So recently I have been able to borrow the Skydemon set up from my flying club and with the backing of a good few flights (including the Norfolk Expedition in previous article) I feel it is time to set out a decent review for the item.

Mobile MD

The main piece in my opinion is the Mobile MD, in the box a suction mount was included which was easily placed on the screen in the plane, as we had two GPS systems running side by side whilst on the flight it made for easy comparison between the two. The Skydemon was much easy to see in bright light which is often experienced whilst in the sky and made the other system look almost un viewable in comparison. The SkyDemon was quick to acquire its satellites even though our flight took us to some rather remote areas with the UK (Fenland being one). The flight route selected was a difficult one, with weaving between controlled airspace a key feature. For this the Skydemon was a God send, informing us the frequency of the towers which we would need to speak to, to cross the airspace and also warning us when we strayed a little towards the airspace. Without it, I'm sure are flight wouldn't have been so safe. Having send this a little after 2hours flying as we departed Weybourne airfield the Skydemon ran out of battery, it had been charged fully the night before so this seemed at little disappointing. The numerous flight reading the Skydemon gave you whilst flying were also highly useful, its ability to give accurate bearings and speed could be used to confirm the planes dials were accurate and also allowed a second opinion when un-sure of a bearing (which are so important when flying across open areas). So for £399.99 is it worth it? I honestly believe so it is a step forward in the aviation GPS market and is very useful for less well equipped aircraft for which a fully screened set of dials are not in place,  its small size means it is not a distraction when in flight yet, it is still easily seen, perfect.

The SkyDemon Mobile MD in box.

All the gear that comes in the box of the SkyDemon mobile MD


 iPad SkyDemon App

 For me this acted much more as a planning instrument than a flight GPS, if you are an iPad user then the interface of the app seems much more familiar and intuitive than the Mobile MD, the app uses the simply pinch of two fingers to allow you to zoom in or out on the map and changes between various map scales in the process. This feature is great for planning your route as you can find details and points of navigation which would be not shown on your standard 1:500, 000 map. The ease with which a route can be planned is also very impressive as by simply tapping on consecutive airfields a route can be formed, from this NOTAMS and weather is formulated for the route giving you a much more personalised set of notices rather than the quick glance you may throw at the clubs notice board before you set off. Also, by holding down on the symbol for one airfield the plates for that airfield will appear along with other information you may need including fuel prices and phone numbers, this really does allow for quick and effective planning of your route and honestly halves the time you would spend trawling the internet and guide books to find the same volume of information. Finally, one of my favourite features is the cross sectional view of your flight plan shown along the bottom of your screen, giving you the altitude needed for each part of the flight and even where radar and towers are placed along the route. The total package for the app is also a lot more affordable if you own a smart device already, at £89 you get a years subscription to the service which can be used on any device, if your device isn't 3G you'll also need to buy a GPS receiver which can be linked to your device to inform it of your position, these will cost you around £100 but, I pretty sure the future of flight navigation is in the field of app based services such as SkyDemon and so the investment in a GPS receiver is a smart one which could serve you for years. Currently SkyDemon are offering a 30 day free trial of the service which I highly recommend to test it and also as a free bit of kit, even if it is just for a short period of time.



The SkyDemons Mapping View

Showing the cross sectional view of the route along the bottom