Final Glide Screen

This screen 1) will appear when SoarPilot starts. It can also be accessed from the "Flight" menu, and by pressing the Home button.

Lets dissect the screen in smaller digestible chunks and you’ll find that it’s not as bad as it looks 2).

Title Bar First Line Second Line Lift / Sink Table Right Hand Column Current Waypoint Next Waypoint Information Current Waypoint Bearing / Distance Actual Course and Ground Speed

The title bar shows not only the name of the screen Final Glide but also in which mode it’s calculating. This mode can be configured in the Final Glide Settings under the "Settings" menu by checking/unchecking the Optimize STF for Speed check box:

Mode	Description	Option
Distance	The screen is optimized for maximum distance with the available height	Optimize STF for Speed
Speed	The screen is optimized for the best possible speed to fly	Optimize STF for Speed

On the top right hand side of the title bar a small “i” is visible. This can be tapped to show the version of SoarPilot. When the title bar itself is tapped, the SoarPilot Menu will show.

From left to right:

SINK or MC	This label can be tapped and toggles the scale of the below lift/sink table (f.i. from 0-5 m/s to 0-10 m/s). This label shows SINK in Distance mode and MC in Speed mode.
SPEED	Speed to fly
R.ALT or A.ALT or D.ALT	This label can be tapped to switch the altitude column of the lift/sink table between R.ALT (Required Altitude), A.ALT (Arrival Altitude) and D.ALT (Delta Altitude) 3), See here for a more detailed explanation.
or ★	This is only visible when the Palm backlight is switched on 4)
GPS	This label shows the GPS status, see table below for possible values
LW or LS	Logger status, “LW” means the the logger is enabled and that the logger is currently in the ON or writing mode. The “LS” status means the the logger is enabled and that the logger is currently in the OFF or stopped mode. This label is only visible when the GPS has a satellite fix 5). When the logger function is disabled then this label is left blank.
Battery	The last label on this line shows the battery status of the Palm in percent. The first letter can be B for battery, or C for Charging/Cradle. When the battery capacity gets to 10% or less, the battery status will be displayed in inverse video.

The altitude list defaults to R.ALT or Required Altitude. When in R.ALT or D.ALT mode, the altitude displayed includes the “Safety Height” setting described below as well as the field elevation if using the internal Soaring Pilot waypoints.

Tapping the Altitude Mode will cycle through the available modes described below.

R.Alt is an absolute altitude MSL value.

D.Alt is relative to the R.Alt value.

A.Alt is relative to the selected waypoint elevation.

Note: The safety height (set on the Final Glide Settings screen) is included in the R.Alt and D.Alt values. The A.Alt with the actual arrival height with no safety height added.

A note about the NO GPS status, this can be caused by a number of reasons:

• GPS is not transmitting (f.i. it’s battery is dead)
• GPS ↔ Palm communication problems, check the cabling (if appropriate) and/or the NMEA/Port settings. Also check the GPS Status Screen, on a slow Palm you may have to tap the “Connect GPS” button.
• There really is NO GPS

This line is mainly used to display the units of the columns in the table on lines 3 to 8. These units are fully user configurable using the Units setup screen.

As mentioned above SoarPilot has two modes of altitude calculation, Speed optimized and Distance optimized. The values in these two columns contain the speed-to-fly (SPEED) and the altitude (Required, Arrival or Delta) needed to glide the current waypoint distance shown in the lower right hand corner of the screen with the given head/tail wind (HWnd), the McCready (MC) setting and the glider Polar Curve.

If set to Distance optimization mode, the top left corner will display SINK and represents the current sink being encountered. In this mode, the “*” will be placed next to a recommended value which is based on both the current MC setting as well as the current lift/sink value.

If set for Speed optimization, the top left corner will display MC and represents the same value as is entered into the MC: field on the right side of the screen.

For gliders without an airspeed indicator, see the Required Ground Speed option.

Of course, all the above discussion assumes the pilot is using an appropriate polar, has accounted for bugs or other performance-reducing factors, and doesn’t encounter abnormal sink along the way.

Final Glide Around waypoint - Further information

The value shown in this field depends on the current altitude display mode (R. Alt, A. Alt, or D. Alt).

In R. Alt (Required Altitude) mode, it is the total altitude required to complete the currently active task, flying around all remaining turnpoints, or if no task is active, flying to the current waypoint and then to the “Home” waypoint, arriving at the safety height over the field. (see Waypoint Types).

In the R. Alt mode, the FGA number will typically start out as a large positive number and get smaller as the flight progresses. If your actual altitude is higher than the FGA value, you should arrive at your destination with at least the safety margin over the field.

In D. Alt (Delta Altitude) mode it is the difference between your current altitude and the total *additional* altitude required to complete the currently active task, flying around all remaining turnpoints, or if no task is active, flying to the current waypoint and then to the “Home” waypoint, arriving at the safety height over the field. (see Waypoint Types).

In the D. Alt mode, the FGA number will typically start out as a large negative number and get larger (smaller negative number) as the flight progresses. If it becomes positive, then you should arrive at your destination with at least the safety margin over the field.

In A. Alt (Arrival Altitude) mode, it is the calculated arrival altitude above the waypoint elevation designated as the finish point of the task, after flying from the current position and altitude around all remaining task turnpoints and then to the finish point. If no task is active, then it is the calculated arrival altitude after flying from the current position and altitude to the currently active waypoint, and from there to the “Home” waypoint.

In A. Alt mode, the calculated arrival altitude DOES NOT take the safety margin into account.

In the A. Alt mode the FGA number will typically start out as a large negative number and get larger (smaller negative number) as the flight progresses. HOWEVER, SINCE THIS IS THE ACTUAL ARRIVAL ALTITUDE, in order for you to arrive at he field with at least the safety margin remaining, it must show a positive number equal to the safety margin desired.

The option to control displaying the next waypoint information is on the Final Glide Settings screen.

For more information on Tasks, click here.

This shows the bearing and distance to the current waypoint. Also the line with a circle at the top shows the current wind direction.

If a task is active, tapping the bearing arrow takes you to the Waypoint Sector screen.

Tapping the Bearing / Distance fields takes you to the Task Editor for the active task.

For more information on Tasks, click here.

If you have a temporary waypoint selected druing a task, “Temp” will be shown above the waypoint direction arrow.

This shows your current ground track and ground speed.

If there is significant wind, then this will be different from your airspeed. For gliders without an airspeed indicator, see the Required Ground Speed option.

Tapping on the Course / Speed fields takes you to the Waypoint Select screens.