StarPilot app for iPhone and iPad
4.0 (
8400 ratings )
Reference
Navigation
Developer:
StarPilot, LLC
49.99 USD
Current version:
3.0.4, last update: 1 year ago
First release : 03 Mar 2010
App size: 5.22 Mb
The state-of-the-art solution to navigation computations on your iPhone or iPod touch.
StarPilot does celestial sight reductions of all bodies using high-precision internal almanac, plus mathematical and graphic solutions for position fixes, great circle, rhumb line, traverse and composite sailings, all current problems, piloting solutions, and much more...including lunar distance method of finding GMT from the sky and a unique graphical Sight Planner, and the new Sight Analyzer function that helps you get the most accurate results from a series of sights.
The StarPilot is the self sufficient state of the art solution to ocean navigation, fully up-gradeable with free upgrades available via Internet download, easy to use operation from logical menu lists, plus illustrated context sensitive help with practice exercises. The StarPilot requires no external resources to complete its computations. Internet access is not required to use this program or to access any of its help files.
General program design features... that save time, keystrokes, and minimize errors
- Easy to use menu-driven interface
- Stored settings of commonly used values
- All bodies and star names stored internally, no need for separate lists
- DR functions integrated with the celestial functions
- Convenient DR updating by log or time
- Input courses as true or magnetic
- Convenient time input, with or without zone description and watch error
- Graphing calculator plots LOPS, Fixes, DR positions, and Star maps
- Program can be easily updated to incorporate latest version and features
- Custom menu bar for quick navigation to often-used functions
Sight Planning
- Sunrise, Sunset, times and bearings (amplitudes)
- LAN, time, Equation of time, Hs max at LAN1
- Nautical and Civil twilight times, and LHA Aries at midpoint between them
- Moonrise, Moonset, Moon phase, and Moon age
- Precompute specific values of Hc and Zn for any body
- Planet and Star ID by observed height and bearing
- SIGHT PLANNER function plots full sky showing moon, stars, and planets in Radar-like display of heights and bearings. Set Hc min/max and max number of stars before computation. Set cursor and click to read the actual height and bearing of a plotted body.
- Special fast almanac mode allows full sky plot
- Display internal list of 173 stars by name, brightness, and location
- Unique BEST SIGHTS function selects the optimum triads of sights for any sky
Sight Reduction
- Optional modes for sequential sights using repeated settings or unrelated individual sights
- Perpetual almanac accurate to 2100+
- Historically accurate almanac data to 16th century
- Sight reduction of Sun, Moon, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn... plus Mercury!
- Sight Reduction of 173 stars plus Polaris
- “Assumed positions” read directly from DR section without extra input
- View intercepts (a-values) with or without course and speed corrections
- Full input data displayed with results to check for errors
- Special center-body mode for artificial horizon data
- Dip-short mode for practice at shorelines
Celestial Fixes
- Unique SIGHT ANALYZER fits a sequence of sights to the right slope for optimum sight selection
- All fixes corrected automatically for course and speed as needed
- Fix accuracy independent of DR accuracy in all cases
- Plots LOPS with live cursor position display
- Fix computed by USNO algorithm in the Nautical Almanac
- Zoom in on plot to see where computed fix is located
- Fix can be obtained by graphic selection from the LOP plot
- Automatic display of DR-to-Fix range and bearing
- Optional automatic update of DR after fix
- Display new course and distance to stored destination
Pros and cons of StarPilot app for iPhone and iPad
StarPilot app good for
Nearly complete version of the renowned StarPilot program for PC / TI 89 Calculator: Celestial and nearly all computations of costal navigation covered. Plus: incorporation of the iPhone´s GPS capability ! Wonderful solution !
Dear Mr.Soltero,
David Burch writes in his book "Inland and coastal navigation" that you made "a very convenient digital solution to the problem" of horizontal-sextant-angel-navigation (3-Body-fix) available in the StarPilot navigation software program.
Will you make this solution also available in the iPhone version of your program ?
Also please include a chapter about the used abbreviations
Best wishes
With this app and a sextant you can go anywhere. Learning how to use it takes some time but there are helpfull utube videos. Even if you flunked your astro course you can become an ace navigator with this app.
