Altair Glide Computer and Navigation System User Manual Page 1

Glide Computer and Navigation SystemUser ManualManual version 1.4September 14, 2006For XCSoar version 5.0http://xcsoar.sourceforge.net

XCSoar User Manualof the software is described in detail in Chapter 11. The formats ofthe various data files that program uses, as well as where to obt

XCSoar User Manual• The warning system beep only occurs when the warninglevel increases.• The warning system is designed to allow circling near anairs

XCSoar User ManualINFO . Nearest airspaceThis returns at most a single airspace region. The search is limitedto 100 km range.If the glider is outside

XCSoar User ManualINFO . AnalysisThe display shows along the horizontal direction, the distance fromthe glider out to 50 km in the direction of the gl

XCSoar User ManualThis FLARM display is oriented track-up and a small glider iconclearly shows that the display is oriented as such. The scale ofthe d

XCSoar User ManualIt is possible to configure XCSoar to change the map display zoomlevel or announce arrival and departure of FLARM traffic withstatus m

XCSoar User ManualDuring flight, the pilot can read out his ‘Own code’ from the teamcode dialog to his team mate, in order to report his position. When

8 Avionics and AirframeThis chapter discusses XCSoar as a subsystem of the aircraft. Itcovers the integration of XCSoar with external devices, includ-

XCSoar User ManualGPS statusGPS status icons and text may appear on the bottom edge of themap display to indicate:Waiting for GPS fix : The GPS may hav

XCSoar User ManualBluetooth device : Many Pocket PC devices support wireless connection to aBluetooth Game-Pad device that has several buttons. Thisis

XCSoar User Manual8.5 Aircraft radio transceiverMonitoring and setting the active and standby frequencies of air-craft transceivers with serial connec

XCSoar User Manualtwo GPS devices may be used simultaneously, giving XC-Soar a degree of redundancy of the GPS fixes.Altair : The Altair glide computer

XCSoar User Manual8.7 Other devicesSupport for other instruments, such as a magnetic compass or At-titude Heading Reference System (artificial horizon)

9 QuickstartThis chapter provides instructions for using XCSoar in typicalcross-country tasks. It is separated into simple scenarios to demon-strate h

XCSoar User Manual3. In flight, refer to the analysis dialog as required.4. At any time, the glider can reach home when the altitudedifference bar is a

XCSoar User Manual5. Move the cursor to the ‘add waypoint’ item again and pressenter. This will add the second waypoint to the task (in thiscase, as t

XCSoar User Manual9. At any time, the glider can reach home when the altitudedifference bar is a green arrow pointing upwards.10. Optionally activate

XCSoar User Manual4. Once the task is cleared, move the cursor to the ‘add way-point’ item and press enter. This will add the home waypointto the task

XCSoar User Manual2. In order to re-start, the pilot needs to press the ‘Arm Ad-vance’ button again prior to flying through the start sectoragain.3. Af

XCSoar User Manual5. At all times the black track arrow will point at the next tar-get. The target is the location within the AAT sector at therange s

XCSoar User ManualAfter landingAs described in Section 9.1.9.5 Task with alternate start sectorsIn this scenario, the pilot intends to fly a task with

10 InfoBox ReferenceInfobox data types are grouped into logical categories.All InfoBoxes display their data in user-specified units. Wheredata is inval

XCSoar User ManualAdditional filesAdditional data files, such as terrain and topology, special useairspace, waypoints etc. can also be downloaded. The fi

XCSoar User ManualTrackTrackMagnetic track reported by the GPS. (Touchscreen/PC only) Ifthis infobox is active in simulation mode, pressing the up and

XCSoar User ManualNext L/DWP L/DThe required glide ratio to reach the next waypoint, given bythe distance to next waypoint divided by the height requi

XCSoar User Manual10.5 AtmosphereWind SpeedWind VWind speed estimated by XCSoar. (Touchscreen/PC only)Manual adjustment is possible by pressing the up

