greg p wrote:
John, I see your point but don't agree. If it's an option, that would require extra keystrokes anyway. If you fly in remote areas with few local airports, I suppose that would work. However, I tried completing a flight plan using NRST from from my home(which is where I would typically enter a plan), and since I live and fly in an area with lots of airports, I found my home airport 17th on the list! I would have to page through just to find my departure point.
By "option," I mean't a default option that stays in memory, so no extra keystrokes ... you could use it if you wished, or not, so those preferring not to do this would see no difference from the present version and you would not have the scenario you describe - just leave it "off!"
However, perhaps I wasn't clear ... I would want this optional default to select the nearest airport based on my present GPS position. In other words, when I go out to the airport and boot the iFly and load a flight plan or make a new one, it would automatically select the airport where I am as the Departure Airport, as it would be the "nearest." (The iFly's GPS would locate the plane and find the nearest airport relative to the position, which, of course, is the airport your plane is presently sitting on!)
I do understand the scenario where you're at home, etc., and make a flight plan ... the nearest airport wouldn't necessarily be where your airplane is, but rather, where you're sitting with the iFly! However, even if you forgot to turn the optional default off , the selection list could be configured with a "cancel" button so it goes away with one touch and you enter identifiers as usual.
Like I said, I've had the feature with other navigation software and it worked well - especially for those of us who plug-in flight plans while actually in the plane, at the airport ... that's when saving a few keystrokes is appreciated!
John