Avare Help

First launch

When you first launch Avare, read the Terms of Use, enter your email, and tap I Agree & Sign if you agree. Existing users may see this screen again after this update. Before using Avare the first time, you must have an internet connection on your device (WiFi or Data) to Download the Database (always free) and at least one chart. Later you can add airport diagrams, terminal procedures, and other files. Free users may keep one chart per category; see Subscription under More Features.

Please get only the materials you need because downloading all available materials will use both your online resources and ours, overloading our servers.

Download charts and data

Tap the Menu button (square button on the lower left side of the Map screen), press the Download button, select one or more items you need from the list, then press the Get button to begin downloading.

Note The Menu button is only available in the Map view, so if you don't see it just press the Map button at bottom-left first (scroll left on the bottom row of buttons if needed) and Menu will appear above the Map button.

When you're done Downloading, just hit the Back key on your device to see the Map view. After doing this, no data connection is required to use any of the materials you've downloaded with Avare. Note that you may need to press the Find button, select an airport on a chart you downloaded, and press the Center button before a downloaded chart is displayed.

Notes

• The main buttons across the bottom of the Avare screen that may lead to other selection buttons, are called "Tabs" that select the various main Avare screens. The left-most Map tab is most commonly used in flight, to display a GPS moving map.
• New charts and features are being added frequently, so check often to ensure that you have the latest Avare version and Downloads. In the Downloads screen, any categories containing items that are outdated will be shown in red. Any red items indicate that you need to ensure your device has an internet connection and then press the Update button.
• Sometimes after installing or upgrading the free Avare app, you may be taken to the Download screen automatically. After pressing Update to ensure that the Databases file and any other of the free FAA materials you need are current (green Checkmark), press the Back key to exit to the Map screen.

GPS

If you forgot to ensure that GPS is on in your device's Settings, Avare may remind you to do that because it is unable to display your position accurately without GPS. To explore Avare without GPS press the Map screen's Navigate / Simulation button to put Avare in Simulation mode (this mode disables Avare's GPS functions even with GPS on).

To possibly speed up Android internal GPS acquisition on some devices, you can ensure that all services (WiFi, cell service, and data) are at least temporarily turned on too. Once required data has been Downloaded and GPS location has been acquired, Avare works fine in "Airplane Mode" with cell and data service turned off and only GPS turned on. Airplane Mode can considerably extend battery life.

Note that Android generally wants cell and data always On for data collection and other services. Avare may display a "No GPS" warning even if it is receiving some data from Android's internal GPS receiver. For the most accurate and reliable GPS with good Android battery life, we recommend an external GPS/ADS-B In receiver placed with a clear view of the sky.

For External WiFi GPS recievers

In your Android settings: turn Off GPS, turn On "Airplane Mode" then turn On WiFi, and then connect Android to your external receiver. Once connected in Android, tap the IO tab button at the far right end of the bottom row (scroll if needed). Then select WiFi from the top pulldown list, then Listen.

Once you see a rapidly scrolling list of incoming data, Avare is connected to your external receiver correctly and will display a more accurate and reliable GPS location than your Android's internal receiver can achieve. You can get more details on GPS data by selecting Tools in the IO screen pulldown menu. Note that "0" altitude indicates high accuracy, though the GPS system often inherently disagrees with the Altimeter value required in flight.

Note that some WiFi "GPS/ADS-B In" devices use a number other than Avare's default "4000" in IO WiFi settings (if so, get your device's number and replace "4000" with that number). If you have a Bluetooth external device, the procedure will differ, but once working you'll still see scrolling data.

Move around

Change zoom on the Sectionals simply by holding a single point on the chart and dragging or two finger pinching, just like when viewing photos on your device.

The initial Avare default display mode is vertical "Portrait" mode. Avare's Preferences screen includes options to change the default display to horizontal "Landscape" mode, or "Sensor" mode that responds to the Android device's orientation. Sensor mode may be helpful in flight if for example your flight path changes from N/S to E/W and your mounted device is easily rotated.

Map and the other "Tab" buttons on the bottom row can be scrolled sideways for viewing on smaller screens. After exploring all of the buttons, Map -> Menu -> Preferences -> UI Configuration -> Tab Bar Content menu has options to turn off buttons you don't use, to reduce or eliminate the need to scroll that row to have your choice of Tab buttons always displayed.

