Sun 'n Fun is often inundated with all manner of apps, programs, and schedulers, to the point it's easy for them to blur together as one walks through all 1,000 booths (a very rough estimate, but it sure feels like it sometimes). FlySto stood apart from the pack by offering a simple little bit of technological ease: An automated way to sync up footage with the log of a flight, regardless of source or operating system. The end result combines video of any flight with a configurable overlay showing its position, parameters, location, route, and even accuracy against an approach. FlySto has joined hands with hardware developer AirSync to offer a Flight Data Monitor for less than $1,000 per aircraft, which allows it to tie in and even provide power settings and fuel flow with the right installation.
The combination has already found a few fans in training departments around the country, no small surprise considering its use as a post-flight briefing tool. Being able to see and visualize not just the flight track but pretty much every parameter along the way gives students a handily powerful way to get the most out of their lessons, gleaning more from each flight and cementing good habits. FlySto even croes an approach, giving out a total of 90 points for accuracy and good airmanship. Deviations, delays, and mistakes stand out a little more starkly when a student sees it impact an overall score.
Oftentimes, developers eschew the breadth of the market to double down on something nice and simple, (quite often something from the Apple ecosystem, as the EFB market has shown) leading to a malaise in anyone walking the exhibits at a large fly-in. There's rarely a shortage of phone apps, and it's hard to raise eyebrows with software, so most options chain their product to some mandatory hardware purchase to lock in their market. But FlySto demands no such buy-in, simply accepting everything you got, source-agnostic. Footage from a Go-Pro, and a track log from ForeFlight? Easy-peasy. How about something more technical, like drawing your KML files directly from the panel itself? FlySto supports a laundry list of Garmins, like the G1000/3000, G3x/G5, G500/600 TXi, GI-275, and GTN 650/750. Avidyne Entegra, Dynon SkyView, Pratt & Whitney FAST, and a handful of Electronics International Inc's CGR and MVP series are on there, too. On the off chance something isn't supported, FlySto is still nimble enough to get to work on adding compatibility, one of the benefits of working with smaller startups.
Pricing at the moment is, as usual with startups, mostly kind of free, as they look to find their footing in the market. That will probably change in no time, as it always does, but for the small-timer, FlySto is "free of charge for your log uploads amounting to a generous number of flight hours per year," according to the brand. Currently, only one paid option exists for those using AirSync's automated uploads, generally applicable to commercial, enterprise, and training operators looking to simplify their data handling.
FMI: www.flysto.net
