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/images/reviews/navmap/t/little-navmap09.jpgReview: Alexander Barthel's Little Navmap for X-PlaneBy Paul Mort[Editor's note: Though this reviewer only tried the X-Plane version,Little Navmap actually works with FSX, FSX: Steam and Prepar3D v2,v3,v4also.] Hello again, and welcome to thisreview of 'Little Navmap', developed by Alexander Barthel. In thisshort article we will be discovering the features, tips and tricks ofthis wonderful freeware add-on for X-Plane. This is a review coveringjust the basic elements of the program, but in the near future, I willalso be providing an in-depth tutorial which will give a far moredetailed description on how to get the most from it. InstallationTo obtain your copy of the program, you will need to followthis link. Once you have made your choice of Windows or OSX, the program willdownload in a zipped format. Having unzipped the downloaded file youwill then be presented with a stand-alone program folder which you canthen copy to any location. I suggest you create a shortcut to help youopen the program. No other third party software is required to connectLittle Navmap to the simulator; it really is as easy as that! General OverviewOnce the program is running, we are presented with a topographicand detailed map of the whole World. /images/reviews/navmap/t/little-navmap02.jpgMenuAt the top of the page is a multi menu configuration where thebusiness of setting up the map happens. /images/reviews/navmap/t/little-navmap07.jpgThe menu functions that are enabled are shown with a bluebackground. It is not within the scope of this review to go intodetail of the menu, but as we hover over each button, a shortdescription of its function is revealed. The mouse wheel allows us tozoom in and out, whilst panning is achieved by holding down the leftmouse button and dragging the map. Various map sources are available,with my personal favorite being the 'Open Topo Map', which I findprovides great detail. /images/reviews/navmap/t/little-navmap08.jpgThe level of detail when you zoom in is amazing, with bothindividual buildings and road names clearly being visible. /images/reviews/navmap/t/little-navmap06.jpgThe above image shows an area in the Scottish Highlands, and showsthe relief of the hills and valleys. FunctionalityNice maps are all well and good, but now we need to find out whatthis program is capable of in terms of aircraft navigation. To sum upthe features, Little Navmap is a moving map with our aircraft shown asa yellow icon. To prepare a flight plan, we must first specify ourdeparture airport. This can be done in various ways by either draggingthe map to our departure point, or by using the very comprehensivesearch feature. This has the ability to find places by: airport,navaids, procedures, or predefined user waypoints. Once found we caninitialise our airport as the departure by right clicking on it andselecting the 'Set Airport xxxx As Flight Plan Departure' option fromthe drop down menu. Similarly to our departure, we now specify ourarrival airport in the same way, but specify 'Set Airport xxxx AsFlight Plan Arrival.' Looking at our map, we now have a yellow linejoining the two airports. /images/reviews/navmap/t/little-navmap05.jpgAt this stage the flight plan is of little use to us, as we need toadd waypoints, SIDS, STARS (if applicable), plus an approach to ourplan (this is where Little Navmap shows off its features andflexibility). By right clicking on any navaid, we can select 'Add xxxxTo flight Plan.' The menu provides us with a view of our flight plan,and if necessary we can move items up or down in order on theplan. SIDS and STARS can also be inserted by using the menu searchfunction for our airports. Unlike some other flight planners however,Little Navmap has the ability to customise the plan even further. Byleft clicking anywhere along our yellow flight path, we can insert anarbitrary waypoint on the map, and drag it anywhere to create a userdefined waypoint shown as item 4 (WP2) in our plan. I find this aparticularly handy feature, especially if one wishes to fly over apoint of interest which is not a navaid. /images/reviews/navmap/t/little-navmap03.jpgOur modified flight plan with our inserted WP2is shown above. We could of course, generate a plan by using the automaticmethod. By specifying only the departure and arrival airports, LittleNavmap can produce a flight plan by selecting one of the followingoptions: direct, navaids, high altitude, low altitude and victorairways. By choosing one of the various formats offered, we can saveour plan so that it can be used with either the X-Plane aircraft FMSor GPS. /images/reviews/navmap/t/little-navmap10.jpgThe above image shows a portion of EGCC Manchester Airportdisplaying runways, taxiways, buildings and stand numbers. If youlook carefully, you can see that street names for the localsurroundings are also visible. The level of detail achievable withinthe worldwide map is quite something, and never ceases to amaze me. Inthe past, I used to have to run two programs for my planning, one forthe actual map, and another for the airport/layout information. WithLittle Navmap, this is no longer the case, as it has more than enoughdetail to track your airplane, both in the sky and on the ground. /images/reviews/navmap/t/little-navmap04.jpgThe image above shows an area of London, with the River Thamesbeing the standout feature. As you can see, the level of detail isquite incredible, with individual buildings, landmarks and points ofinterest being also visible. Summing UpAs previously mentioned, in the future I will provide a tutorialwith much greater detail about the functionality of Little Navmap, butfor now I hope this little review will suffice. With that said, it'snow that time when I traditionally give the item under review itsfinal score, factoring in both positive and negative points. PositivesGreat level of detailEasy to use flight plannerEasy on the eyeAccurateVersatileNegativesI haven't found any...Little Navmap is a program I simply don't fly without, as I find itbetter than any payware planner I've seen to date. Alexander Barthelhas made a sterling job, and has been most generous in providing it asfreeware. Since using it, I have never had it crash out on me, orbehave badly in any way. I consider Little Navmap to be the very bestof my X-Plane add ons. For its outstanding capabilities, I award Little Navmap 10 out of 10. Paul Mort Get Little Navmap Little Navmap web site
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/images/notams/notams17/litt1130.jpgNotesIt is recommended to reload the scenery library.X-Plane users: Reinstall the included Little Xpconnect 1.0.9 for bug fixes regarding magnetic variation.Translations for the graphical user interface are included with the download.Translation packages are not required.IVAO is currently not activated due to server capacity problems,which is completely understandable. Since I don't have time to set upand run a mirror, I'm looking for volunteers. Changes from Release 1.8.5 to 2.0.2 - Quick OverviewSeveral user interface translations included.Support for online networks like VATSIM or custom networks.User defined waypoints: Complete management, import, export, search and display.More flight plan export formats.Added menu options to save waypoints instead of SID/STAR or approaches.New airport display options.Compass RoseIVAO weather and nearest NOAA weather.Included Navigraph AIRAC database was updated to cycle 1801.Full Details Here