Center

The green Center button at the bottom of the screen will center the location icon and continue tracking your current GPS location (if the GPS is on and has acquired your location) on the "moving map" chart.

While GPS is acquired in Avare, the map will constantly track from your currently displayed location. This is very handy in flight, because you can drag the map to place the location indicator icon at any spot on the screen (or even completely off the screen) and the map will continue tracking beneath it.

So, for example, if you are flying northwest, you can put the location icon nearer the southeast corner of the screen and see a greater distance ahead on the map at any given zoom level. To instantly center your location icon again, just press the green button. You can also long-press the green button to toggle between North Up and Track Up views of your chart.

Pan

The "Pan" (Pan/Draw) button allows you to jot quick notes on charts. In the Map screen, tap the Pan button at the lower-right.

When the button changes to the Draw button, the charts will not pan, and touches on the Map screen become a touch-operated pen for writing or drawing on charts. Draw or write notes on the screen with your finger. Notes length is limited due to memory size.

To temporarily hide your notes/drawings and return to normal Map functioning (Pan mode), just tap the Draw (Pan) button again.

To erase all notes and drawings in Draw mode, press the Clear button.

NOTE: If you inadvertently touch the Pan button in flight your screen stops tracking position. Just tap the Draw button, and then if needed the Center button, to display your location again.

Long-press two points

Long-press two points simultaneously with one point on your approximate current location, plus any other point on the chart (with GPS acquired).

This will display text at the top of the screen, giving your approximate compass direction and distance From, followed by approximate GPS bearing To, that point in relation to your GPS location. This may be helpful when contacting ATC or making CTAF calls.

Destination

Destination in Avare can be set in the Find screen (see below), but also set after a long-press anywhere on the Map screen chart. Long-press a Map point and tap the green >D button that pops up. This will draw a course line to that new Destination.

You can also tap the Plan button to send that point to your active flight plan. If you change your mind, you can instantly return your Destination to any previous selection(s) via the Find button, which displays a list arranged with the most recent at the top.

Find

The "Find" button in the bottom Menu activates a search box for a 3 or 4-digit Destination Airport code (or Navaid code, Fix code, GPS coordinates, etc.) that Avare uses to display a course, bearing, etc.

This code also determines the Destination airport Avare uses when you display Chart Supplement info. If you do not remember the airport code for an airport, enter part of its facility name to search for it.

Avare offers some capability for offline facility search (try just the first letter and scrolling down the list). When online, Avare automatically taps into Google Maps if needed to search for airports and even cities or complete street addresses (see "Fly There" in the Help menu above).

You can also specify radial/DME pairs in a Destination like BOS275010 for BOS VOR, 275 degree radial, 10 miles. To select a Destination, simply tap on that line in the Find screen.

Note that if you do NOT tap an identifier in the list, no new Destination is selected as the current Destination.

The Find screen has an option to add a helpful label to any GPS coordinates you’ve added to the Find list, by long-pressing on that list item. To add a label to GPS coordinates in the Find screen, long-press the item and then press the Label button that appears in the row next to Save and Delete buttons.

Once a Destination is listed on the Find page, you can long-press on that Find page item to get the scrollable METAR and ADS-B In or other data if available, for that location. You can also list such data with a long-press on the chart. In either case you can optionally get the data without then selecting that as the current Destination.

To Delete a Destination from the list of previously used destinations in the search list, long-press it and a list of buttons will appear. Select "Delete" to delete that destination.

Note that familiar symbols are used to indicate the various types of Destination codes such as VORs and intersections. Airports have an empty round symbol for example.

For convenience in selecting VORs, etc., airports are sorted toward the bottom since they can be quickly selected with a long-press in Map view.

Menu

The button on the lower left side of the Map screen displays a list of additional options and configuration items for Avare. Use your Android Back key or gesture to return to the Map screen.

• The Preferences button for Avare is accessed via the Menu button, atop the following list of buttons for other features and options.
• The Download button displays selections for charts and other FAA and open source materials. Free users may keep one chart per category; Databases and Weather/TFRs stay unlimited. Updates to charts already on the device remain allowed. See Subscription under More Features.
• The Emergency button sets Destination to the nearest airport and can load a checklist saved on the Acft tab under Lists.
• The Help button opens this in-app Help file. Use the Search box at the top of the Help screen to find a topic.
• The Tracks button toggles your option to capture and optionally Save your flight path line. (Default: Tracks are Off).
• The Layer button displays your map layer type (default: NEXRAD).
• The Navigate/Simulation button in the Menu list toggles Avare's use of GPS for positioning the map. In the default Navigate mode, if GPS is on and location is acquired Avare will track your location.
• The Chart Type button displays the chart type currently selected in a scrollable list. Sectional is the default chart.

