Author Topic: Aircrew Traffic Display  (Read 11158 times)

Ian Melville

Aircrew Traffic Display
« on: October 17, 2019, 04:05:21 pm »
The website now says available to order from 29th Oct  :)

James Rose

Re: Aircrew Traffic Display
« Reply #1 on: October 17, 2019, 11:49:32 pm »

cyclone1

Re: Aircrew Traffic Display
« Reply #2 on: November 19, 2019, 09:17:01 am »
I was interested in this but have grown sceptical of it since the launch date keeps being amended.  I have sent them an email regarding their marketing strategy. 

exfirepro

Re: Aircrew Traffic Display
« Reply #3 on: November 19, 2019, 09:35:43 am »
Hi cyclone,

From my own personal (though limited) involvement in this product’s development, I think the ‘problem’ (if you’d call it that) is that James is a perfectionist and feels a responsibility to get his product as near perfect as he can before taking money from his customers.

I appreciate how frustrating that can be when we are all waiting, but the end result will certainly be a much more effective and robust product than the initial prototype I first tested - and you certainly can’t grumble at the price.....

Regards

Peter

cyclone1

Re: Aircrew Traffic Display
« Reply #4 on: November 20, 2019, 09:10:48 am »
I note your comment but many have viewed this continuing change of date as the product not working hence lack of faith in a possible purchase. I'm sure those who will find this instrument of use will purchase but many will hold off who would have done immediately until reviews are made. Marketing is the key to any new product and I feel Jamez could have been more informative as to why it's taken so long after the initial set date.

Dave jones

Re: Aircrew Traffic Display
« Reply #5 on: November 22, 2019, 09:51:07 pm »
Has anyone bought an Aircrew instrument yet?. It’s not easy to get any information on how well it works. I believe they are available to order as of End of November (at last!!!).Does anyone know how it order one as the website gives very little information.
Any help greatly appreciated

Ian Melville

Re: Aircrew Traffic Display
« Reply #6 on: November 22, 2019, 10:34:20 pm »
I sent a message to James as this is getting a bit silly.
I have been patient with the website and IIRC until yesterday it was advising they would be available today, the 22nd. That message has now gone, but there is no option for a shop or any other means to actually buy one.

James Rose

Re: Aircrew Traffic Display
« Reply #7 on: November 22, 2019, 11:40:53 pm »
Hi All,

There are not any devices available to order as I am currently having a serious problem with getting the devices made properly. This is down to me being personally inexperienced with manufacturing. I'm am going to be partnering with another company who I have worked for in the past who has and had experience with this to hopefully get the devices out as soon as possible. I will update the order page as soon as I have more information.

Ian Melville

Re: Aircrew Traffic Display
« Reply #8 on: November 23, 2019, 06:30:26 am »
Thanks James for your candid reply. I got your email as well.

All the best with the manufacturing, which would be a leap into the unknown for me.

Cheers
Ian

JCurtis

Re: Aircrew Traffic Display
« Reply #9 on: November 23, 2019, 09:12:30 am »
Hi All,

There are not any devices available to order as I am currently having a serious problem with getting the devices made properly. This is down to me being personally inexperienced with manufacturing. I'm am going to be partnering with another company who I have worked for in the past who has and had experience with this to hopefully get the devices out as soon as possible. I will update the order page as soon as I have more information.

I feel your pain. It took me a while to sort out getting the various products I make assembled. I Have avoided the Far East for components or assembly, it’s an absolute minefield unless you have someone on the ground there doing independent QA. I have stuck with UK or EU based production for parts and assembly. I hope you get it all sorted soon.
Designer and maker of charge4.harkwood.co.uk, smart universal USB chargers designed for aviation.  USB Type-A and USB-C power without the RF interference. Approved for EASA installs under CS-STAN too.

Skrswift

Re: Aircrew Traffic Display
« Reply #10 on: January 08, 2020, 10:30:33 pm »
Hi,

Are there any updates on this? Is it now available to order?

