The Key to Slant G:
Jeppesen Skybound II NavData Service
If there is a downside to having a modern GPS navigation system in the panel, it's the need to keep its database current in order to use it for primary navigation while under IFR.
This article briefly profiles my first experiences with the Jeppesen Skybound II data service used update our Garmin GNS430's database over the net.
If you're about to install a GPS navigator of any kind in your aircraft, you may find this helpful.
Note: This article was written before Jeppesen released the USB version of their hardware programmer. Screenshots are from version 1.06 of the Skybound software.
We've come a long way...
The first Garmin GPS, the 100AVD, required the user to crack the case and pull an EEPROM out of its socket. This was akin to fighting with stone knives and bear claws. Certainly not practical for monthly updates, but then again, that unit hit the market back in the days when databases might be updated once a year, if that often, as the the unit was for VFR only and no regulations regarding its installation required database updates more often than that.
By the late 90's, the process of updating a database involved the rotation of user-removable data cards with the manufacturer, but this was both extremely costly and time-consuming. Most recently, avionics manufacturers have outsourced their database service business to Jeppesen.
When I first started looking into database services at the end of 2002 in preparation for the installation of our Garmin GNS430, I had heard rumors that Jeppesen prices for card swapping were over $500/yr (!) and their online database update service, called Skybound, plainly sucked due to hardware and software compatibility problems. To top it all off, it apparently ran only on Windoze 98. Being a Linux guy who barely tolerates Windoze 2000 or XP on a daily basis, I found this unacceptable.
Skybound II Arrives On Time
Fortunately, before I was to start database service for our GNS430, Jeppesen launched Rev 2.0 of their Skybound service, including a standardized hardware and software package compatible with virtually all recent Windoze versions.
The
basic hardware consists of a PCMCIA card adapter that allows your
computer to access the manufacturer-specific database card package,
while the software is a simple application designed to facilitiate
communciations between the database card and Jeppesen's servers.
The hardware and software are sold as a package which costs $130
+ shipping. This package is required to use the Skybound II services,
but fortunately this is a one-time charge.
If you do not have a laptop, you will need to purchase a PCIBus->PCMCIA adapter card for your desktop PC. I believe these go for less than $100, but since I have a laptop, I didn't need it, thus I didn't bother to price it. If you do not have a laptop, be sure to ask Jeppesen which adapters are fully supported.
Incidentally, I have read several accounts on the net of people who have purchased these adapters directly from computer hardware vendors (thus you don't necessarily need to buy from Jepp, even if they suggest doing so), but I don't recall the brand or model number of the unit that has proven to be compatible with the Skybound II adapter. You may want to search the rec.aviation forums via Google to find that information.
Selecting a Database Coverage Area
Jeppesen provides a few options when it comes to selecting the information included in the database. We happened to choose the East/Central coverage area which extends from the east coast westward to Colorado. Since we have no intention of flying this aircraft very far west, we were able to save $60/year over the cost of full US coverage.
The East/Central US coverage area cost us $255 / year, paid in advance. There are no monthly billing options with this service as far as I know.
Just because a GNS430 or other IFR-approvable GPS navigator is installed in an airplane doesn't mean it's legal to file /G. In fact, when the aircraft is picked up at the avionics shop immediately following the installation, the GPS-portion of the system is typically not IFR approved, even if getting it certified is part of the installation effort.
In order to gain and maintain IFR certification several things must be done, the two most obvious of which are:
1) A flight manual supplement that details the operational procedures and requirements specific to your aircraft must be developed by either you, or (more likely) your avionics shop, and submitted to the governing Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) attached to an FAA 337 Major Alteration form. The form and supplement will typically be approved (signed by an FAA airworthiness inspector) and returned to the aircraft owner, at which point the supplement must be placed into the approved flight manual of the aircraft for ready access by the pilot.
2) The database must kept up to date in accordance with the requirements as outlined in the approved flight manual supplement. For Garmin units, which rely on Jeppesen NavData, this means you'll need to pick a method to update it every 28 days. At present, the least expensive way to accomplish this is via Jeppesen's Skybound II service.
The 28 Day Cycle
Each
database has an "Effective Date" and an "Expiration
Date", based on a 28 day "cycle". Jeppesen's naming
convention for the database cycles is in the form YYMM. For example,
the database that became current on April 17th, 2003, would be "Cycle
0304", while the next database would be 0305, etc.