To browse charts

To browse charts freely on the Map screen without reference to your GPS location, tap Menu and select Simulation. Then tap the chart screen and you can zoom in or out, scroll and pan freely, or quickly zip to any location simply by inputting a Destination as described above.

Return to GPS tracking by tapping that Simulation button that then changes to Navigate, and tap the chart. Then tap the Center button if needed.

Simulation Mode works without any need for cell or data access or GPS. If GPS is on and has acquired a "lock" on your location, it will retain lock in Simulation Mode while Avare is active and the device is on. This is helpful because once internal GPS is lost, some devices won't re-acquire without a cell or WiFi signal (such as when aloft in many areas).

In Simulation Mode, Find will center the chart display at the airport code you input, and you can then browse from there or input another airport code. After browsing, to re-center the map on the current Destination (if any is set), just tap the Center button.

When you use Menu to toggle from Simulation back to Navigate, the display will return to your current GPS location if available. If not, tap the Center button.

To track a course to Destination

Enter a Destination, and a magenta great circle route will appear from your current GPS location to that destination.

Once set, the magenta route line doesn't move with the aircraft location. A dashed black and white Destination track line shows the current bearing, from your aircraft's location, to the destination. Similarly, a red dashed line shows the current aircraft ground track.

Align the two dashed lines with the solid magenta line for the shortest route to your Destination. If your location has diverged from the magenta course line or it's off screen, you can just fly so that the two dashed lines are superimposed in alignment. You can also use Find to re-select your Destination.

Text information

Text information is displayed at the top of the Map display screen, when your GPS position is acquired and you have input a valid Destination.

In the top row: Destination (or chart name if no Destination is selected) at the left; Distance from GPS location, time to Destination direct at current GPS speed, GPS bearing to Destination at the right.

In the second row: GPS elevation MSL at the left; GPS ground speed and GPS heading at the right.

GPS Status

GPS Status information is available from the Tools screen. This feature is helpful in positioning your GPS device for best reception, and in troubleshooting any GPS problems.

TFRs

TFRs that you have recently fetched using Update in Download via internet from the FAA are automatically displayed as red graphics on charts by default. If you long-press the red indicator at the top-center of a TFR shape, text for that TFR will be displayed in the TFR section. It is user's responsibility to Update the latest TFRs from the download list under the Databases group.

Even though Avare gets the TFR data from the FAA website, you must call your FSS for the latest TFR data, as the FAA TFR website may not be current.

Runway Extensions

Runway Extensions (if set in Preferences) show 6 degree approach to all runways at the airport currently set as Destination. Note that due to variations in the FAA charts, extensions may not line up with airport symbols on charts though Avare's accuracy has been tested.

Menu

The "Menu" button displays the currently selected chart type.

Map is the default screen in Avare, and will often be displayed when using the Back key or gesture on your device from within another Avare screen such as the Find screen.

Note If Avare is unable to acquire your GPS position or you have no Destination selected, a black screen may be displayed due to no chart for the current location. If so, you can display a chart by using Menu to select Simulation and chart type (Sectional, etc.), then using Find and Center to select a Destination that is on a chart you have installed via Download.

Plate

The "Plate" Tab displays the FAA airport diagrams, and terminal procedures for the currently selected Destination, selected airports in Flight Plan, Near and Find modes, and auto loads the Plate on landing roll out in Map mode, if that option is selected in Preferences.

To view an Airport Diagram (AD) first Download the collection of ADs that covers the location of your intended Destination. For example, "California" for LAX. Then input the Destination airport code in the Find screen as described above, tap the Plates button, then select AIRPORT-DIAGRAM from the drop down list and Avare will display it, provided that you have downloaded the relevant AD file and the FAA provides a diagram for your selected Destination airport.

Note that the "GPS Taxi" feature in Avare can indicate your current location on an airport (see details in the Airport Diagram section of this Help feature).