XCSoar User ManualSpeed DolphinV OptThe instantaneous MacCready speed-to-fly, making use ofNetto vario calculations to determine dolphin cruise speed i

XCSoar User ManualAA Speed MinAA VminAssigned Area Task average speed achievable if flying mini-mum possible distance remaining in minimum AAT time.AA

XCSoar User ManualTeam Bearing DiffTeam B DThe relative bearing to the team aircraft location at the last re-ported team code.Team rangeTeam DisThe ra

11 ConfigurationXCSoar is a highly configurable glide computer and can be cus-tomised to suit a wide variety of preferences and user require-ments. This

XCSoar User ManualThe settings dialog contains several pages. Once changes havebeen made, click the Close button on the screen or PWR/ESC onAltair to

XCSoar User Manual11.3 Airspace DisplayThis page is used to determine how the airspace information isdisplayed and how warnings are issued.Airspace Di

XCSoar User ManualAcknowledgement : This is the time period in which an acknowledged airspacewarning will not be repeated.Airspace 1 : The file name of

XCSoar User Manual2. Run the installation program Install-XCSoar-XXX-YYY.exe(where XXX and YYY refer to the version number and op-erating system versi

XCSoar User Manual11.4 Airspace Colours and PatternsThis page is used to determine the colours used to draw each typeof airspace.This is accessed via

XCSoar User Manual11.5 Map DisplayThis page has options relating to the map display.Labels : This setting determines the label displayed with each way

XCSoar User ManualOrientation : This determines how the screen is rotated with the glider.North up : The moving map display will always be orientated

XCSoar User Manual11.6 Glide computerThis page allows glide computer algorithms to be configured.Glide terrain : This determines whether the the glide

XCSoar User ManualAuto Mc Mode : This option defines which auto MacCready algorithm is used.Final glide adjusts Mc for fastest arrival. Average sets Mc

XCSoar User ManualArrival height : The height above terrain that the glider should arrive at fora safe landing.Break-off height : This is the height a

XCSoar User Manual11.8 PolarThis page allows the glide polar to be defined.Type : This contains a selection of gliders of different performanceclasses,

XCSoar User Manual11.9 DevicesThe Devices page is used to specify the ports used to communicatewith the GPS and other serial devices. The default sett

XCSoar User Manual11.10 UnitsThis page allows you to set the units preferences used in all dis-plays, InfoBoxes, dialogs and input fields. Separate sel

XCSoar User Manual11.11 Interface filesEvents : The Input Events file defines the menu system and how XC-Soar responds to button presses and events from

XCSoar User ManualIt is a good idea to assign one of your PocketPC hardware buttonsto run XCSoar. See your PocketPC manual for details of how todo thi

XCSoar User ManualAnimation : Determines whether to draw window animations when di-alogs open and close.Some Pocket PC devices have poorly designed ke

XCSoar User Manual11.12 AppearanceThis page defines various display styles used by symbols and In-foBoxes.Default map zoom :Final glide bar : Two style

XCSoar User ManualGlider position : Defines the location of the glider drawn on the screen inpercent from the bottom.142

XCSoar User Manual11.13 Vario gaugeSpeed arrows : Whether to show speed command arrows on the Vario gauge.When shown, in cruise mode, arrows point up

XCSoar User Manual11.14 TaskAuto advance : Determines how waypoints are advanced through the task.See Section 4.5 for more details on how this works.M

XCSoar User ManualWaypoints 2 : Secondary waypoints file. This may be used to add way-points for a competition.Airfields file : The airfields file may cont

XCSoar User Manual11.15 Task RulesTask rules may be defined to limit valid starts according to com-petition rules.Start max speed : Maximum speed allow

XCSoar User Manual11.16 InfoBoxFour pages allow the configuration of InfoBoxes to be defined ineach InfoBox display mode (circling, cruise, final glide a

XCSoar User Manual11.17 LoggerThis page allows you to set the pilot and aircraft details used forannotating XCSoar’s IGC logger. The fields available a

