

How to build aviation software and why I quit flying to build a startup - eduardordm
http://eduardo.intermeta.com.br/posts/2013/2/10/making-aviation-sofware

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defrost
And remember that Fiji is an archipelago of more than 332 islands that spans
the international date line [1] meaning any sightseeing flights have fair
chance of wandering backwards and forwards from -179.9 to +179.9 Longitude
repeatedly in the same hour or two.

Can your avionics GIS & time software handle this?

[1]
[http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/oceania/lgcolor/...](http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/oceania/lgcolor/fjcolor.gif)

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Wingman4l7
That's a pretty specific edge case -- if your intended market was private
pilots, you could just put a giant "WON'T WORK IN FIJI" sticker on it.

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defrost
And that's the kind of thinking that resulted in pretty much 100% of North
American produced commercial mapping software just not working in the region
of Fiji when it was mapped in 1997 [1].

Luckily some of us can write our own mapping and avionics software.

Are you comfortable with developing avionics software that just won't work in
some parts of the world? That seems a little shortsighted and a little
dangerous.

[1] <http://www.mrd.gov.fj/gfiji/products/air_detl.html>

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Wingman4l7
I'd be fine with that if it meant that the avionics software was cheaper
because it cost less to develop. Your average private pilot in North America
is _never_ going to need their avionics to be able to deal with this, just
like they don't need the GPS in their car to be able to deal with it either.

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defrost
Don't be lazy, just consider the case of crossing a discontinuity and deal
with it correctly, if you're on a roll developing it doesn't increase the cost
and it offsets liability later.

The standards for avionics software are not geared towards average use in any
case. They are geared towards worst case scenarios that have actually happened
and could actually happen, even if the odds are low.

Are you honestly claiming that a popular bit of avionics kit will _never_ find
it's way to the region of Fiji? Ever?

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Wingman4l7
What about compass anomalies when flying around the poles? What about flying
at extreme altitudes?

If we're talking about avionics for Boeing passenger jets, that's one thing --
but those aren't going to be the same avionics that go into a Cessna 172 or a
glider. That's why differing standards exist.

And no, I'm not claiming that -- that's what the giant sticker is for. If
you're concerned about that sort of thing, make your hardware open and people
can put on whatever custom firmware they like.

~~~
defrost
When flying, navigating or surveying in polar regions it pays to have control
(or an understanding) over the translation from raw sat packets to polar
suitable coordinates, when flying at extreme altitudes it pays to have the
same as numerous commercial GPS units have altitude and/or speed cutouts.

I'm certainly not talking avionics for commercial passenger craft, I'm talking
about the avionics for routine global scientific measurements, geophysics,
weather balloons, cheap drones, etc - all of these are application areas where
roll your own avionics that aren't written by North American bound myopics are
applicable.

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Wingman4l7
Some interesting info on developing software that's required to meet
certifications to be safe for use in flight hardware.