CSup

The "CSup" (Chart Supplement) Tab displays all available airport info for the currently selected Destination airport (not nearest your Location) in text format.

To get airport text info, first input a Destination airport in Map view as described above, then tap the "CSup" button and scroll through the info if any (FAA downloads don't cover all airports).

Note that if you have Downloaded the "Chart Supplement Images" file for your Destination airport (e.g. "Chart Supplement SW" for LAX), the drop down Chart Supplement bar on the top of the CSup screen is used to select between the text and graphical versions of the Chart Supplement. The regional graphical Chart Supplement files are typically quite large, but can provide information beyond what's contained in the smaller FAA text version that covers all FAA regions and is included in Avare's required Databases file.

Find

The "Find" Tab enables you to search for a Destination airport, VOR or waypoint.

Plan

The "Plan" Tab lets you build a multi-waypoint flight plan online or offline, then get weather and NOTAMs for that route.

Under the Brief tab, tap Get Briefing while connected to the Internet. Avare loads METARs, TAFs, PIREPs, and FAA NOTAMs for airports in the plan. Enter at least two points, including one airport.

The "Filing" feature files, amends, activates, and closes FAA flight plans through 1800wxbrief.com (not DUATS). Register first under Preferences -> Application State -> Account. Email briefing of a filed plan uses that same registered address.

Near

The "Near" Tab displays a selectable list of airports nearest to your current GPS location, with limited details.

To use the Near feature, first ensure that GPS is on and has acquired your location, then tap the Near button at the bottom of the screen. The airports are listed by increasing distance with nearest at the top. Each airport's name, code, distance, bearing, and 100LL fuel (if available) is displayed (Jet A may be shown as "A" alone, or as 100LLA indicating availability of both fuels).

To select an airport on the list as Avare's current Destination, simply tap the name of that airport and then tap the button that pops out, to select the code displayed on that button as your Destination.

PFD, 3D, Acft, and IO

The "PFD", "3D", "Acft", and "IO" Tabs can be turned on or off under Preferences -> UI Configuration -> Tab Bar Content.

Acft holds aircraft profiles, weight and balance, checklists, and takeoff/landing/cruise performance. IO connects external GPS/ADS-B devices and includes Tools for GPS status and backup import/export. GPS source (Internal, External, or Both) is set under Preferences -> GPS.

Subscription (Avare Paid)

Avare works without a subscription. Free users may keep at most one chart per Download category. Databases and Weather/TFRs are always unlimited. Updates to charts already on the device stay allowed.

To subscribe, restore a purchase, or manage the plan: Map -> Menu -> Preferences -> Application State -> Subscription. Tap Sign in / Register with your email, then Subscribe. Forgot password? sends a reset email. Paid subscribers may keep as many charts as they like.

Account (1800wxbrief)

Filing and email briefings use your Apps4Av / 1800wxbrief.com account. Register or unregister under Preferences -> Application State -> Account (same Terms of Use screen as first launch). This is separate from Subscription sign-in.

Acft

The Acft tab (Preferences -> UI Configuration -> Tab Bar Content) holds aircraft profiles, weight and balance, checklists, and performance. Save an aircraft on the Aircraft tab (tail, type, fuel, speeds, pilot info). The loaded aircraft is used for flight plan filing and performance estimates. Weight and balance and takeoff/landing/cruise calculations from POH-style data are on the same tab.

Status Line Font Scaling

The top status line and bottom tab bar are now scalable within Avare. No need to set the global device font scaling values. Changing this value will alter the number of Dynamic Fields available on the top two lines. Make them smaller for more fields, larger for fewer. This setting can be found under Preferences->UI Configuration->Adjust Font Size. Changing this value requires a restart of Avare to take effect.

Geo Referenced Approach Plates

Avare has 13000+ geo referenced approach plates for the US. Users may choose to geo reference the plates on their own. See this video for details.

User geo referenced plate information overrides the official geo referenced information. Users can revert back to the official information by using the "Clear" button.

Glide Range

Set Best Glide Sink Rate (ft/min) and Cruising TAS on the Acft tab for the loaded aircraft. Avare uses those values for the glide range ring and for airports shown red or green on the Near tab.

All the airports shown in red color in the Near tab, are unlikely to be in glide range. Those shown in green may be approximately in glide range depending on wind and other factors.

