- Joined
- Nov 16, 2020
- Messages
- 62
- Reaction score
- 25
The latest version of the PA28 Performance app (4.3.9) now supports unpaved or contaminated runway surfaces. As you know, the PA28 POH only provides data for dry, hard-surface runways. The new version allows the user to set an additional percentage of roll and obstacle clearance for unpaved runways and for hard surfaces that are wet or icy and/or snow-covered. By default, these additional percentages are set according to the United Kingdom CAA Safety Sense Leaflet 07: Aeroplane Performance. However, you may adjust these default values on the Settings page.
The app's built-in airport database will automatically fill in the runway surface type for the selected runway. There are many more airports in the database now that unpaved surfaces are supported. If you are using an airport or strip that's not in the database, just leave the airport field blank, and you can fill everything out manually. The app will set the surface condition (dry, wet, or snow/ice) based on the nearest Metar, though you can override this setting as required. If the actual surface conditions are worse than normally anticipated (e.g., soggy turf, tall grass, etc.), you can override the total adjustment derived from the defaults on the Settings page directly on the Departure and Destination pages to provide an additional percentage.
For those unfamiliar with PA28 Performance, the app is free and with no advertising. It is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store for Apple and Android mobile devices as well as on any computer using a browser (see PA28 Performance).
In other news, I have a volunteer working on digitizing the PA28R-200 Arrow performance graphs. Hopefully, that will be available in the app soon. The app is free, and the source code is published to foster a community effort. If you'd like to see other PA28 models and are willing to provide a POH scan and/or help digitize the performance graphs, please let me know at [email protected].
Safe flying!
Steve Kleiman
The app's built-in airport database will automatically fill in the runway surface type for the selected runway. There are many more airports in the database now that unpaved surfaces are supported. If you are using an airport or strip that's not in the database, just leave the airport field blank, and you can fill everything out manually. The app will set the surface condition (dry, wet, or snow/ice) based on the nearest Metar, though you can override this setting as required. If the actual surface conditions are worse than normally anticipated (e.g., soggy turf, tall grass, etc.), you can override the total adjustment derived from the defaults on the Settings page directly on the Departure and Destination pages to provide an additional percentage.
For those unfamiliar with PA28 Performance, the app is free and with no advertising. It is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store for Apple and Android mobile devices as well as on any computer using a browser (see PA28 Performance).
In other news, I have a volunteer working on digitizing the PA28R-200 Arrow performance graphs. Hopefully, that will be available in the app soon. The app is free, and the source code is published to foster a community effort. If you'd like to see other PA28 models and are willing to provide a POH scan and/or help digitize the performance graphs, please let me know at [email protected].
Safe flying!
Steve Kleiman
