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Wings is now ADS-B ready

ADS-B is an awesome technology that is rapidly gaining traction in the GA community in Europe. For those who haven’t heard of it before, it stands for “Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast” and is a universal standard to transmit and receive traffic and weather information.

Support

Most modern avionics support ADS-B off the shelf, in some countries having ADS-B out is already mandatory. Some mode s transponders, have the capability to transmit ADS-B data packets for example.

Stratux ADS-B receiver

ADS-B out devices, especially devices certified for installation in a plane cockpit, are still pretty pricey. Thankfully though, ADS-B in devices are very simple and building a portable device that you can add to your flightbag can be built for less than 150 EUR.

For information on how you can build your own device, you can check out Stratux, an open source project, that is both functional and cheap!

How does this work with Wings?

As you know, when Wings is being used with a GPS equipped device, then some situational data is collected, and can be shown on a map once the lesson is completed. With this update, Wings now supports using GDL90 too. This is the protocol most commonly used to send situational data such as ADS-B for example. So if the device you are using with Wings is connected to a Stratux for instance, then it will automatically find the device and start capturing all of the situational data from that device instead of using the built-in GPS. This is a HUGE difference, as we can then collect data each second instead of at random intervals set by your device. But not only that, we have a lot more data such as AHRS, barometric altitude, more accurate directional and positional data (assuming the connected device has the necessary sensors).

Added benefits

Having such a device, and setting it up with your EFB is a good idea. It won’t only enhance your experience with Wings, but if you use an EFB such as Foreflight or Skydemon, then these software can also make good use of the GDL90 data coming from your connected device, and will overlay traffic and weather data right in the app.

Once you’ve set up your device, your phone should connect automatically. There is no need to do anything more, when your phone see’s the device it will connect, and start using the improved data source without you having to do anything. Just like your phone connects to your car’s bluetooth.

Give it a try

The feature is still relatively new, so we are very eager to get some customers using it and sharing their experiences with us. So give it a try today, and let us know what you think by sending a mail to hello@oscaryankee.com.

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Rental pricing & management

When wings was first released, we modelled it on a simple flat structure that was compatible with the few clubs we spoke to at that time. However as Wings gained traction and picked up some customers, we encountered some different constellations in the clubs and their members, and the feature requests started to roll in.

Improvements

Price overview from aircraft setup pane

At Oscar Yankee we pride ourselves on making our software powerful, simple and usable. So with that in mind, it’s hard designing features that cater to as many of our users as possible without over-engineering and complicating the system.

We are very pleased with what we have ended up with, and so are our customers. This latest update fits 95% of all club setup’s we have encountered, automatically calculating prices based on the booking duration, hours flown by the member and any price plans the user has been assigned for that aircraft.

Details

Price management dialog
Pricing strategies help pane

We have given this some thought and tried our best to design an interface and system that is intuitive and flexible.

A simple and flat structure is of course still supported. Simply set a tacho price, and that is what your members pay. But now we have some additional options such as commission (per tacho) and booking fee (per booked hour).

These three numbers set your base pricing, after which you can apply modifiers based on the member and their hours in this particular aircraft.

Price plans alter the base rate for the members assigned to that plan.

Price tiers calculate the price based on the number of tacho hours logged on that plane, for that user at the time of their booking.

The lowest price is applied. So if a user is in a price plan, but matches a price tier at a lower rate, the lower price is the one applied.

Accounting

The booking reports page has been updated to show all of the modifiers applied to the bookings, so it is completely clear how the final price has been calculated.

We have also added invoicing in this update, a PDF invoice is generated when a booking report is completed. For now, this invoice is only available via the booking report page, but there will be an option in a later release to attach this to the booking report summary email. There is an option to add a CVR number in the club settings page as well as a tax rate. Both of these fields are optional, and will be included on invoices if set.

This is a substantial update to the rental system, and we are very pleased with it. We are however, more interested in hearing what you think of the changes, as well as any other suggestions you might have for improvements to the platform.

As always you can get in touch with us at hello@oscaryankee.com. We look forward to hearing from you.