Approach Integrated Cockpit

 

For Windows

 

Users Manual

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Version 1.1

 

06/27/2005

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Main Features
  3. Button Bar
    1. View
    2. Check List
    3. Flight Plan
    4. Settings

                                                               i.      Set Points

                                                             ii.      Aircraft

                                                            iii.      Limits

                                                           iv.      Connections

    1. User Waypoints
    2. Pan
    3. About
    4. Sim
  1. APIC Instruments
    1. Primary Flight Display (PFD)
    2. Moving Map Display (MFD)
    3. Vertical Navigation (VNAV)
    4. Nearest Airports
    5. Airspeed
    6. Altimeter
    7. Vertical Speed Indicator (VSI)
    8. Navigation Indicator
    9. Horizontal Situation Indicator (HSI)
    10. Time
    11. Engine Speed (RPM)
    12. Fuel
    13. Engine Temperature
    14. Engine Parameters
    15. Satellites

 

 

Introduction

 

            The Approach Integrated Cockpit (APIC) is a fully integrated digital display of state of the art avionics for flight control, navigation and engine monitoring.  APIC is fully configurable by the pilot such that any of the available instruments may be displayed in any location and size desired and may be changed at will.  APIC also allows the pilot to incorporate as much or as little redundancy for safety as he desires. 

 

 

Main Features

  • Primary Flight Display (includes Attitude, Speed, Heading, Altitude, Vertical Speed, Flight Plan information and warnings)
  • Integrated Moving Map
  • Real time Weather
  • World Wide Aviation Data including airports, airspace boundaries, navaids, restricted areas and military operation areas available for over 200 countries.  Default install includes US, Canada and Mexico.

 

Note: This product was developed using DAFIF, a product of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency.  This product has not been endorsed or otherwise approved by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, or the United States Department of Defense.

 

  • Aviation data is updated every 28 days.
  • Runway information and layout.
  • Flight Plan guidance.
  • Vertical guidance to any runway whether it has an ILS or not.
  • User selectable views and map range.
  • Engine Monitoring Instruments – normalized for efficient scanning.
  • Fuel Management Instruments – includes fuel time remaining display.
  • Virtual Steam Gauges (For those who aren’t sure if they like change)
  • Nearest airport display with direct-to navigation.
  • Checklists for all phases of flight.
  • Both visual and audio voice alerts.

 

 

 

 

Button Bar

 

 

At the top of APIC there is a button bar, which allows the pilot to quickly access various functions.

 

 

  • View – The “View” button will open a dialog where the user can layout the instrument panel and save the layout for later recall.
  • Checklist – The “Checklist” button will open a series of checklists that may be used during various phases of flight.
  • Flight Plan – The “Flt Plan” button will open a dialog where the user  may create, open, save or cancel a flight plan.
  • Direct-To – Quickly setup a Direct-To flight plan.  If a Direct-To flight plan is already set up then pressing this button will update the beginning location to your current position.
  • Find Arpt – Quickly find an airport by it’s identifier, airport name or city name.
  • Settings – The “Settings” button will open a dialog where the user may set heading, speed or altitude bugs, select items displayed on the moving map, set aircraft parameters, limits and connections.
  • UsrWpts – The “UsrWpts” button will open a dialog where the user may add, delete, modify or go Direct-To a user defined waypoint.
  • Pan – The “Pan” button will put the moving map into pan mode.
  • About – The “About” button will open a dialog that displays information about APIC’s version, license and Aviation data.
  • Sim – The “Sim” button will put APIC into simulation mode and open a dialog where the user can modify some of APIC’s parameters.

 

 

View

 

 

The View dialog presents a representation of the view screen divided into 16 panels.  Any instrument presented in the list to the right of the screen representation can be placed on any panel on the screen.  This is done by :

1)     Select an instrument from the list on the right.

2)     Tap on a panel on the screen to the left.  To make the instrument larger than a single panel, tap or click a panel that represents the top left corner of the instrument then tap or click a panel that represents the bottom right corner of the instrument.

3)     Steps 1 and 2 are repeated until the entire screen is populated with instruments.

 

 

Quick Layout Buttons

“Quick Layout Buttons” can be used to quickly recall a default or user defined instrument layout.  The current instrument layout can be saved to a “Quick Layout Button” by pressing the “Save” button and then the Quick Layout Button to which you want to save the current instrument layout. 

