between 2 points. Just proceed as if you want to create a circuit between theses points. The distance is displayed in the status bar.Back to summary
You can used scanned mapped in the pixmap format (extension .bmp) to the background. To do that, select "Option -> add map" menu. The scan files data are stored in the file bmp_list.txt. This file is located in Mapglide directory. Although the bmp_list.txt file format is described thereafter, you don't need to know it, Mapglide manage it by itself. Once a map is displayed, you can trim it's position using the "k" key. This key switch from normal mode to map position mode. In the map position mode, you can scan all the different map file using the "b" key. The selected file name is displayed in the status bar. Once the correct file is selected, use the arrow keys to move the map. The "b" key switch back to the normal mode.Back to summarybmp_list.txt file format
Each line match one background .bmp file. A line must look like the following example:
map_file_name 44.972 44.505 4.375 4.83 100 250000 250000 comments
The first field (map_file_name in the example) is the file name. The extension must not be written, the name must not contains blanks. The 4 next fields are the north, south, west and east map bounds. The value is a float . For a south or west (from Greenwich) location, the value is negative. The decimal part is not made of minutes or seconds, but degrees, this means that 30 seconds should be written .5 and 15 seconds should be written .25. The next field (100 in the example) is the number of dot per inch used to scan the map. 75 is a very correct value, with a good compromise between file size (and memory use size) and readability. The 2 next fields are the map scale horizontally and vertically. It generally the same value but if for any reason you have a small difference (due to your scanner for example), you can correct it here. The kind of map we generally use to fly are at a 1:250 000 scale. In that case, you have to write 250000. All the following is comment and is ignored.
Lines beginning with "#" are considered as comment and therefor are ignored. White lines are allowed.
Mapglide can be installed with a laptop PC linked to a GPS with a serial link. If the GPS is connected to the selected serial port, it is automatically detected. In that case the map is automatically centered according to the value given bye the GPS, and a small glider is displayed in the center of the screen. If the coordinate change, the glider is oriented according to the movement and the map follow the displacement.Back to summary
The "Flight -> Record" menu start a flight record when Mapglide is linked to a GPS. (You can test it with a GARMIN GPS using the simulation mode). A dialog box pops up to selected the file name used to record the flight. The position is recorded every 2 seconds. To stop the record, use menu "Flight -> stop" or the "f" key.
The "Flight -> Visualize" menu let you display a recorded flight. The flight trace is slowly displayed on the background map by a black line drawing the glider trajectory. If a circuit has been recorded with the flight, it is reloaded with the flight. Two other windows display the speed and, in the case a logger record, the altitude. If there is a circuit linked to this record, you can display the arrival window during the last branch to display the arrival angle. In that case, the altitude used is the one of the recorded flight if any et the airport altitude is the one of the last airport of the circuit.
If a circuit is loaded when you download your flight record, it is linked to the flight record. You can at any time add a circuit to a flight record. Just load the the record file, then create or load a circuit and select the "Flight -> Add" menu.
Sorry translation not finished. e-mail me if you need it. gschneid@cisco.com
In this release only GARMIN GPS are managed. Mapglide let you download flight records then replay them the same way it does for the flight it has recorded itself. The GPS must be configured with the GARMIN protocol instead of NMEA protocol (See your GPS documentation). To download a GPS flight record, select "GPS -> communication" menu. A dialog box will pops up. Mapglide will ask the GPS and, if the communication is established, display the GPS identification string (often with the GPS software release number) in the upper part off the box. The lower part contains the buttons to command the data exchange. The upper button start a flight record download (log track). More than one flight record can be stored inside a GPS, according to it's memory size an the the period used to record. In that case, Mapglide crates one file per flight. Sometimes, a temporary interruption occur during a flight record, for example if there is a poor GPS coverage. To avoid creating many files when such a short interrupt occurs, MAPGLIDE merge two consecutive record if the second starts less than 1000 meters from the end of the previous. Unfortunately, GARMIN GPS don't memorize altitude. Mapglide set an 1000 m altitude at each point.Back to summary
Mapglide airports and turning points can be sent to the GPS and added to the users waypoints. To add a waypoint to the GPS, display the dialog box of the airport or turning point (By double clicking on it for example) then clic on the ">>GPS" button.
Hitting the 'n' key (navigation) show or hide a window with a compass. If an airport is near enough (that is, you can reach it according to you current altitude and glide angle), the middle will indicate the heading to that field. North is usually on the top of the compass, exempt if a GPS is connected and you are moving. In that case, the top is you current direction and the arrow indicates the direction to follow to reach the field.
Hitting the 'a' key show or hide the arrival windows. This windows displays the minimal glide angle to reach the nearest airfield according to the selected glide angle, and the current one, according to you altitude. The line is red if you are under the minimum angle, green otherwise. Current altitude can be send by the GPS if it's connected, otherwise it can be changed by the following keys:
'm' : up 10 meters
'd' : down 10 meters
F1 : down 100 meters
F2 : up 100 meters
Or by the "Options -> Center screen" menu. GPS altitudes are not very accurate. You can disable their usage in the GPS menu.
These functions are designed to be used in real time flight, using a palm top computer inside the glider. Once again this program must never be used in a way that impact safety and the indication given must not be considered as reliable.
| F1 | Down 100 meters |
| F2 | Up 100 meters |
| INSERT | Add a turning point at the cursor location |
| a | Show or hide the arrival window |
| p | Print a map |
| e | Edit a circuit |
| t | Transparent mode |
| q | Quit Mapglide |
| escape | Quit Mapglide without saving configuration |
| c | Start a flight record |
| f | End a flight record |
| d | Down 10 meters |
| m | Up 10 meters |
| g | Switch display of background map |
| n | Show/hide navigation window |
| k | Switch Normal mode / Map Position mode |
| b | Select next map file in position mode |
| v | Add a circuit to a flight record |
| z | Add a flight area |