When you bring up the software, it will check with the server to see what databases you are entitled to download based on your subscription status and the current database cycle.
The database for the next cycle appears on the download list a full seven (7) days prior to its valid date, so you don't have to rush around on the last day updating your database, although practically and perhaps legally) speaking, that is what you must do. Fortunately, the Garmin 430 has no problem in loading and utilizing a database whose "Effective Date" is is later than the current date, so it is possible to program the card ahead of time in prep for a trip on or after the Effective Date.
The Upgrade Process
The process to update the database is quite simple. Insert the database card into the PCMCIA adapter, insert the adapter into the PCMCIA slot on your laptop/PC, launch the software, login to the server, and then select the appropriate database cycle from the pop-up menu. The first picture shows what appears when you are within 8 days of the next revision cycle.
Once the database is selected, click on the "program" button and the process is automatic from there.
The software then erases
the device before programming the new
database and verifying it. The entire process, including the download,
takes less than five minutes. However, I must point out that I have
broadband cable internet service at my home, so if you're doing
this via dialup, or even using a wireless data service, it may take
a bit longer to download the database.
The only truly annoying aspect of this service is that you must be connected "live" on the net to perform the update. You cannot download the database binary file while at home and then bring the laptop to the airport and program the card in the airplane.
This means that if you have partners that fly your airplane fairly often you'll want to get another card ($110) that you can update online and then swap with the card installed in the unit. I briefly considered subscribing to a wireless data service to allow me to perform updates wherever I may be with the airplane, but the reality is the service costs so much that it is just cheaper to buy another card and connect via modem or broadband data service where those are available.
One other minor point -- you may notice some delay between the time the PCMCIA adapter is inserted into the PC slot on your laptop/PC for the first time and when the "Linear Flash Memory" is recognized and the appropriate driver is loaded. However, at least on WinXP, the driver installation process is handled by the usual driver wizards, and is thus nearly automatic.
Summary
Given some of the stories I've heard about the original Skybound service, I'd have to give this a rating of 5 out of 5 for integration and ease of use.
However, that's where my praise must end. Here are my gripes:
Jeppesen has this market locked up so there is no competition, so when Boeing tells Jepp that they have to increase profits by 30% each year for the next five years so they can make their own balance sheet look better than it really is, you know who will be footing the bill. I've watched my paper charts service almost double in cost over the last several years, while the average number of charts that are issued with every revision have declined, the print and paper quality has gone down, and the number of notams I must sift through has increased. I absolutely hate to think about how they're going to milk a product like Skybound II over the coming years, which further lowers the cost of production and delivery to the end customer.
While I don't mind paying for something, I hate to pay twice for anything. In the first case, I pay taxes to the government that produces the "raw" data (which is a bulk of the work), and then again to Jepp for some minor formatting and packaging, which could just as easily be done by the same government offices that produce the paper charts (or better yet, the open-source development community if manufacturers were required by the FAA to utilize an open-standard database). However, if Jepp must make money on this, I would ask that they lower the price to something reasonable, like $10/month. When or if the day comes that we are no longer required to carry paper charts I might be willing to trade additional money for the convenience, but I won't be happy paying anywhere near what I'm paying today until that day comes.
While it doesn't affect our single-unit installation, I think it's simply unfair that Jepp charges for each database in the cockpit, rather than a reasonable flat rate per aircraft. If they would allow a given model's database to be downloaded to more than one GNS430 in a given airplane the costs for production and delivery would be the same. Therefore, why should we pay more just because we happen to have two (or more) systems on the aircraft? It's not our fault the avionics manufacturers won't cooperate and develop their systems to utilize a common open-standard database format.
Lastly, the fact that Jeppesen doesn't trust me enough (or more to the point, hasn't bothered to implement the software controls necessary) to allow me to download and save the database to a file for offline updating really irritates me. Fortunately, the owner of the airplane doesn't fly it nearly as often as I do, so the chances of him arriving at the airport and finding the card missing are slim, but I still find it annoying that Jepp's answer to such a scenario is "blow another $110 on an extra card".
That said, I'd have to give the service an overall rating of 3.5 out of 5. Put simply, it works as advertised, but there is room for improvment in some of the logistics related to delivery and cost factors.