 

Quick Tip:  To recall a layout that has been previously stored, tap or click the “Quick Layout Button” associated with that layout.

Quick Tip:  You can quickly toggle between layouts saved to the “Quick Layout Buttons” by pressing the right mouse button.

 

Checklist

 

 

Tap or click the Checklist button to display this dialog.  The checklist dialog contains a tab for PreFlight, PreTakeoff, Enroute, Landing, Shutdown and Emergency checklists.  Each of these checklists may be modified by editing the corresponding .txt files in the <install dir>\Data folder.  For example, to modify the Pre-flight checklist, edit the file “…\Approach\Apic\Data\Preflight.txt”. Each entry can be either a section divider item or a checklist item.  A section divider is a short line of text that describes the following checklist items.  A checklist item is composed of an item to check and the expected state of that item.  A semicolon separates the item to check and the expected state.  See the following example.

 

AVIONICS CHECK

    Avionics; Master Switch ON

    Annunciator Lights; TEST and DIM

    Transponder; 1200 & Standby

    Marker Beacon; TEST

    Comm Radios; SET FREQ.

    Nav Radios; SET FREQ.

    Compass; Set to wet compass

Quick Tip:  Tap or click any item to mark it with a check mark.  These check marks will not be removed until APIC is shut down.  The checklist can be closed and later re-opened and the check marks will remain so that you can re-check or continue with a checklist.

 

Flight Plan

 

 

Press the Flight Plan button on the button bar to display the flight plan dialog.  From the flight plan dialog you can create, save, recall or activate a flight plan.

 

To recall a saved flight plan:

  • Tap or click the “Flight Plan->Find Flight Plan” menu.
  • Select the desired flight plan.
  • Tap the “Activate” button to initiate the flight plan.

 

To save a flight plan:

  • Tap or click the “Flight Plan->Save Flight Plan” menu.

 

 

Note: The current flight will be saved to a file named “…\Approach\Apic\Data\<1st Aprt ID>2<Last Arpt Id>.flt”.  For example a flight plan from PVU to JAC would be named PVU2JAC.flt.

 

 

To delete a flight plan:

  • Tap or click the “Flight Plan->Delete Flight Plan” menu.

 

To enter a flight plan:

  • Tap or click the “Add Waypoint->Add->Airport” menu.
  • Enter the 3 or 4 letter identifier of the starting airport.
  • Add as many airports, navaids, waypoints or user waypoints as desired.
  • Tap or click the “Flight Plan->Save Flight Plan” menu to save the flight plan just entered if desired.
  • Tap or click the “Activate” button to initiate the flight plan.

 

To cancel an active flight plan:

  • Tap or click the Flight Plan button on the button bar.
  • Tap or click the “Cancel” button.

 

Quick Tip: To go Direct-To an airport:  Create a flight plan with only one airport and then tap or click on the “Activate” button.

 

Quick Tip:  To re-center a Direct-To flight plan, tap or click the “Flight Plan” button on the button bar and then press the “Activate” button.

 

Settings

Press the “Settings” button on the button bar to display the Settings dialog. 

 

 

 

Display  tab

 

Display – Select the “Display” tab to:

·        Select aeronautical features to display. 

o       Select “VORs” to display all VOR sites.

o       Select “NDBs” to display all NDB sites. 

o       Select “Airspace” to display all A, B, C and D airspace boundaries.

o       Select “Special-Use” to display all Special Use Areas such as restricted areas and Military Operation Areas.

o       Select “Waypoints” to display all VFR reporting points.

o       Select “Fuel” to display quick information about fuel options at an airport.  A small blue fuel pump will appear to the right of the airport if that airport has Self Serve Fuel.  The letters “100LL” will appear below the airport if that airport has 100LL aviation fuel.

o       Select “User Waypoints” to display all previously defined user waypoints.

o       Select “Route Tracking” to display the route being flown.  The resolution of points in the current route depends on the range currently selected on the moving map.  A new point on the route is added whenever the aircraft travels 1/10th of the current map range.  Up to 1000 route points can be tracked.  At a map range of 25nm, a new point is added to the route every 2.5nm and a route of up to 2500nm can be tracked.  To track holding patterns or instrument approaches more closely, change the map zoom to a lower range. 