Emergency

You can display your in-flight emergency list by tapping the Menu button on the Map screen, then the Emergency button. You will be asked to confirm. Tap the "Yes" button to display your emergency list.

Create the checklist on the Acft tab under Lists and save it with the name you want Emergency to load. Emergency sets Destination to the nearest airport.

Depending on altitude, terrain, winds, obstacles, aircraft and other factors, you may not be able to make it to that airport in an engine out emergency.

My Plates

You may load your maps / plates images from the external folder. Plates that can be loaded must be in .png format with that file name extension.

Create / download your own plate .png files to the Avare external folder (usually Download/com.ds.avare/) under myplates/ sub-folder. Load your own images from the Plates menu -> top right drop down -> My Plates. You may geo tag your images to navigate on them.

This is a popular feature when flying in combination with hiking.

Stadiums (Contact FSS)

You can show stadium locations on the Map screen. Stadiums will be shown regardless of event schedules. To show stadium locations, check Preferences->Display->Show Stadiums.

Note that the game and event schedules are not known Avare and are subject to change at any time. Flight service or ATC contact is required to know if any stadium has an active TFR, but by displaying stadiums you can simply avoid all that are known to Avare.

Layers

The Layer button (Default NEXRAD) on the Map screen Menu lets you select between displaying No Layer, METAR, NEXRAD, or Plate layer on the Map screen. To show standard FAA color METAR circles on airports, use the METAR Layer. To Show Radar weather over Map, use NEXRAD layer. To show approach plates on the Map screen, use the Plate layer.

CDI/VDI

This feature displays position deviation from your planned path while a valid GPS lock is acquired. It is enabled in the Preferences menu under the Instrumentation section. The CDI (Course Deviation Indicator) is operational only when you have a destination set.

The needle indicator at the bottom will move left/right of center based upon how off course your location you are. If you deviate more than one tick left or right then the indicator changes color - RED if you are left of course, GREEN if you are right. To correct, steer the aircraft in the direction of the arrow to bring it back to center.

The VDI (Vertical Deviation Indicator) will display when you have a destination with a known elevation set and you are within 15nm of it. The indicator needle on the right of the bars is centered when you are on a 3 degree glideslope of your destination. Being "on the glideslope" is a range of 2.86 to 3.14 degrees. Anything greater than 3.14 is considered "above" and will show the indicator in YELLOW. Anything below 2.86 is low, and the color is changed to RED. When you return to the programmed slope, the display will return to a neutral GRAY. The VDI scale is 0.14 degree / division.

!!!CAUTION !!! The VDI uses GPS altitude and general airport elevation. It is not an accurate VNAV / glide slope indicator to any specific runway at your destination. The CDI uses GPS track heading and is not an accurate representation of your magnetic heading.

NEXRAD

In Preferences you can select ADS-B Weather periodically updated aloft, if equipped and connected, to display ADS-B NEXRAD radar overlaid on the Map screen.

To show Internet downloaded NEXRAD radar, select that in Preferences, go online, select Menu -> Download, and tap Update. Then, on the Menu page, on the right, select the Layer type. NEXRAD is the default.

PFD

PFD shows a glass cockpit-like setup for learning purposes. It should in no way be used in IMC. It has been tested with iLevil hardware only. The user will need to connect and test a compatible device to use this feature.

ADS-B In

This requires an active and connected ADS-B receiver. To enable weather, radar, and any other available features of the ADS-B data in Avare, select Menu> Preferences> Use ADS-B Weather.

Dynamic Fields

By default, the top of the Map screen displays two rows of text lines that can be configured to show desired values of speed, altitude, time, destination, timer, bearing, distance, and many more. To use dynamic fields, go to Preferences -> Application State and ensure that "Use Dynamic Fields" is selected. Then in the Map screen, double-tap on the top text fields and choose the desired value to display at that location. Note that text size depends on font settings and on some Android devices it make take multiple double-taps to access the menu for a given Dynamic Field (the double-tap area for each field is not displayed).

Height Above Ground

Avare can display the approximate MSL height above ground in a Dynamic Field, in 3D screen, IF the user has downloaded the Terrain / Elevation maps for the area. The AGL value is approximate and should be used with caution. Types of error in the AGL include wrong MSL reported by the GPS, and quantization errors in the elevation charts.

Six Second Trends

Dynamic Fields can be configured to show speed, track, and altitude trends. These trends show speed, track, and altitude six seconds from now, if current flight characteristics are maintained.