XCSoar User Manual11.18 Waypoint editThis page allows for editing of waypoints.The following functions are provided:New : Creates a new waypoint at th

XCSoar User Manual1.6 Running XCSoarTwo versions of XCSoar are available, FLY and SIM.FLY : This mode is used when actually flying. The simulator isdis

XCSoar User ManualNote that the effect of adding new or deleting waypoints doesnot take effect until the waypoint file is saved. New waypointsare added

12 Data FilesData files used by XCSoar fall into two categories:Flight data files : These files contain data relating to the aircraft type, airspaceand m

XCSoar User Manual12.2 TerrainThe terrain file (extension .dat) is a raster digital elevation modelrepresented as an array of elevations in meters on a

XCSoar User Manualuser if these waypoints are individually or all to be ignored (ex-cluded) or loaded (included). The configuration setting ‘Wpt out-si

XCSoar User ManualThe names of airfields used in the file must correspond exactlyto the names in the waypoints file, with the exception of beingconverted

XCSoar User Manualif there are restrictions on its use. Other than comments, the filemust contain a single row of numbers separated with commas:• Mass

XCSoar User Manualset of configuration settings that can be given to other pilots toload.When a profile file is loaded, only the settings present in that

XCSoar User Manual12.11 Flight logsThe software flight logger generates IGC files (extension .igc)according to the long naming convention described in t

XCSoar User ManualFor more information on editing or writing or your own input eventfile, see the XCSoar Advanced Configuration Manual.12.13 LanguageThe

XCSoar User Manual12.15 FLARM Identification fileThe FLARM identification file xcsoar-flarm.txt defines a ta-ble of aircraft registrations or pilot names a

XCSoar User ManualXCSoar PC versionThe program can be run by opening the explorer window, find theC:\XCSoar directory, and double clicking on the progr

13 History and Development13.1 Product historyXCSoar started as a commercial product developed by Mike Roberts(UK), where it enjoyed a successful shar

XCSoar User ManualIn general, there are perhaps five major ways of contributing, otherthan working on the software itself:Give feedback : Ideas, sugges

XCSoar User ManualThe full terms of the licensing agreement for XCSoar is given inAppendix A.The development of XCSoar since its open source release h

XCSoar User ManualStatistics from the main website indicate there has been an aver-age of approximately twenty downloads per day since June 2005.Looki

Appendix A GNU General Public LicenseGNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSEVersion 2, June 1991Copyright (C) 1989, 1991 Free Software Foundation, Inc.59 Temple Pl

XCSoar User Manualrecipients to know that what they have is not the original, so that anyproblems introduced by others will not reflect on the original

XCSoar User Manual(a) You must cause the modified files to carry prominent noticesstating that you changed the files and the date of any change.(b) You m

XCSoar User Manualcost of physically performing source distribution, a com-plete machine-readable copy of the corresponding sourcecode, to be distribu

XCSoar User ManualYou are not responsible for enforcing compliance by third partiesto this License.8. If, as a consequence of a court judgment or alle

XCSoar User Manualpublished by the Free Software Foundation. If the Program doesnot specify a version number of this License, you may choose anyversio

XCSoar User ManualLast flight statisticsThe previous flight’s statistics are saved when XCSoar exits, andloaded at startup. This allows the flight to be

XCSoar User Manualconfiguration settings and data files will be preserved during there-installation/upgrade.It is also recommended to periodically check

XCSoar User ManualUsing XCSoar with a flight simulatorA good way to learn how to use XCSoar is to connect the PocketPC device to a PC running a flight s

Contents1 Introduction 91.1 Organisation of this manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91.2 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101.3 Sys

2 User InterfaceThis chapter describes the fundamental user interface conceptsused by XCSoar, and is intended as an overview. More detaileddescription

XCSoar User ManualButton labels and menus : Hardware buttons on the Pocket PC can be used to bring upand navigate smaller onscreen menus that are typi