James Rose

Re: Aircrew Traffic Display
« Reply #11 on: January 09, 2020, 02:44:23 pm »
Hi,

Are there any updates on this? Is it now available to order?

Hi Skrswift - there will be an update on the website next week.

A few people were interested in a video of the device in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk_nGHQtknM


Skrswift

Re: Aircrew Traffic Display
« Reply #12 on: January 09, 2020, 08:30:42 pm »
Nice video  :)

Thank you

Skrswift

Re: Aircrew Traffic Display
« Reply #13 on: January 31, 2020, 10:04:02 am »
Looks like the first batch of AirCrew's have sold out.

If anyone has purchased one can you please let us know whats its like and how your are getting on with it.

Thank you!

exfirepro

Re: Aircrew Traffic Display
« Reply #14 on: February 11, 2020, 10:36:21 am »
Hi All,

Sorry, no photos available, but I managed a couple of flights last Thursday with my Aircrew to test firmware update v1.0.1 in my flexwing (firmware v1.0.2 is now available but Wx not currently conducive to flying). Whilst not technically a ‘production unit’ (it was originally one of Jame’s prototypes), this unit has just been fitted with a new main board and high-definition display screen to upgrade it to the same as the production versions.

The unit was temporarily attached to the front strut at near eye level by mounting it to a mini tripod then cable-tying the tripod tight against the front strut. This proved to be an excellent mounting position in a flexwing, so a more permanent mount is on order. I did check for compass deviation as my compass is mounted just above this point, but the Aircrew didn’t seem to have any effect. I am also discussing weatherproof (or at least weather-resistant) case/cover options with James.

Test results were as follows...

Traffic Screen

Excellent clear reporting of aircraft traffic from PilotAware. There was a lot of GA and Commercial traffic about, comprising a good mix of PAW, ADSB and Mode-S/3D (MLAT). Individual aircraft (plane size set to medium) were easy to identify against the black background. I particularly liked the ‘easy zoom’ facility via the control knob, which makes separating a gaggle, or zooming out to see the ‘big picture overview’ really easy. Aircraft Registrations and relative altitudes (Aircraft Altitude set to Large font) were also easy to read against the black background. A useful feature - by zooming to place an individual aircraft on the outer ring, its ‘range’ is displayed at the bottom right of the screen (this is actually indicating the range of the outer ring) though in bright head-on sunlight, the green text used for ‘ring range’ was very difficult to read. I have since discussed this with James - he will look at improving the text font and has also asked me to test a prototype ‘sunshade’.

Artificial Horizon

‘Zero Alignment’ is now much improved from early versions. This is now very easy to set on the ground and once in level flight, can be re-adjusted by one press of the ‘Level’ button or by using the separate ‘Pitch’ and ‘Roll’ settings. Once set, the AH was very stable and reliable and remained unaffected by ‘normal’ movement of the flexwing pod. Both GPS and Baro altitude were reliable (within expected limits). I did notice some apparent anomalies with GPS ground speed, when compared to SkyDemon, which is strange as both get their data from PilotAware. James is looking into this and we will let you know what we find.

Track/Heading Indicator

With the previous test firmware, I had some issues when heading ‘due north’ (dial ‘spinning as it passed through 0/360 degrees) and reported these back to James. To work effectively this function requires calibration of the magnetometer - which I had tried to do on the ground - but apparently the best way to do this is from a previous track file.  This facility has now been incorporated into v1.0.2 but I have not been able to test this yet.

On the basis of these tests and the extremely positive way in which James responded to my (not always positive) feedback, I would have no hesitation in recommending this device for use in a flexwing or 3-axis Aircraft.

Other developments and improvements (including a switch to ‘standby’ option) are in the pipeline.

I will report further once this abysmal weather improves and will try to get some pics next time.

Regards

Peter