GPS Coordinates

You Can enter GPS coordinates for Destination and Plan in decimal format (42d30'30"N,71d30'30"W), as 42.5083&-71.5083, or in equivalent degree minute second format as 423030N0713030W. You may find it easiest to simply duplicate the format displayed in Find after a long-press on the chart.

Note that a long-press will only create approximate Destination coordinates (fingertip size is one factor).

Vertical Speed Required

Avare can display the optimum descent and climb rate to a destination in a Dynamic Field while flying near the destination, in feet per minute (fpm). If the destination is an airport, maintaing that rate will get the pilot to the pattern altitude.

KML Tracks

Preferences allow you to Enable Tracking, and turn the display of your flight Track on or off. Any time you'd like to record your flight Track, just tap the Menu button and then the "Tracks Off" indicator button. That will turn on the Track feature, which creates a Google Earth & Google Maps compatible file on your device. Avare then periodically stores in this file the coded stream of text "bread crumb" location data from your active GPS receiver, and can display a Track connecting these bread crumbs on the Map view. To stop storing these bread crumbs, again tap Menu and then "Tracks On" to see options and information regarding the file. Later you can view the file in Earth or Maps to "re-fly" your route.

Distance & Speed Rings

Use Menu -> Preferences -> Instrumentation -> Distance Ring Style to see rings displayed on the Map screen. Time or Distance from your current GPS location and the Style and Size of the rings can be set in Preferences. The glide range ring displays the glide range based your aircraft's configured best glide speed and sink rate. The glide range ring shows the wind at current altitude (w) / calculated airspeed (t).

WARNING: Do not rely on the glide ring in case of emergency to arrive safely at a landing point. There are approximations made in calculations for weather, terrain, and obstacles.

Civil Air Patrol CAP Grids

Menu -> Preferences -> Display -> can show CAP Grids to see CAP grids and labels.

3D View

Note: This screen requires significant memory and processing power, and may crash / misbehave on older devices. To see charts in 3D, download elevation charts from the Download menu for your area. Charts and other data will be displayed under 3D tab. Move around on the 3D screen using touch. To check out 3D view of a destination you have not been to, use Simulation mode with Destination set to the destination. To see terrain clearance, use "Terrain" as chart type selection in 3D screen. Red terrain is above your altitude, and green terrain is 1000 feet below your altitude.

• If the center button is gray, you are in Satellite Camera mode.
• Your aircraft will be located where green/blue/orange lines intersect.
• Several straight lines emerge from your aircraft to show your heading. Orange line shows your current track, and disappears under terrain higher than your altitude. Green line scans the terrain similarly.
• If you are receiving ADS-B traffic, you will see other aircraft depicted with red/green wing colors that follow the nav lights convention.
• You will see obstacles in the area as red vertical lines.
• Your elevation AGL is shown when GPS is locked.
• Pinch with two fingers to zoom in and out. Pan left, right, up, and down with finger swipe. Rotate the map with two finger rotate.
• If the center button is green, you are in Pilot Camera mode. You can get in/out of this mode by long-pressing the center button.
• You will see a view representing that from the front of your aircraft. You will not see your own aircraft, but you will see a miniature orange aircraft.
• If you are receiving ADS-B traffic you will see other aircraft with red and white wing colors that follow the Nav lights convention.
• You will see obstacles as red vertical lines.
• Your elevation AGL is shown when GPS is locked.
• Pinch with two fingers to zoom in and out. Look left, right, up, and down with finger swipe.
• Compare the device screen with your front view to find the location of traffic in the real world.

Fuel Tank Reminders

The fuel tank reminder is implemented as a display instrument that is selectable in any field of the top two status lines. To enable it, double tap the display field you wish to use for it, and select "Fuel Tank Switch Timer" from the list. The timer default is 30 minutes and will count down to zero. It is initially suspended/stopped. Single tap the display field to toggle start/stop the timer value. When the value reaches zero, a dialog is displayed indicating "Switch Fuel Tanks". You must hit the OK button to dismiss it. The timer will then self-reset to 30 minutes to begin the cycle all over again. A long-press on the fuel tank field will reset the countdown timer to 30 minutes.

Area Plates

Avare can download and display Open StreetMaps plates for the airports (US, Canada) that do not have airport diagrams available. You can download these plates from the Download menu, under the VFR Area Plates category. All of these plates are Geo-referenced to display your approximate location.