XCSoar User Manual2.1 Button labels and menusThe button menu is a set of buttons drawn on the screen and acti-vated by touch or hardware button presse

XCSoar User ManualOn the PDA version, the mode buttons are activated by the keys tothe side of the joystick/rocker button.By convention, buttons label

XCSoar User ManualTaskEditDisplays the task editorTaskSaveSaves the current task to the default, so when restarting XC-Soar, the task is restored.Task

XCSoar User ManualDeclutterLabelsToggles display of topology and non-task labelsCONFIG menuMacCready+Increases MacCready valueMacCready−Decreases MacC

XCSoar User ManualCheckListDisplays the check list dialog.AnalysisDisplays the analysis/statistics dialog.StatusSystemDisplays the system status dialo

XCSoar User ManualASIZeroZeros the airspeed indicator.AccelZeroLevels/zeros the accelerometers.StoreStores Vega settings to EEPROMCruiseDemoActivates

XCSoar User ManualDown key : Zoom outLeft key : Auto-Zoom toggleRight key : Pan toggleEnter : Clear status message or acknowledge airspace warningFor

XCSoar User ManualScreen display modesThe main display can be presented with the map area and In-foBoxes, or a full-screen map. The screen mode can be

XCSoar User Manual4.3 Waypoint selector dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484.4 Task editor dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504.5 Advancin

XCSoar User Manual1. Highlight the item you wish to modify, by touching the In-foBox. The box title border will change colour indicating itis selected

XCSoar User Manualplex interactions with the user, such as editing tasks and configu-ration settings.Some dialogs simply display information, and requi

XCSoar User ManualTask calculator : Allows the pilot to see the effect of various changes to thetask on final performance.Analysis : Shows several page

XCSoar User ManualText entryA text entry dialog is used for entering text. This is used for teamcode entry as well as entering other configuration opti

XCSoar User ManualWhen XCSoar is connected to the Vega intelligent variometer, itsends commands to Vega’s speech system, to give verbal cues andwarnin

3 NavigationThis chapter describes the moving map display as an aid to naviga-tion, and also describes some of the task and glide related overlayson t

XCSoar User Manual7. Markers8. Trail9. Glide rangeThe map is drawn in a projected coordinate system (not latitudeand longitude), and the scale can be

XCSoar User ManualOn Altair, the rotary knob can be used to zoom in and out, or selectfrom the menus:DISPLAY . Zoom in and DISPLAY . Zoom outThe map s

XCSoar User Manual2. The map can then be panned by dragging the screen or usingthe cursor keys. For Altair, panning is performed with theinner/outer r

XCSoar User ManualWaypoints are optionally labelled according to one of several ab-breviation schemes.XCSoar continually calculates which landing poin

XCSoar User Manual7.1 Airspace display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 957.2 Incursion events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 967.3 Airspa

XCSoar User ManualTerrain is phong-shaded to improve visibility. Currently the shad-ing is set up so that the virtual lighting position is the wind be

XCSoar User ManualIf Vega or an intelligent variometer is connected with Netto output,the Netto vario value is used; hence the colours and thickness o

XCSoar User ManualCONFIG . Setup WindThe trail drift display is useful also to show more clearly whenthermals are cranked due to wind shear.The trail

XCSoar User Manual3.11 Aircraft status dialogThe nearest landmark function, typically available via the buttonmenu, brings up a status message describ

XCSoar User Manual44

4 Cross Country TasksXCSoar provides a full task management system, in which taskscan be edited prior to flight and, when undertaking casual cross-coun

XCSoar User Manual4.2 Waypoint details dialogThe waypoint details dialog describes a waypoint in detail and hasnavigation functions such as GOTO, Inse

XCSoar User ManualThis page also shows three forms of altitude difference (additionalaltitude required to reach the waypoint at the safety altitude) f

XCSoar User ManualSatellite imageThis page shows a satellite image of the waypoint.4.3 Waypoint selector dialogThe waypoint selector is a dialog that

XCSoar User Manual• From the menu NAV . Waypoint lookup• From the task editor, menu NAV . Task Edit and select awaypoint, then select the Select butto

XCSoar User Manual11.3 Airspace Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12811.4 Airspace Colours and Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . 13011.5 Map Di

XCSoar User Manualing on what function opened the waypoint selector. In typical useit brings up the waypoint details dialog for the selected waypoint.

