iFR Cockpit

2.0.1 is a tuning release. Everything in it is about the instruments moving continuously rather than a sample at a time. THE COMPASS STRIP TURNS SMOOTHLY On the move the display shows ground track rather than heading, because a magnetometer surrounded by metal is not worth trusting. That track came straight from the GPS course — published once a second, in whole degrees — so the strip stepped a whole second of turning at a time, and the faster you turned the harder it jumped. The track is now carried on the gyroscope between fixes and each course is worked in gradually, so a turn sweeps instead of ticking. THE SPEED TAPE STOPS WHEN YOU DO Coming to a standstill, the tape used to keep counting down for a second or more after the vehicle had actually stopped. It now reaches zero as you stop. SPEED COMES FROM THE ACCELEROMETER Ground speed is now derived almost entirely from the accelerometer, with the satellite fix only trimming it rather than driving it. The reference the acceleration is measured against was rebuilt so that a long brake can no longer wash it out, and the mounting angle is recalibrated automatically every time you come to a standstill — so the tape is at its most accurate exactly where it used to be at its worst, in stop-and-go traffic. DRAWN AT FULL REFRESH RATE Both tapes and the compass strip are now drawn from the current model state at the display's own refresh rate, rather than only when a sensor reading happens to arrive.