Any value flying with the Apple Watch?

Moderators: Kai, Rick, Lance Murray, Mr. Gadget

User avatar
Diamond_Dan
3 Diamonds Member
3 Diamonds Member
Posts: 186
Joined: Fri Sep 23, 2016 2:20 pm
First Name: Dan
Aircraft Type: DA40
Aircraft Registration: N456AS
Airports: KLWM
Has thanked: 135 times
Been thanked: 51 times

Any value flying with the Apple Watch?

Post by Diamond_Dan »

Now that Apple has released their third generation watch, I was thinking it may be worth a more serious look. Unfortunately, I haven't found much in the way of recent reviews, and older info seems to dismiss it as a novelty. Does anybody actively use the Apple Watch as an aid to flying? With G1000 and Foreflight at arms reach on the iPad mini, I wonder if this might be a solution in search of a problem. Has anybody seen value using other apps?

Dan
User avatar
CFIDave
5 Diamonds Member
5 Diamonds Member
Posts: 2678
Joined: Wed Nov 07, 2012 3:40 pm
First Name: Dave
Aircraft Type: OTHER
Aircraft Registration: N333GX
Airports: KJYO Leesburg VA
Has thanked: 231 times
Been thanked: 1473 times

Re: Any value flying with the Apple Watch?

Post by CFIDave »

If the Apple watch 3 with cellular ran a slimmed down version of Foreflight, it might be more useful, but I'm not aware of any plans for this. Garmin of course has its own watch that syncs with Garmin Pilot on the iPhone/iPad.

I'm still awaiting Apple's big "augmented reality" push, enabled by their recent APIs and application frameworks for supporting AR on iPhone/iPad. I want a pair of smart Apple glasses that can overlay synthetic vision on top of the view out the cockpit window. (And yes, I know similar functionality for other glasses is already being developed by other vendors.)
Epic Aircraft E1000 GX
Former DA40XLS, DA42-VI, and DA62 owner
ATP, CFI, CFI-I, MEI
User avatar
jon1746
3 Diamonds Member
3 Diamonds Member
Posts: 157
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2010 10:13 pm
First Name: jon
Aircraft Type: DA42
Aircraft Registration: N888UB
Airports: KFSD
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 13 times

Re: Any value flying with the Apple Watch?

Post by jon1746 »

I just ordered the series three this morning. I can't wait to be able not have to carry my phone everywhere I go. I have the Garmin D2 and find it just too bulky to wear every day. Will give a Pirep when I get it,
User avatar
Lance Murray
5 Diamonds Member
5 Diamonds Member
Posts: 1163
Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2010 11:25 pm
First Name: Lance
Aircraft Type: DA40
Airports:
Has thanked: 7 times
Been thanked: 118 times

Re: Any value flying with the Apple Watch?

Post by Lance Murray »

I bought the Garmin and returned it. The Altimeter reading is so small that it is useless. The GPS has little to no value. It's just a gimmick.

I was hoping that the Apple Watch would have a large altimeter display and a pulse oximeter with vibrating alarm but nope.

I have a Suunto watch that I use every day. It has a an altimeter display that is large enough that I have actually used it skydiving with success. I would love to talk to Suunto and ask them to build a pilot specific watch with a fly back timer, Altimeter, Pulse oximeter, and vibrating alarm. Seems like there could be enough business out there to make a truly usable pilot's watch. So far everything I have seen on the market is just a BS gimmick to sell watches.
User avatar
jon1746
3 Diamonds Member
3 Diamonds Member
Posts: 157
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2010 10:13 pm
First Name: jon
Aircraft Type: DA42
Aircraft Registration: N888UB
Airports: KFSD
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 13 times

Re: Any value flying with the Apple Watch?

Post by jon1746 »

Luckily I am a developer by trade so maybe I will start to build some stuff.
User avatar
Lance Murray
5 Diamonds Member
5 Diamonds Member
Posts: 1163
Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2010 11:25 pm
First Name: Lance
Aircraft Type: DA40
Airports:
Has thanked: 7 times
Been thanked: 118 times

Re: Any value flying with the Apple Watch?

Post by Lance Murray »

I would love to see IR merged with AR. That sure would make night flying in a single engine over mountains a little less scary.
CFIDave wrote:If the Apple watch 3 with cellular ran a slimmed down version of Foreflight, it might be more useful, but I'm not aware of any plans for this. Garmin of course has its own watch that syncs with Garmin Pilot on the iPhone/iPad.

I'm still awaiting Apple's big "augmented reality" push, enabled by their recent APIs and application frameworks for supporting AR on iPhone/iPad. I want a pair of smart Apple glasses that can overlay synthetic vision on top of the view out the cockpit window. (And yes, I know similar functionality for other glasses is already being developed by other vendors.)
User avatar
jon1746
3 Diamonds Member
3 Diamonds Member
Posts: 157
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2010 10:13 pm
First Name: jon
Aircraft Type: DA42
Aircraft Registration: N888UB
Airports: KFSD
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 13 times

Re: Any value flying with the Apple Watch?

