Hot code, cool nights!
PilotCalc version 2.1.0 is now available on the Apple App Store! This is a big update, incorporating a number of requested features, a few that have been on the roadmap for a while and a smattering of bug fixes. Calculator Changes The most obvious change is the addition of two new calculator types to join the default hours and minutes (HH:MM) calculator: First up is a decimal time calculator for those who prefer to work … Read more
TimeTick version 1.0 has been available on the App Store now for a little under a year and in that time it hasn’t received any updates, unlike the considerably more popular PilotCalc, which is now at version 2.0.8, reflecting one major and a good number of minor revisions. As a user of TimeTick, as well as the developer, I have occasionally come across a bug in the notification system causing some spurious notifications and … Read more
In mid-July, I started a substantial revamp of PilotCalc with a view to combining the Flight List and the Flight Log views into a single scrolling view which would manage both data entry and display. To do this, I took advantage of lessons learned in building TimeTick (my other app) and I believe that the resulting scrolling Flights view is both simpler and more usable, as well as scaling better for different screen sizes. As … Read more
Towards the end of November last year, I started mulling over the idea of a time-stamped checklist. The idea was inspired by the day job, which, on occasions, requires tracking the completion time of certain tasks to ensure an audit trail in the event of a delay. I looked unsuccessfully on the app store for a tool that would meet my requirements. Whilst to-do lists are plentiful, habit trackers numerous, and short term timers and … Read more
In a previous post I mentioned that I was planning a new version of PilotCalc but also indicated that this was still some distance in the future. The timescale still applies, but nonetheless I have, in odd spare moments, been toying with some ideas some of which are outlined in this post. The Flights Tab Consolidated Screens: I have concluded, that one major improvement would be to combine the Flight List and Flight Log into … Read more
I wrote previously about redesigning the Cold Arid Code logo to be consistent with the colour scheme chosen for the icons on PilotCalc and TimeTick but I realised, when working on the initial views for TimeTick, that whilst the PilotCalc icon conforms to the scheme, the application itself doesn’t. This led me to revisit the PilotCalc storyboard to make a few small changes to the colour scheme; specifically the menu and navigation bars, to bring … Read more
It’s been a busy day at Cold Arid Code. Over the last few weeks I have been mulling over the idea of a time-stamped checklist, a ‘done’ list if you will. This is another app that has its origins on the flight deck, the original concept being to track the cargo loading progress, but I realised that with a bit of generalisation it could be useful for many other tasks. With the initial draft structure … Read more
PilotCalc V1.0 has been released on the iOS App Store. Please feel free to drop me an email or add comments with any feedback. At this point any updates will be limited to bug fixes, but I anticipate that there will be a version two in the future, making better use of the iPad screen estate and with additional functionality. So if there are things that you would like to see incorporated, let me know … Read more
Coding, design and internal testing of my first iOS application, PilotCalc is now complete. PilotCalc was designed as a flight deck / cockpit utility for the short-term logging of flight times and notes. I have been using it to log times and details such as take-off thrust, who was pilot flying for the sector and defect reminders for entry into the tech log upon landing. PilotCalc also incorporates a simple hours, minutes and times calculator … Read more
