I've been using an AnywhereMap ATC for a couple years and a Lowrance 600C before that.
Up until a year ago the ATC and other AWM software had a very neat feature called a virtual glide slope. A year ago the company, in an effort to make this feature more useable or attractive (who knows why. . .), actually ruined it. Before, it was a conventional needle-against-a-scale display that was very useful for giving descent guidance to any runway in the database. Terrain clearance was possible through configuring the GS with a 5 or 6 degree angle which would put the FAF at or neat the boundry of the traffic area. Turning terrain depiction on for the approach was also helpful in this regard. I used to practice with it on just about every approach so I am one of the AWM customers that actually used this feature. Then, in a misguided attempt to make the glideslope more attractive (I guess . . . I actually have no idea why the company did such a stupid thing as to ruin this feature), they changed the display from a needle/scale display to a block display that changes color as you go up or down. I hated the change since it is totally unintuitive but worse than that, it doesn't work. I've tried to use it and it's impossible. Flying an ILS requires small adjustments in response to small trending motions of the indicator. This new disaster only registers change in block-sized increments and is impossible to use. But it's colorful and has a larger display than the previous one and somebody at AWM - some non-instrument rated programmer who has no idea what he's done - thought this new thing would be more impressive. I suppose it is, until you try and use it. Complaints on the AWM forums about the V-ILS change have been numerous, but AWM stopped listening to its customers a long time ago.
Anyway, this was a really interesting and useful feature that is no longer interesting or useful.
How hard would it be to incorporate a V-ILS into the iFly 700? It already has approach plates so in an emergency, a person could arrive at the published FAF and just invoke the V-ILS at that point, following the needle down to the numbers.
As it stands, the AV8OR Ace is the only portable GPS that has a workable V-ILS. That thing costs almost $2K.
At some point I will be abandoning the very quirky ATC and moving to another GPS. The iFly 700 is at the top of my list.
Please consider incorporating a V-ILS into the iFly software. I would make the switch from the ATC to the iFly tomorrow if it had such a feature.
Thanks,
Mike
P.S. I've attached a photo of the ATC screen in night mode showing the old V-ILS on the left side of the screen.