Post by jon1746 »

I would envision an iPhoneX mounted on the glare shield that has all sorts of info. I wish I had more time to spend on it.
User avatar
pietromarx
4 Diamonds Member
4 Diamonds Member
Posts: 433
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2016 2:52 am
First Name: Peter
Aircraft Type: DA40
Aircraft Registration: NZZZ
Airports: KWHP
Has thanked: 29 times
Been thanked: 156 times

Re: Any value flying with the Apple Watch?

Post by pietromarx »

Agree on the not-quite-useful aspect of the smartwatches. I have a drawer full and haven't ever found one that helped with flying beyond what can be done with a nice dumb watch.

Now, on the augmented reality side, I don't mean to be a wet rag, but it seems to me like this is another case of PTA (premature technology arousal).

I've worked for many years on AR / VR / mixed reality (Apple, Qualcomm / Vuforia, etc.) and will say that I think it is unlikely that most GA pilots will see practical benefits any time soon beyond what we have today with PFDs and MFDs. The airlines and business jets are commonly using HUDs (a form of AR) with the classic use case of landing with weather / darkness. The night vision goggles (NVG) that the military and first responder pilots use are tremendous in what they can do with low-light, but are bulky and restrict peripheral vision. The famous F35 helmet (at $400k per individual fitting) is way cool, but our bubble canopies provide most of the same view at a fraction of the cost (and the passengers can share in the benefits).

Taking the challenges of flying at night, in weather, and over mountains these all are, insofar as I understand, mechanical issues, unexpected weather, and situational awareness. Would a head-mounted device or a HUD providing augmented reality help avoid mechanical failures? Would these cool widgets really provide more or less situational awareness and weather avoidance than what you have with a G1000 PFD / MFD? Think of your peripheral vision, potential for nausea, and potential for spatial disorientation when you consider restricted and cluttered vision.

I've seen a lot of special mission pilots use these HUDs and helmets and they're awesome for their use cases. However, their use cases would be terrifying to me in a DA40 ... I'm not fire-fighting, airlifting patients, or dropping off special operators. For my $0.02 if you're relying upon these things to get you out of these troubles then your missions are more exotic than mine.

Now, all this said, Pokemon Go for the passengers ... sure!
User avatar
Colin
5 Diamonds Member
5 Diamonds Member
Posts: 2006
Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2010 8:37 pm
First Name: Colin
Aircraft Type: DA42
Aircraft Registration: N972RD
Airports: KFHR
Has thanked: 319 times
Been thanked: 527 times

Re: Any value flying with the Apple Watch?

Post by Colin »

Pokemon Go for the passengers
I know you are joking, but I cannot tell you how excited my boys are when we land at a new airport and they fire up that app. Apparently airports are great places for new Pokemon.

The "boys" are 19 and 21.
Colin Summers, PP Multi-Engine IFR, ~3,000hrs
colin@mightycheese.com * send email rather than PM
http://www.flyingsummers.com
N972RD DA42 G1000 2.0 s/n 42.AC100 (sold!)
N971RD DA40 G1000 s/n 40.508 (traded)
User avatar
CFIDave
5 Diamonds Member
5 Diamonds Member
Posts: 2678
Joined: Wed Nov 07, 2012 3:40 pm
First Name: Dave
Aircraft Type: OTHER
Aircraft Registration: N333GX
Airports: KJYO Leesburg VA
Has thanked: 231 times
Been thanked: 1473 times

Re: Any value flying with the Apple Watch?

Post by CFIDave »

pietromarx wrote:Now, on the augmented reality side, I don't mean to be a wet rag, but it seems to me like this is another case of PTA (premature technology arousal).
I can see a couple of very useful benefits to AR glasses besides landings in restricted visibility at night or due to weather. For example:
- I'm constantly trying to see and avoid traffic when flying in the crowded northeast US, where I can see the target on the PFD (with SVT) and MFD, but can't find it when looking at the sky. Imagine having the glasses pinpoint the exact location of other aircraft when you turn your head in the correct direction to see it. The location precision of ADS-B over TIS/TAS would permit this.
- Occasionally I can't find the destination airport. Last week I was flying IFR to Caldwell, NJ (KCDW) and requested the visual approach from NY Approach since the weather was clear. To keep me clear of Teterboro and Morristown airport traffic, I was vectored to Caldwell from the west and down to 2000 feet, and NY Approach kept asking if I could see the airport (4 times). I couldn't, because the main runway there is surrounded by trees and hills, and I was kept down low perpendicular to the runway. I didn't finally see the airport until only 2 miles away, despite all the guidance provided by the G1000, and ATC telling me where to look. AR glasses would point out exactly where the airport was while looking in that direction.
(Sorry for the digression from discussing the Apple Watch. If it had pulse oximeter functionality I might get one.)
Epic Aircraft E1000 GX
Former DA40XLS, DA42-VI, and DA62 owner
ATP, CFI, CFI-I, MEI
Post Reply