The Unofficial XCSoar Manual
Quick
From XCSoar
| The pictures and/or text in this article or section may refer to an older version of XCSoar. Until this page is updated, please direct any questions to the mailing list.
Or try downloading and using the Version 5.0 Manual Download/Manual |
Hardware buttons in Map mode
| The pictures and/or text in this article or section may refer to an older version of XCSoar. Until this page is updated, please direct any questions to the mailing list.
Or try downloading and using the Version 5.0 Manual Download/Manual |
The first user interface mode is Map mode, where the assignment of buttons is primarily to control the display of map elements. Map mode can be selected at any time by touching the map area of the display.
Hardware buttons in Infobox mode
The second user interface mode is Infobox mode, where the assignment of buttons is primarily to control the display of infoboxes and to set user variables, such as MacReady settings, the active waypoint etc. Infobox mode can be selected at any time by touching the infobox of interest. If an infobox is selected, the title turns grey, and it is ready to accept user input. The system reverts to Map mode after 10 seconds have elapsed with no key press. Infobox types are described [../infoboxes/index.html here].
Map display
Snail trail
Aborted task
From the main menu, the task can be aborted if the pilot wishes to terminate the task and find a safe landing point. The task can later be resumed if the pilot manages to climb away. If there are reachable landing points, these are sorted and fill the task waypoint list. If there are no reachable landing points, then the closest ten landing points fill the task waypoint list.
Auto MacReady
By selecting the MacReady infobox and pressing the hardware enter button, Auto MacReady mode can be toggled. When the mode is active, the MacReady setting is adjusted to result in fastest arrival on the final glide slope. If a supported intelligent variometer is connected to XCSoar, its MacReady setting will also be automatically adjusted. XCSoar has three flight modes: cruise, climb, and final glide. The flight modes switch automatically. Infoboxes can be set up for each flight mode independently, so the most relevant data to the user is displayed. A user option "Zoom circling" may be set to enable automatic switching between long distance map scale when in cruise/climb and a short distance map scale when circling.
Cruise flight mode
Cruise flight mode is active when no waypoint is active, or when the glider is cruising between waypoints prior to the final task waypoint. When wind is present, it is indicated by red arrows pointing at the glider, and the glider's approximate heading is represented by the glider icon. Several display orientations are available, such as north-up and track-up. A dashed green line represents the programmed task.
Flight director
In all flight modes, a solid black line is drawn from the glider to target. This is the shortest distance path between glider and target, but it is not the optimal track bearing during cruise if wind is present. The optimal track bearing during cruise is indicated by the solid blue arrow, and this is calculated to produce the minimum time to target given that the glider will drift downwind when it stops to circle.
Climb flight mode
As the glider climbs, average climb rate statistics are collected and displayed in a thermal profile chart, which may be useful in determining the optimum working height band in cross-country tasks. This chart is normalised by the current MacReady setting, which is therefore easy to set to an appropriate value. The glider's height proportional to the thermal history is represented by the black arrow.
Final glide flight mode
Final glide mode is very similar to cruise flight mode, except the thermal profile is hidden, the mode has its own set of infoboxes, and the computer assumes the glider is on a descent path to the target.
Glide through terrain
Final glide calculations check to determine whether the glide slope takes the glider below a terrain safety height above the terrain elevation. If it does, a red cross appears on the map where the intersection occurs.
Terrain safety heights
Reachable glide
In all flight modes the glider's reach is calculated and displayed as a dashed arc. This line represents the location the glider would intersect the terrain safety height above the terrain elevation, for a 180 degree sweep of bearing from the current glider's bearing.
Waypoint actions
Waypoint details can be brought up by clicking on a waypoint on the map display (zoom dependent), or if the waypoint is in the task, by selecting the waypoint using the up/down arrow keys in the Next Waypoint infobox, and pressing the enter key. The waypoint details dialog has several pages. This one, the waypoint action page, allows adjustment of the task in flight etc.
Airfield data
Airfield data containing Enroute Supplement information is available for major airfields. The file format is very simple, allowing users to edit their own entries for airfields.
Waypoint images
Satelite images from MODIS can be brought up when a waypoint is selected. This is useful prior to flight for the pilot to become familiar with the surroundings of the waypoints on task, or when landing out at another airfield. Images for waypoints can be extracted from the waypoint file using a script. Automatic generation of these images will be supported via the XCSoar website at a later date.
Menu
Additional functionality is available from the XCSoar menu. The menu is activated by pressing the menu button which is made visible by double tapping on the map display or by touching an infobox. The following screenshots show the various pages that are activated from the menu. The settings page is described [../settings/index.html here ].
Bugs and Ballast
This page allows entering the percent of permissible water ballast and the degradation of performance (expressed as percent of ideal glide angle) due to bugs. This page can also be activated by pressing the enter key on the "L/D" infobox.
Pressure
This page allows setting the field QNH, used in calibrating barometric altimeters if installed, and in estimating altitude expressed as Flight Level. If a barometric altimeter is installed, the altitude is displayed as the user adjusts the local pressure.
TaskPage
Tasks may be defined by selecting waypoints on the list on the left, and using the arrow buttons to add or remove them from the task. Then a task has more than three waypoints defined, it may also be set up as an Assigned Area Task. By selecting a task on the left and pressing the details button, the waypoint details page is brought up. When a supported logger is attached, the task may be declared to the logger. The following screenshots show settings available for AAT tasks.
TaskAATStart
TaskAATSecond
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