·        Select geographical features to display.

o       Select “State Bdrys” to display state boundaries.

o       Select “Roads” to display major roads such as Interstates, US Highways and State Roads.

o       Select “Lakes”, “Cities”, “Urban Areas”, “Railroads” , “Wilderness” , or “Rivers” to display the corresponding geographical feature.

·        Select geographical features to display names.  Selecting the “Names” checkbox will cause names to be displayed for the corresponding geographical feature.  Names may not actually be displayed until the zoom level is close enough to not cause excessive clutter when the names are displayed.

·        Select Bright Display to draw instruments with a white background and dark features.  Unselect Bright Display to draw instruments with a black background and lighter colored features.

 

Weather

 

 

 

Select the “Weather” tab to:

·        Enable/disable Metar depiction.

·        Enable/disable Radar data.

·        Enable/disable Lightning data.

·        Enable/disable Satellite cloud coverage data on the moving map and cloud top elevation on the Vertical Navigation page.

·        Enable/disable Airmets.

·        Enable/disable Sigmets.

·        Enable/disable winds aloft.

·        Enable/disable Temporary Flight Restriction areas.


·        Bugs/Units

 

 

 

Select the “Bugs/Units” tab to:

 

·        Set reference bugs for the heading, speed or altitude.  Eventually these values will be used to drive the autopilot. 

·        Select the units for speed.  The units can be either knots,  miles-per-hour or kilometers-per-hour.

·        Select the units for other parameters.  The units can be either English or Metric.

 

Aircraft tab

 

 

Aircraft – Select the “Aircraft” tab to set some of the aircraft specific parameters used by APIC. 

  • N# - Aircraft N-Number
  • V-Speeds are used to draw the airspeed tape and indicator gauge
    • Vne is the Never Exceed speed or red line and top of the yellow arc.
    • Vno is the Maximum structural cruising speed or bottom of the yellow arc and top of the green arc.
    • Vfe is the maximum flaps extended speed or top of the white arc.
    • Vs1 is the stall speed in clean configuration or bottom of the green arc.
    • Vs0 is the stall speed in landing configuration or bottom of the white arc.

 

The following items are used only when an Engine Pod (Epod) is added to Apic

  • # Engines – Select the number of engines on the aircraft
  • Cylinders per engine – Select the number of cylinders per engine
  • Constant Speed Prop(s) – Set this check box to enable the Manifold pressure gauge on the RPM instrument display.
  • Fuel Tank Capacity – Set the appropriate check boxes corresponding to the fuel tanks on the aircraft and the capacity of each fuel tank in gallons.

 

Limits tab

 

 

Limits – Select the Limits tab to set additional aircraft parameter limits.  These are only used if an Engine Pod (Epod) is installed.  The parameter limits set here are used to define the allowable ranges drawn on the Eng.Temp and Eng.Params instruments.

 

All of the parameters displayed on the Eng.Params instrument are normalized and laid out as horizontal bars so that the pilot can quickly scan multiple parameters in a single glance.

 

  • MAP – Manifold pressure limits in inches of mercury.
  • RPM – Engine speed limits in revolutions per minute.
  • Fuel P – Fuel pressure limits in psi.
  • Fuel Flw – Fuel flow limits in gallons per hour.
  • Oil P – Oil pressure limits in psi.
  • Oil T – Oil temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.
  • EGT – Exhaust Gas Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.
  • CHT - Cylinder Head Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Volts – Aircraft system volt limits.
  • Amps – Aircraft system current limits.

 

Connections tab

 

 

 

Select the “Connections” tab to define how APIC connects to the various measurement devices.   APIC can connect to multiple devices either through a serial (RS232) connection or an Ethernet network.  This page allows the user to define how a device is connected to APIC and to reset the connection with a device if there is a failure.

 

GPS

APIC will automatically scan for a CF Card GPS during start-up if no connection has been previously defined.  If a CF Card GPS is found, APIC will set the connection to the communications port found and set the speed to 4800 baud.  APIC can run with any serial GPS that outputs standard NMEA sentences.

 

AHRS

If an Attitude Heading Reference System (AHRS) is installed, APIC will use it as the primary source of heading, pitch and roll data.  Otherwise it will use GPS data to determine attitude. 

 

The Honeywell devices (HMR3000 & HMR3300) are low cost tilt compensated digital compasses and do not output valid roll data during dynamic flight conditions.  As a result APIC will only use the heading and pitch data from these devices.  Roll is computed from GPS data.

