Finally, after a long development time, I am happy to announce that FlightZoomer 3 is released!
To celebrate the launch of the FlightZoomer apps, the FlightZoomer 3 Cockpit-app is available at no cost from the Windows 10 Store. Be sure to get the app for free before the price goes up.
For those who don’t know FlightZoomer yet, get an impression of the capabilities in the video above.
What is FlightZoomer?
FlightZoomer is a special kind of a cockpit app (aka GCS), which runs on any Windows 10 tablet, notebook, or desktop PC.
The app, which is called FlightZoomer Cockpit 3, is connected with an ArduPilot flight controller either through 3rd party radio telemetry or through 3G and an onboard smartphone, that acts a companion computer and runs the FlightZoomer 3 Companion app.
As the name “cockpit” implies, FlightZoomer is a man-machine interface for pilots. The system supports flying and controlling an aircraft remotely probably better than any other hobby grade GCS. In fact, FlightZoomer offers FPV on a system and procedure level (besides being great for classical FPV too).
Unprecedented innovations are:
Autopilot modes
The autopilot offers more than a dozen modes, which are common on Boeing aircraft, but which have not been available for remotely controlled aircraft before. The Mode Control Panel allows to control intuitively the flight direction, turns, climbs, or descends in real time. The FlightZoomer autopilot modes are:
- TRK - track over ground
- HDG - Heading
- Turnrate - Turn radius
- SPD - Speed
- VS - Vertical Speed
- FPA - Flight Path Angle
- FLCH - Flight Level Change
- ALT - Altitude
- APP - ILS Approach
- LOC - Radio Navigation Localizer
- LNAV - Lateral Navigation (follow route laterally)
- VNAV - Vertical Navigation (execute climbs, descends, cruise phases of planned route)
Control the flight using the Microsoft Surface Dial
In a real cockpit, autopilot target values are dialed in using rotary controllers. FlightZoomer offers this behavior by supporting the Microsoft Surface Dial. Using this nice rotary controller, you can select target values by turning the knob and jump from mode to mode by pressing the knob.
If you e.g. command a turn, the aircraft does not wait to start turning until the target value has been locked in. Instead it starts banking the moment you start rotating the dial. At the time you have intuitively and precisely set the desired new target direction, the turning aircraft will already be close to that direction so that the autopilot can gently terminate the turn.
Flying like that is hard to describe, you have to experience it! It is like setting the flight direction with a steering wheel.
See in this video, how this works.
Control the flight by voice recognition
Even another method, how the autopilot can efficiently and safely be operated, is by voice recognition. Hands-free flying becomes reality if you simply tell the FlightZoomer autopilot, what it shall do. By voice instructions, which follow a simple grammar, all the autopilot modes can be set. This feature offers the shortest intention-to-machine distance…
See in this video, how this works.
ILS - Instrument Landing System
In full scale aviation the procedure to fly ILS approaches is to capture first the direction (= localizer) to the runway, then capture the glideslope from below. With FlightZoomer, you fly approaches exactly the same. First you set a course, that will intersect the extended runway center line with 30° - 60° (e.g. assume a runway direction of 78°. To capture the localizer from the south, you would select 40° as target value for the TRK mode). At the intersection point (and with armed APP mode), the aircraft then gently and automatically would turn toward the runway. If you began the procedure at a suitable altitude, the glideslope should soon settle in from above, so your ILS approach would be fully established and the automatic descend would start.
Terrain map and Vertical Situation Display
Real glass cockpits usually provide excellent feedback about the elevation of the surrounding terrain. As an absolute novelty, this feature has been made available in FlightZoomer too. On the Navigation Display, you get a terrain map, which shows you areas that are sufficiently below the aircraft (colored in green), areas which are close to the aircraft altitude (colored in yellow) and areas which are higher than the aircraft currently is flying (colored in red).
This capability is very useful especially for drones and RC aircraft operations, as these types of vehicles typically fly rather low all the time.
It is fascinating to see, how your surrounding terrain slowly turns from red to yellow and then to green, while climbing out of a valley.
See in this video, how this works.
Real and synthetic FPV camera side-by-side
The FlightZoomer 3 Cockpit app offers a synthetic outside view, which is based on a 3D map, with aerial imagery and a correct representation of the pitch and bank angle. The synthetic FPV camera requires no video transmission and is working with telemetry data only. Enjoy the unrivaled experience when looking at the FullHD scenery even at times, when real FPV cameras run into serious limitations (e.g. at night, in fog).
Beside the synthetic camera, a classical (real) video feed can be embedded seamlessly or as an overlay in the FlightZoomer cockpit app too.
See in this video, how this works.
Layout, functionality, procedures, and terminology are borrowed from full scale aviation
Wherever possible, FlightZoomer is modeled after the cockpit of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. This applies not only to the look&feel, but also to features and the handling.
In-built simulator
Using the in-built simulator, you can start exploring FlightZoomer right after installation. Flying with the simulator, the handling of all the mentioned features above works exactly the same, as if you would fly a real vehicle.
See in this video, how the simulator works.
Fresh from the press, you can also consult the new online documentation, which describes the installation and usage of FlightZoomer very detailed. Directly enter the documentation under this link.
General information can be found under flightzoomer.com.
