Honeywell releases instrument approach preview app

A new app from Honeywell Aerospace provides a unique way to research and brief instrument approaches by allowing you to visualize procedures in a 3D environment right on your iPad. The GoDirect Flight Preview app allows you to virtually fly any approach and become familiar with the surrounding terrain, before going out and flying it in the airplane.

The app uses current FAA data to render a flight path that includes waypoint sequencing and vertical and lateral profiling in three dimensions, with the target runway highlighted at the end of the approach.

The app is free to download and starts up in demo mode, allowing you to test fly any of the procedures at the Kahului airport in Hawaii. You can select the runway, approach type, initial approach fix, and whether or not you want to fly the missed approach procedure from the menu at the top left of the screen.

After loading an approach, the app loads a split screen view showing 3D satellite imagery on the left, and the approach chart on the right. At the bottom of the screen is profile view that highlights nearby terrain relative to the flight plan. At any time you can toggle the 3D view to a top down birds-eye view using the control at the lower left.

After you’ve set up the approach, press the play button at the lower left to display an animation of the pilots view of the procedure from start to finish. The 1-min/2-min button next to the play button controls the playback speed.

The app is subscription-based, allowing you to purchase access to individual regions for $1.99/month or $19.99/year. You can download the free app here: Honeywell GoDirect Flight Preview.