 

Engine Pod

Up to 2 Engine Pods (Epod) can be installed.  One per engine.

 

Environmental Pod

Currently the Environmental or (Vpod) is not selectable.

 

Networking instructions

<Under construction>

  • Computers must be set up for static IP addresses
    • Computers - 192.168.6.20 - 29
  • Measurement devices should be configured for static IP addresses
    • GPS - 192.168.6.63
    • AHRS - 192.168.6.64
    • Epod1 - 192.168.6.60
    • Epod2 - 192.168.6.61
  • Serial measurement devices are connected to a Serial-to-Ethernet converter. 
  • Each Serial-to-Ethernet converter is connected to an Ethernet hub.
  • Each computer is also connected to the Ethernet hub.

 

User Waypoints

 

Press the “UsrWpt” button on the Button Bar to display the User Waypoints dialog.

 

 

  • Press “Add” to add a new user waypoint.  The initial latitude and longitude will be that of your current location.  The name and lat/lon can be modified by tapping or clicking on the value to edit.
  • Press “Delete” to remove the currently selected user waypoint.
  • Select a user waypoint and press “Direct-To” to create a flight plan that will take you directly to the selected user waypoint.
  • Press “Ok” to return to the Apic instrument panel without any further action.

 

Pan

 

Press the “Pan” button on the Button Bar to change the moving map to pan mode.  In pan mode you can:

  • Pan the map to view locations other than where you are.  This is done by tapping the up, down, left or right arrows along the edges of the moving map display.
  • Tap on an airport or navaid to see detailed information or go Direct-To that airport or navaid.
  • Tap on a location other than an airport or navaid to lay down a user waypoint and go Direct-To that user waypoint if desired.

 

Press the “Pan” button again to return to navigation mode.

About

 

Press the “About” button on the Button Bar to display the “About” dialog.

 

 

The “About” dialog displays information about the current Apic build date, currency of aviation data being used and the license number for Apic.

 

Simulation Mode

 

Press the “Sim” button on the Button Bar to enter simulation mode and modify flight parameters.

 

 

APIC Instruments

 

Primary Flight Display (PFD)

 

 

The Primary Flight Display couples many of the standard flight instruments into a single convenient display.  Information displayed on this instrument includes:

  • Attitude – An artificial horizon is used to depict pitch and roll of the aircraft.  If attitude is derived from the GPS input then pitch represents flight-path-angle and bank calculations assume that the aircraft is in a coordinated turn.
  • Heading – The compass tape at the top of the view displays either true or magnetic heading.  Tapping on the heading box will toggle between true and magnetic heading.  The letters “tru” or “mag” will be displayed to the right of the heading display box to indicate true or magnetic heading.  Magnetic variation is taken from the GPS if available.  If magnetic variation is not available from the GPS then the magnetic variation of the nearest airport is used.  If heading is derived from the GPS then it represents ground track not aircraft heading and “Crs” will be displayed to the left of the heading display box.
  • Airspeed – The speed tape on the left of the view displays Indicated Airspeed (IAS), True Airspeed (TAS) or Ground Speed (GS).  Tapping the box below the airspeed tape will toggle the type of speed displayed.  If a GPS is the only speed-measuring device connected to Apic then the PFD will only display ground speed.
  • Altitude – The altitude tape on the right of the view displays pressure corrected altitude.  Altitude may be adjusted for barometric pressure changes by tapping the virtual Kollman window box beneath the altitude tape and entering a new pressure value.
  • Battery Life - The amount of battery life in your Laptop/ Tablet device is displayed under the satellite icon.  It will show a plug with  an electricity symbol if the device is plugged in, and a battery with the remaining percentage of power off to the right if the device isn’t plugged in.
  •  

 

Quick Tip:  Tap or click on the altitude display box while on the ground at an airport to quickly calibrate to field elevation.

 

  • Vertical Speed – Vertical speed is displayed in the area to the right of the altitude tape.
  • System Warnings – Warnings will be displayed as needed at the bottom-center of the PFD.
  • Flight Plan information is displayed at the bottom of the PFD when a flight plan is active.

 

Note:  This instrument requires at least a functioning GPS to be valid.  However, addition of an Attitude Heading Reference System (AHRS) to the APIC network is recommended.

