Flight planner proposal
I am planning to add some new features to the web site to help us all to coordinate flying trips or other events. The idea is to make it easy for everyone to see who is flying where and when. That way we can have more confidence knowing that there will be other pilots in the area, and it will make it easier to organise car pooling etc.
I want to make this as useful as possible so I would like to hear if anyone has any ideas about how this should work. What features would work best for you?
So far the general idea is that there would be a page on the web site where you could post a note to say that you're thinking of going to a particular site. It would include a date and whatever other information we think is necessary. There would be a small block on the home page which shows a summary of the posts. This would probably just show the totals rather than all the posts, i.e. if there are 5 posts for Moirs then it would just show "Moirs - 5". That way we can see at a glance how many people are going to each site and we could click on a link to see more detail.
This info could also be displayed in a calendar view so that we can look further into the future. This would be useful for organised fly-ins.
Another feature that could be useful is a SMS interface so that we could subscribe to receive txt messages containing a summary of the posts. That way we could see what is happening even when we are away from the computer. The txt interface could even be two-way so that we could post in updates via txt. At this stage I have not found any way to send the txt messages for free, so it is likely that there would be some cost involved (unless anyone can suggest a free txt service). Would you be prepared to use this if you have to pay to send and/or receive the txts?
If you have any thoughts on these ideas or other suggestions please post a reply.
Cheers
Wayne
Cool ideas, as always,
Cool ideas, as always, Wayne. I'm not much of a cell phone person, but the website part sounds ace.
Thanks Wayne, thumbs up !!!
Thanks Wayne for yor efforts on this subject, I reckon anything that promotes a safer flying enviroment within a group of like minded pilots has the thumbs up from me. Cant wait to see it up and running. I personally view our web site weekly to find out if pilots are gathering "somewhere", its not only the flying I enjoy but also the people you share the day with. Robbo
Calendar view will work
Calendar view will work great. Some way of removing old posts will be needed. I am more than happy to subscribe to an SMS messaging service. Depending on the cost this may be a worthwhile use for our club funds. What does everyone think?
SMS
At present, most of us, as such end up txtng a minimum of 4 to 5 pilots sometimes calling them if flyable so I am more than happy to subscribe to SMS messaging service. If club can partake that will be great!
How about a mobile version of the page?
It would be possible to create a version of the web page that could be accessed by an internet or WAP capable phone. The question is how many people have one?
I think I'd buy one!
I think I'd buy one!
SMS support is worth it
If you consider the time and fuel we can save by better coordination of vehicles and better choice of suitable sites on any given day then the cost of SMS support for this web based idea would be well worth it. I already send multiple SMS messages to a group list when I am going XC flying ( I don't bother for coastal) so I think it will save me money. However I know that the majority of members don't fly XC and I would understand if they objected to paying for a system they wouldn't use much. Can it be done by subscription for those that want it?
Flight planner
I think this is brillant idea and would subscribe to any format that is put in place. Well done Wayne
Flight Planner
Cheers Wayne
This is all a positive leap forward.
Lets not forget to promote this site, even as it is. It would seem to me, the untrained eye on web-stuff, that a great deal of time and effort has gone into getting cloud base to where it is now. For those of you thinking "where has this chump been?" Well, I've been an active flying member of the Auckland club for over 12 years now, but have not discovered the full potential of the current cloud base format. Maybe it's just me, with my head in the sand, but before Wayne goes into overload, lets all do our bit, and let other club members know of the full potential this site offers at our finger tips.
Oh, and if the weather plays the game, I'll see ya at Pukemore on Sunday!
Cheers,
Dave.
Trip planner
You could have a calendar that shows the dates that people are thinking of going flying. When you click on the highlighted date, a trip information sheet pops up.
An information sheet (onto which people who are interested can list up the resources and services that they can contribute to the trip) would be great. Maybe add a series of boxes on the information sheet into which people can can add important data, such as number of 4WD vehicles, number of people going, number of pilots, number of drivers, need to contact monitor <Y/N>, need to open airspace <Y/N>, contact number of trip organizer, date of trip, phone number of campsite, etc.
I for one am thinking about a Novice-Intermediate HG expedition to the Paeroas for 2 days early in the New Year when the weather is suitable. I can imagine that an interested person would open up the information sheet and see who was going and what was still needed for the trip. For example, while we have all the tents, pilots and gliders, we still need another 4WD and a volunteer driver.