iFly GPS Forum

I tend to agree that checking my iFlyGPS for a glide ring is not on my engine out checklist.  It is a relatively straight-forward exercise to 'know' what your glide ring is.  For instance, my plane has a 12:1 glide ratio @ 70 kts which equates to 2nm per 1000ft AGL.  5000' AGL gives me 10 nm, etc.  Now then, I do believe there is an opportunity for a feature that would fit with most pilot's emergency checklist.  I certainly would hit the 'nearest' button if the engine quits.  What about highlighting those airports that are within gliding distance?

The red exclamation point button in the NRST menu will switch to showing all airpots and color-code them to show you which ones are within range (as long as your aircraft profile is correct).

I agree that clicking on iFly for a glide ring would be way down on my emergency checklist, I would think I'd tend to keep it displayed all the time.  This would serve two purposes.  One, it would let me become familiar with the appearance of airports within range so I'd "Instinctively know" what airport/field I could reach in an emergency.  Two, if I did have an emergency, I wouldn't have to click on anything, because it would already be displayed.  However, having said that, I would think there's more to programming a glide ring that takes into account wind speed, altitude, turn radius, (and probably a few other performance items I haven't thought about), than we can imagine.