Flight Plan Course Line

The flight plan course line (if shown) is color coded. Legs drawn in cyan are ones that have yet to be flown. The magenta colored leg is the one currently active. Legs that have already been flown are drawn in gray.

UI Configuration

You can turn on and off non-essential parts of the UI. Go to Preferences->UI Configuration for this.

Flight Plan Controls

While on the Map/Chart display tab, you now have the ability to show flight plan controls. There is an option under Preferences -> UI Configuration -> Show Flight Plan Controls. When enabled, 3 buttons will appear on the right edge of the map page when there is an active flight plan.

The top button is a "rewind" image, it sets the next way point to the previous one in the plan - it is the same function as the "previous" button on the "Plan" tab.

The middle button is a toggle for "pause/play" of the flight plan to control whether or not perform way point passage logic. When it is paused, way points are not automatically passed and the button will appear as a "pause" image. When active, it appears as the "play" button.

The bottom button is a "fast forward" image that will advance the plan to the next way point in the sequence - same as "Next" on the "plan" tab.

Loading and Displaying Esri Shape Files

Avare can load and display an Esri shape file (.shp) by Importing it from the IO tab -> Tools. The shape file name must be specified in Preferences->Display->Shape File Name. The user must then restart Avare to load the shape file. Fully close and reopen Avare, or restart the device.

An example country's shape file can be downloaded from Natural Earth. Note that maximum points in a shape are limited to 1024, and maximum shapes in a file are limited to 256.

Backing up data

Go to the IO Tab -> Tools, and import / export the data to any folder available.

This feature is used to back up data, and share data between devices. Tracks, Plans, Tiles, Plates, Checklists, Waypoints, Custom plates etc. can be manipulated. Export the data first to see the format of import; making sure proper folder structure is followed. Only zip files are supported.

Displaying NavAids near a point

On long-press, a section called "Position" shows 4 closest navaids (VORs, NDBs) within a 150 miles radius. Based on current altitude, distance to the VOR is yellow if the point pressed is outside the VOR's service volume (see FAR AIM 1-1-8). If the listed navaid has HIWAS (Hazardous Inflight Weather Advisory Service) capability, an (H) superscript is displayed next to the VOR identifier. This feature allows planning visual waypoints based on VOR radial crossing.

The "GPS Taxi" feature can display a location icon at your current GPS location on the FAA Airport Diagram for your current Destination airport. First you must Download the Airport Diagram for the airport where you'd like to use GPS Taxi, and of course GPS must be on with location acquired. Then select "AIRPORT-DIAGRAM" in the Plate screen.

Note While it can display your location, GPS Taxi on airport diagrams is not "moving map" so your location will not be automatically tracked at the center of the screen. Just scroll and pinch-zoom the Plate screen while on the airport with GPS On, to find the airplane icon tracking your current location.

Using the Find tab, you can add addresses and landmarks like "address,Statue Of Liberty" or "address,800 Boylston St. Boston, MA 02199" (without the quotes, and with "address," as prefix) as your Destination in Avare. If you add a Destination in this way it's added to the list in the Find screen just like airports, coordinates or other Destinations you've set in Avare. To use the Fly There feature, you must be connected to the Internet before entering a new address. Once Avare decodes the address, it subsequently appears in the Find screen list, and then no Internet connection is required for navigation to it. Multiple addresses can be stored in the Find list.

Use the Fly There feature

With Avare's Find screen. With an Internet connection, tap the Find button and in the Search box enter an address (or a location like "address,1 wtc"), and a pin icon appears in the list of Destinations. Tap the pin icon to select that as your Destination.

With Google Maps, allowing you to see street and terrain maps and even satellite views when selecting a Destination. With an Internet connection:

• Launch the Google maps application on your device.
• Enter an address or landmark like "address,1 wtc" (no quotes).
• Google Maps will locate the landmark (or address), and put a red marker icon on it.
• Activate the "Share" option in your version of Google Maps and select the Avare icon from the list of apps. Avare will set that address as Destination, and it will be in the Find list if you add other Destinations in any way.

See the Find section above for more information on using the Find function.

Terrain Maps

Avare can download and display USGS terrain maps. These maps can be downloaded from the download list under "Terrain".

