From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

On Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:31:34 -0400, Tom Elam wrote:

The CAP official data for weight and balance for our entire 550
aircraft fleet is in ForeFlight and available on iOS only.

I presume this is a US-only thing. I canrCOt imagine the regulatory
authorities of other countries tolerating such a degree of vendor
lock-in.
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From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

On 2026-08-13 16:27, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:

On Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:31:34 -0400, Tom Elam wrote:

The CAP official data for weight and balance for our entire 550
aircraft fleet is in ForeFlight and available on iOS only.

I presume this is a US-only thing. I canrCOt imagine the regulatory authorities of other countries tolerating such a degree of vendor
lock-in.

Assuming Liarboy is telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing BUT
the truth is a mug's game.
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From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

On 8/13/26 7:27 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:

On Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:31:34 -0400, Tom Elam wrote:

The CAP official data for weight and balance for our entire 550
aircraft fleet is in ForeFlight and available on iOS only.

I presume this is a US-only thing. I canrCOt imagine the regulatory authorities of other countries tolerating such a degree of vendor
lock-in.

You have no idea of what I am talking about here. CAP and ForeFlight do
not "own" the weight and balance (W&B) data. That is, by law, in the
Pilots Operating Handbook (POH) that can be found in each and every
aircraft certified in the U.S. CAP has consolidated 550 aircraft W&B
data into a single database and uploaded it to ForeFlight. ForeFlight is
an aviation product flight planning app available to anyone.

There is no vendor lock-in. If not for what CAP has done our pilots
would need to consult the POH for W&B calculations for every flight.
Prior to ForeFlight pilots built W&B spreadsheets or simply relied on
prior experience for this critical data. Consequences for getting it
wrong can be, but rarely are, catastrophic.
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From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

On Fri, 14 Aug 2026 13:16:39 -0400, Tom Elam wrote:

On 8/13/26 7:27 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:

On Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:31:34 -0400, Tom Elam wrote:

The CAP official data for weight and balance for our entire 550
aircraft fleet is in ForeFlight and available on iOS only.

I presume this is a US-only thing. I canrCOt imagine the regulatory
authorities of other countries tolerating such a degree of vendor
lock-in.

CAP and ForeFlight do not "own" the weight and balance (W&B) data.

I didnrCOt say they did. But note it is stored on a platform that is
almost totally controlled by a single vendor, who can deny access to
apps on a whim.

*That* is what is meant by rCLvendor lock-inrCY.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

On 8/14/26 5:07 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:

On Fri, 14 Aug 2026 13:16:39 -0400, Tom Elam wrote:

On 8/13/26 7:27 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:

On Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:31:34 -0400, Tom Elam wrote:

The CAP official data for weight and balance for our entire 550
aircraft fleet is in ForeFlight and available on iOS only.

I presume this is a US-only thing. I canrCOt imagine the regulatory
authorities of other countries tolerating such a degree of vendor
lock-in.

CAP and ForeFlight do not "own" the weight and balance (W&B) data.

I didnrCOt say they did. But note it is stored on a platform that is
almost totally controlled by a single vendor, who can deny access to
apps on a whim.

*That* is what is meant by rCLvendor lock-inrCY.

Total BS. If ForeFlight denies access to the W&B data the people who
need it have it the aircraft. By FAA regulation in fact. And, ForeFlight
is an international product. Other countries seem to be OK with it.

Garmin Pilot and other flight planning software are competitors. If
ForeFlight denies data access they go out of business and others step in.
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From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

On Sat, 15 Aug 2026 12:43:45 -0400, Tom Elam wrote:

Total BS. If ForeFlight denies access to the W&B data the people who
need it have it the aircraft. By FAA regulation in fact. And, ForeFlight
is an international product. Other countries seem to be OK with it.

Garmin Pilot and other flight planning software are competitors. If ForeFlight denies data access they go out of business and others step
in.

Lawrence is digging his usual hole. Not only does he understand what the ForeFlight product is but he doesn't understand the iPad's control of the tablet market. Garmin offers an Android version,

https://www.pilotsofamerica.com/community/threads/garmin-pilot-android-vs- apple.125103/

Anecdotal but some feel even Garmin treats Android as a second class
citizen.

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

On Sat, 15 Aug 2026 12:43:45 -0400, Tom Elam wrote:

On 8/14/26 5:07 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:

On Fri, 14 Aug 2026 13:16:39 -0400, Tom Elam wrote:

On 8/13/26 7:27 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:

On Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:31:34 -0400, Tom Elam wrote:

The CAP official data for weight and balance for our entire 550
aircraft fleet is in ForeFlight and available on iOS only.

I presume this is a US-only thing. I canrCOt imagine the regulatory
authorities of other countries tolerating such a degree of vendor
lock-in.

CAP and ForeFlight do not "own" the weight and balance (W&B) data.

I didnrCOt say they did. But note it is stored on a platform that is
almost totally controlled by a single vendor, who can deny access
to apps on a whim.

*That* is what is meant by rCLvendor lock-inrCY.

Total BS. If ForeFlight denies access to the W&B data the people who
need it have it the aircraft.

No idea what rCLwho need it have it the aircraftrCY is supposed to mean.

In any case, ForeFlight are not the one who control the platform.

What if Apple denies the ability of their app to run? How do you get
the data then?
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

On 2026-08-15 16:45, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:

On Sat, 15 Aug 2026 12:43:45 -0400, Tom Elam wrote:

On 8/14/26 5:07 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:

On Fri, 14 Aug 2026 13:16:39 -0400, Tom Elam wrote:

On 8/13/26 7:27 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:

On Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:31:34 -0400, Tom Elam wrote:

The CAP official data for weight and balance for our entire 550
aircraft fleet is in ForeFlight and available on iOS only.