XCSoar User ManualPressing the Advanced button exposes (or hides) several morefields. Pressing it again hides the fields.File : This field defines the tas

XCSoar User ManualMoving the cursor down to a task waypoint in the Task Overviewpage and pressing enter will select that waypoint for editing. Newwayp

XCSoar User ManualThe Edit start points button allows editing of alternate start points.See Section 4.7 for more details.The task waypoint dialog for

XCSoar User Manual4.5 Advancing and restarting tasksAt all times one waypoint in the task is designated as the activewaypoint. The active waypoint is

XCSoar User ManualArm auto advance : This is similar to the Auto method, but it requires the pilotto arm a trigger. Therefore, if the advancement cond

XCSoar User ManualSector turn-points are 90 degree segments aligned to the bisec-tion of the previous and next waypoints, as commonly used in FAItasks

XCSoar User Manual4.7 Alternate startsThe task system allows alternate start sectors to be defined.To use it, on the task edit page, select the start p

XCSoar User ManualIn flight, any time you cross a start line (or exit a start cylinder),this will start the task at that particular alternate start. Ta

XCSoar User Manual4.8 Task calculator dialogThe task calculator dialog allows the pilot to see the effect of var-ious changes to the task on final perf

XCSoar User ManualA GNU General Public License 1646

XCSoar User Manual4.9 Task status dialogThe task status dialog gives a summary of important task informa-tion. It can be useful to give a good overvie

XCSoar User ManualZero range yields a nominal task distance: for sectors the target ishalf way along the bisector radial; for cylinders the target is

XCSoar User Manual• What will happen if the conditions deteriorate? The Mac-Cready setting can be decreased and the pilot can see howmuch the task can

XCSoar User ManualWhen flying OLC, either AAT or non-AAT tasks may still be usedto manage the flight navigation. During flight, if the ‘Optimise’button i

XCSoar User Manualsituation, XCSoar can be instructed to ’abort’ the task, and it willthen help you reach a safe landing site.To abort/resume the task

XCSoar User ManualIf the task waypoint that was active, prior to aborting the task, islandable and estimated to be reachable, then it remains the acti

XCSoar User Manual• The PRO version of Altair has an internal IGC certified log-ger device. XCSoar communicates with the logger as if itwere an externa

XCSoar User ManualDuring replay, the word “REPLAY” appears at the lower left cor-ner of the screen. During replay, the program behaves as if realGPS u

XCSoar User ManualINFO . AnalysisSeveral pages are of interest:Barograph : Shows a graph of the history of the altitude of the glider.Statistics are u

XCSoar User ManualTask : This page shows an overview of the entire task. The maintask line is drawn in thick dashed green, AAT areas areshaded. For AA

PrefaceRevision historyRevision Release date Changes0.2 EN 6 March 2006 Reorganised, reformatted1.0 EN 26 March 2006 First release1.01 EN 11 April 200

XCSoar User Manualterrain and atmospheric conditions may result in poor visibilitybefore the displayed sunset time.For PDA systems, the clock is adjus

5 Glide ComputerThis chapter focuses on how XCSoar’s glide computer works andis recommended reading so you understand the specific details ofcalculatio

XCSoar User ManualIn addition to these display modes, an auxiliary set of InfoBoxesmay be displayed in any flight mode. This is useful if the pilot has

XCSoar User ManualIn addition, an automatic MacCready mode is available as de-scribed in Section 5.12.5.3 Glide polarThe glide polar specifications of

XCSoar User ManualThe bugs setting (’clean’) determines the amount the polar is de-graded due to contamination during a long flight. A ’clean’ settingo