Shaded Relief Maps

Avare provides USGS shaded relief maps. These maps can be downloaded from the download list under "Terrain".

Note Although the app may show the terrain and the relief maps expired after every new FAA cycle, there is usually very little change to the ground elevation for aviation purposes. Downloading of terrain maps for every FAA cycle is a waste of time and bandwidth.

The Plate screen shows any terminal procedure plates you have Downloaded. To see terminal procedures for an airport, simply enter it as Destination, then tap the Plate screen button at the bottom of the screen. Select the appropriate procedure from the drop down list for that airport.

Plates are distributed in multiple files, one for each state. There are tens of thousands of procedures, making plate files large. For example, the Texas plates download size is about 300 MB. The Plate screen displays take off and alternate minimums, when downloaded.

The Plate files also contain complete pages from the green FAA Chart Supplement book in an image format. Note that Avare's text Chart Supplement is contained in the main Avare Database and does not require downloading the graphical Chart Supplements in the Plates files.

Among the few problems reported with Avare or any of our apps, three categories have emerged:

1. Incomplete or damaged installation

Most of these problems have been related to internet connectivity problems during installation or use of the app, such as during download of the Database or charts for Avare. If you have problems with any of our apps, you might first try checking your internet connection and then deleting and re-installing the file(s) or Avare itself.

2. Software conflicts

Another category of weird and intermittent problems arises from conflicts with other apps. Unlike nearly all apps currently available for Android, our apps use only the bare minimum of Permissions required for operation. Apps you have installed from other developers may use Permissions that enable them to automatically launch their app, display ads, collect and use your personal information or do other operations in the background even when you’re not using their app. Such activity by those apps can cause strange and intermittent problems with other apps. Usually, the apps that come pre-installed on your device won’t cause such problems. Something to try if you have problems with any of our apps, is to disable or uninstall other apps you’ve installed on your device. You might also try a virus scanner from a reputable provider, keeping in mind that some anti-virus apps from disreputable providers have themselves been used to install a virus.

3. Hardware problems

Before going further, consider posting a detailed description of your device, Android version, and problem on the Forum in case it is a known issue that someone else has fixed or possibly get free help from a friendly expert. Depending on your configuration Avare can use more RAM than other apps. Some past problems were caused by failing SD RAM chips. Due to Google changes to the Android OS, SD chips are no longer supported in Avare eliminating that potential cause. It is still possible for your device's internal chips to fail, and a last resort solution for that might be to back up and Factory Reset your device. Since that can be a daunting process, if you have access to another Android device, first check to ensure Avare works properly on that device.

For current and accurate FAA chart maps, please visit the FAA's Digital Products website while you are online. Links to materials such as the VFR Charts, IFR Charts and other materials used in Avare, may also be found listed in the left margin column there.

Note Under the VFR chart type tabs on this FAA website, select the chart type for which you'd like to see a map legend Chart Index map. For example, to see a map showing the area covered by each of the online FAA Sectional charts, click on the "Sectional Chart Index" link.

As far North as 60N is covered in this Avare Download section. We occasionally investigate the potential for adding more capabilities for flying Avare in Canada. It would be helpful if anyone interested in this topic would post a message on our Forum, so we can gauge how many of our users fly Avare in Canada and would like to see more capabilities added. Also what specific capabilities might be most useful.

Clearly, having official Canadian charts and data would be very popular and helpful, but to date we have been unable to obtain free official materials of that kind from NavCanada.

To fly Avare in Canada as of this writing (October 8, 2014), be sure you go to Map, Menu, Preferences, Display, and turn on Show All Bases. That enables you to Find any Canadian destination that is in Avare's database and fly GPS direct even without any map displayed. To display a Canadian map, in the Download menu near the bottom is a category currently named "Topographic Maps(42)" which currently only contains Canada Grid maps numbered 1-114.

In the current version of Avare, you might encounter some difficulty in switching between U.S. charts and Canadian Topo. If so, it might help to use Simulation mode if your current position is not in Canada. If that does not help you might also Exit and restart Avare. We very much want to improve and add more Canadian capabilities in Avare, but receive very little feedback and few inquiries. If you fly Avare in Canada or would like to, please contact us on our Forum.

TPC and ONC charts are added for World coverage. These charts are expired and should not be used for navigation. To find the proper TPC chart for your area, see the TPC Charts Grid while you are online.