I presume this is a US-only thing. I canrCOt imagine the regulatory
authorities of other countries tolerating such a degree of vendor
lock-in.

CAP and ForeFlight do not "own" the weight and balance (W&B) data.

I didnrCOt say they did. But note it is stored on a platform that is
almost totally controlled by a single vendor, who can deny access
to apps on a whim.

*That* is what is meant by rCLvendor lock-inrCY.

Total BS. If ForeFlight denies access to the W&B data the people who
need it have it the aircraft.

No idea what rCLwho need it have it the aircraftrCY is supposed to mean.

In any case, ForeFlight are not the one who control the platform.

What if Apple denies the ability of their app to run? How do you get
the data then?

The data is NOT just in ForeFlight.

Foreflight is a CONVENIENCE.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

On 8/15/26 7:45 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:

On Sat, 15 Aug 2026 12:43:45 -0400, Tom Elam wrote:

On 8/14/26 5:07 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:

On Fri, 14 Aug 2026 13:16:39 -0400, Tom Elam wrote:

On 8/13/26 7:27 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:

On Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:31:34 -0400, Tom Elam wrote:

The CAP official data for weight and balance for our entire 550
aircraft fleet is in ForeFlight and available on iOS only.

I presume this is a US-only thing. I canrCOt imagine the regulatory
authorities of other countries tolerating such a degree of vendor
lock-in.

CAP and ForeFlight do not "own" the weight and balance (W&B) data.

I didnrCOt say they did. But note it is stored on a platform that is
almost totally controlled by a single vendor, who can deny access
to apps on a whim.

*That* is what is meant by rCLvendor lock-inrCY.

Total BS. If ForeFlight denies access to the W&B data the people who
need it have it the aircraft.

No idea what rCLwho need it have it the aircraftrCY is supposed to mean.

I explained that. The W&B information is in the Pilot's Operating
Handbook that is kept in the airplane. Both are required to be there by
FAA. That is where CAP gets the data and then uploads it to our aircraft profiles in ForeFlight.

Repeat after me, "The Weight and Balance data are kept on a piece of
paper in the aircraft. ForeFlight duplicates that data, it is not the
source."

In any case, ForeFlight are not the one who control the platform.

What if Apple denies the ability of their app to run? How do you get
the data then?

You get it from the paper copy in the airplane, dumbass.

If Apple stops allowing ForeFlight we pilots can get all the required information in ForeFlight from other sources. It is not required at all
to go flying.

Think of it this way. I flew aircraft for over 1,000 hours just fine
starting in 1966 until ForeFlight and similar software came along in
2007. I still can, and still do. Foreflight is a timesaver only. I had
Garmin Pilot on Android before ForeFlight. It's a great product too.

And, ForeFlight can be ported over to Android or any other OS.

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

On 8/15/26 3:24 PM, rbowman wrote:

On Sat, 15 Aug 2026 12:43:45 -0400, Tom Elam wrote:

Anecdotal but some feel even Garmin treats Android as a second class
citizen.

That was not my experience when I made the iOS transition about 8 years
ago. To the extent there may be an Android support issue now it would
likely be that the iOS world is a lot more consistent that the Android
world with its multiple hardware options and OS fragmentation and the
horrible lack of timely Android updates across different tablet brands.
Some tablets only get one or two updates. Apple iOS/iPadOS is a LOT
cleaner and more consistent over time. With an app that is as safety
critical as flight planning that is a major advantage over Android.

I certainly would not want to be in Garmin's position trying to keep the
app working 100% across all the Android hardware and OS customization permutations out there.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

On Sun, 16 Aug 2026 14:23:42 -0400, Tom Elam wrote:

I certainly would not want to be in Garmin's position trying to keep the
app working 100% across all the Android hardware and OS customization permutations out there.

That is definitely a problem with Android. We started developing an
Android app in 2011. The company bought a couple of 10" Acer tablets and I bought a 7" one for my personal use. iirc the tablets updated from 4.0 to
4.0 to 4.3 but no further. Meanwhile development went on using the latest
SDKs and emulators, and the APK wouldn't run on the older devices.

I could build my own APK tweaking some of the checks and it would run on
Jelly Bean for a while but eventually I couldn't even do that.

The original plan was to develop an iOS version in parallel but the hoops
to get an app for a very limited audience on the Apple store were too
painful to make it worthwhile.

Garmin Express is similar. It's available for Windows and Mac but Garmin
wants no part of Linux. It is a little surprising they even bothered with Android.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

On Sun, 16 Aug 2026 08:35:55 -0400, Tom Elam wrote:

Repeat after me, "The Weight and Balance data are kept on a piece of
paper in the aircraft. ForeFlight duplicates that data, it is not the source."

iirc along with about 30 pounds of other sheets of paper in the flight
bag.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

On 8/16/26 4:10 PM, rbowman wrote:

On Sun, 16 Aug 2026 08:35:55 -0400, Tom Elam wrote:

Repeat after me, "The Weight and Balance data are kept on a piece of
paper in the aircraft. ForeFlight duplicates that data, it is not the
source."

iirc along with about 30 pounds of other sheets of paper in the flight
bag.

Not now. About 10 pounds of headsets, a kneepad, iPad+mount, flashlight,
SP200 radio and a few other misc item. ForeFlight replaced all the paper charts and approach plates.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2