XCSoar User ManualThe QNH is only updated if the aircraft is on the ground for morethan 10 seconds, so that if XCSoar is restarted during flight, QNHwi

XCSoar User Manualvertical motionAirmassDolphin speed to flyBlock speed to flyA configuration option ‘Block speed to fly’ (see Section 11.6)can be used

XCSoar User ManualBreak-off height : This is the elevation above ground, below which it is recom-mended for pilots to consider the cross-country task

XCSoar User Manual5.8 Final glide calculatorThe final glide calculator uses many sources of information whendetermining the altitude required to reach

XCSoar User ManualAbove BelowThe final glide bar has been modified to show the effect of Mac-Cready setting on the altitude difference to complete the t

XCSoar User ManualLimited liabilityIn no event shall XCSoar, or its principals, shareholders, officers,employees, affiliates, contractors, subsidiaries,

XCSoar User ManualBelow final glide at Mc= M, and just below at Mc= 0 : Here the display shows that at the cur-rent MacCready setting, the aircraft is

XCSoar User ManualThe glide computer assumes the glider’s average cross-countryspeed is equal to that achievable under classic MacCready theorytaking

XCSoar User Manualif the display is oriented ‘Track-Up’, then steer so the blue arrowpoints directly up.The glide computer accounts for wind drift dur

XCSoar User ManualThe method that is used is defined in the configuration settingsdialog as the field ‘Auto Mc Mode’. The default setting is ‘finalglide’.

XCSoar User ManualAverage climbThis method sets the MacCready to the average climb rate achievedacross all thermals in the current flight. As such, it

XCSoar User ManualIn this dialog page, the ‘Settings’ button opens the basic settingsdialog (e.g. to adjust the bugs/ballast).The glide polar page of

6 Atmosphere and InstrumentsXCSoar maintains an internal model of the atmosphere based onstatistics gathered from the flight path and other instruments

XCSoar User ManualCurrently XCSoar supports the triadis Engineering Vega intelli-gent variometer, the Cambridge 302 DDV, Borgelt B50/B500, andLX Navig

XCSoar User Manual6.4 Wind estimationXCSoar offers two ways of estimating wind during flight.Circling : This method uses GPS position fixes to estimate

XCSoar User Manual• Both (ZigZag and Circling)Circling wind algorithmXCSoar estimates the wind magnitude and direction when cir-cling. It does this us

1 IntroductionThis document is a pilot’s manual for XCSoar, an open sourceglide navigation system for Pocket PC devices. The audience isassumed to hav

XCSoar User ManualCONFIG . WindThe wind value can be saved so that the estimate is restored nexttime XCSoar starts.At any time during flight, the pilot

XCSoar User Manualthe shaded area. This scaling and arrow makes it easy to see howthe pilot’s MacCready setting compares with achieved thermalsand to

XCSoar User Manualif you leave a thermal at the top and later return at low altitude, theposition on the map shows the predicted location of the therm

XCSoar User ManualThe forecast cloud base is determined by the altitude at whichthe dew point intersects the maximum forecast temperature on theground

XCSoar User ManualThe climb history and barograph pages, described in Section 4.15,are also useful to determine trends in the soaring conditions.94

7 Airspace, Traffic and Team FlyingA database of Special Use Airspace (SUA) can be loaded into XC-Soar and used for both display of the airspace region

XCSoar User ManualThe patterns used to display airspace areas include opaque, trans-parent (hollow) and several hatched and stippled patterns. Thenon-

XCSoar User ManualLeaving : This event occurs when the glider leaves an airspace region.In all cases, the boundary of the region is defined by maximuma

XCSoar User Manual7.4 Airspace warning dialogThe airspace warning dialog contains a list of up to 4 individualwarnings. The list item backgrounds are

XCSoar User ManualThis means that the aircraft is inside the Class C airspace ‘BernCTRgld’, with base of terrain surface and ceiling at 1350m.At any t