 

Moving Map or Multi-Function Display (MFD)

 

 

The moving map displays essential flight information as it relates to navigation.  Some of the items displayed are:

1.      Aviation features such as:

a.      Airports

b.      VORs

c.      NDBs

d.      Boundaries of controlled airspace and special use areas.

e.      Waypoints.

f.        User defined Waypoints.

g.      Airports with self serve fuel (24/7).

h.      Airports with 100LL fuel.

i.        Airports with a restaurant on the field.

j.         Flight plan guidance information.

2.      Real time weather including:

a.      Metar data

b.      Lightning

c.      Radar

d.      Satellite

e.      Airmets

f.        Sigmets

g.      Winds Aloft

h.      Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR).

3.      Geographical features such as:

a.      Political boundaries.

b.      Major roads

c.      Lakes

d.      Rivers

e.      Cities

f.        Urban areas

g.      Wilderness areas

h.      Terrain elevations

 You may select what is displayed by tapping or clicking on the Settings button and then check or /un-check the items that you want displayed.

  • Range – Tap/click the left side of the range value to zoom out or tap/click on the right side to zoom in.  You can also press the up or down keyboard arrows.
  • Auto Zoom – APIC can automatically adjust the zoom range.  To toggle between manual range zooming and auto-zoom, tap/click the center of the range value indicator.  When auto-zoom is enabled the range will be set to the distance to the horizon plus 10% of your current speed.  The higher and faster you are traveling the greater the zoom range will be.  The map range will also automatically zoom in as you approach the destination of a flight plan.
  • View type - tap the airplane to toggle between the look-ahead view and the full circle view.
  • Airports - Airports are always displayed unless the zoom range is greater than 200nm. Airports with towers are displayed in blue, military airports are displayed in green and all other airports are displayed in magenta. Tap on any airport to see detailed information for that airport. A fuel pump icon is displayed to the right of all airports with self-serve fuel if this option is enabled from the settings dialog and the map zoom range is 200 nm or less. A fork and knife icon is displayed to the right of all airports with a restaurant on the field if this option is enabled from the settings dialog and the map zoom range is 200 nm or less.
  • Airport runways will be visible when the map range is 25nm or less.
  • Heliports & Seaplane Bases – These are also visible on the moving map, and can be turned on and off in the settings menu.
  • Navaid icons are displayed if this option is enabled from the settings dialog and the map zoom range is 150 nm or less. Tap the navaid to see detailed information about it or to start a go direct-to flight plan to the navaid.
  • Victor Airways – Airways are displayable on the moving map.  To enable, go to settings and check the Airways box once.  This will display the airways and the label of the closest airway.  To enable labels, click the box again. This will display the airways and all of the labels.
  • Airspace boundaries for controlled airspace are displayed as a solid blue line if this option is enabled from the settings dialog. The lower and upper altitudes for each area are also printed in blue.
  • Special use areas - boundaries for special use areas such as Military operation areas (MOA) and Restricted areas are displayed as a dashed blue line if this option is enabled from the settings dialog.
  • Gas-n-Grub – When the “Self-Serve Fuel” and “Food on Field” options are enabled in the settings menu, an icon of a gas pump will appear when an airport has Self Serve Fuel (24 hrs) and a fork and knife icon will appear next to airports with restaurants.  Also, airports with 100LL fuel will display the text “100LL” bellow them.
  • Waypoints are displayed as a small blue triangle if this option is enabled from the settings dialog. Only Visual Reporting Points are displayed, other waypoints such as Initial Approach fixes (IAF), Final Approach Fixes (FAF) are available for use in constructing flight plans, but because of the vast number, only visual reporting points are displayed at this time.
  • Obstacles are displayed automatically so that they are available when they are a concern. When on the ground (speed is less than Vso) obstacles are not displayed so that they don't clutter the display while setting up or flight planning. Obstacles are always displayed when the aircraft is flying and below 1000 ft. As soon as an obstacle is more than 500 ft or more below the aircraft, it is removed from the display. If there are 10 or less obstacles within range then a large red tower icon is displayed. If there are more than 10 obstacles within range then a small red icon is displayed to prevent excessive clutter. If the map range is less than 10 nm, then the height of the tower is also displayed above the tower.
  • User waypoints are displayed as small red concentric circles when this option is enabled from the settings dialog. The user waypoint name is displayed below the circles.