The Star Pilot package is absolutely fantastic. I have had the good fortune to complete two voyages across the South Atlantic, the first in the yacht Pelagic Australis and the second via Antarctica in the three masted barque Europa, both were hugely enjoyable voyages. Throughout both voyages I took sun, moon and star sights whenever possible, instead of dreading getting out all the tables I had a position within minutes of taking the final sight thanks entirely to the Star Pilot software installed on a Ti 89. This has huge advantages over a laptop as the skipper does mind if you leave it around the chart table and it is much easier to keep safe and dry. The satisfaction of consistently getting positions within 10 miles of the GPS is very satisfying but on a two month voyage there is also a great deal of pleasure to be gained in planning the star sights each day and entering the results in the log, it is a great way to learn more about the our universe. There are other navigational calcs as well and even though I dont need the rhum line course from Cowes to Lymington I still take the Star Pilot on my coastal cruises.
Excellent piece of kit.
Many thanks,
Ken Barker
The StarPilot iphone/ipod program is a well made celestial navigation application for the professional mariner. I have made a number of sea passages using the app for iphone and have found it very useful, well designed, and fun to use. No matter what your level of involvement is with celestial navigation (C-Nav), from just doing a few azimuths or amplitudes to check your vessels compass to doing full days worth of celestial navigation, this program has it all covered. For me it puts the fun back into C-nav by removing almost all of the tedious number crunching and calculation errors (human) that can go along with using the publications and I have found the results to be highly accurate. I do not recommend that someone preparing for professional testing/licensing use this program as the sole means of learning Celestial Navigation. For that there is no substitute for learning to use the publications in this situation. Though, it could be used as a way to check your work.
One advantage I can see this App would have onboard a small vessel is the precious space saved by the reduction of publications needed to do C-Nav. Another advantage that using this app on an iphone or ipod touch has is that the device is backlit so you can do your calculation on a dimly lit bridge or chartroom without having to hold a flashlight to see your work, ruining your night vision.
The program is well designed and layed out. But, Don’t be fooled though, it will take some time to learn your way around and get your bearings. But, I would think this would be expected based on the complexity of c-nav and the number is different uses the program has. After playing around with it a bit and taking a few sights most people should have no problem with it. Also the manual is built into the program under the “help” option.
The creator of this app seems to be very passionate about his product. I wrote to him to make a suggestion about the StarPilot program and within minutes of hitting the send button I had a reply from him. I strongly recommend this app.
Im using StarPilot for taking gyro errors and position fixing frequently. Its giving a very precise figures and very reliable and can be used for navigation on big vessels. Im recommending this app for all navigators, at the moment its the best one.
But it will be great to have a features such as : printing of determined position by dead reckoning and observed position. At least possibility to save it and then to print manually from album or whatever. Also will be nice to have an option to take a position and time fix automatically by pushbutton on taking a sight! A little improvement in a drawing of chart mercators scale and observed position will be nice(sometimes very hard to read something there and not a perfect tool for zooming). Will be nice to include possibility of reviewing of daily Almanac and associated pages for manual calculations(useful for practical navigators for improving skills). Thanks, and waiting for updates! If will be any improvements Ill recomend and spread between many of my iPhone-users and navigators this great application! Good luck!
This is the app that Ive recommend for all mariners! No more manual methods!! Just easy way... Thanks.!!
Some bad moments
This is ported over from a PC and HP program. Interface is not intuitive eg 49deg50.2W is entered as -49.502. So theres a learning curve. Help file is okay but pretty rudimentary. So far I cant get it to agree with my hand calculated results for sun sights. Not worth the price.
The last update has left the screen red. I cant see any of the menus and I paid way too much for this app. Please fix or let me download again. Dont purchase until this red screen problem is fixed.
The problem here is that when you run into a software glitch, GMN will not only blow you off, but will absolutely refuse to even admit the most obvious and easily fixable problems. It very much seems that the software writer is tired of maintaining the product and is unwilling to address any new or old problems.
As you can see, the one star bar is rapidly catching up with the five star bar and will very soon pass it by.
If you can tolerate the small problems, the program is still fun. However dont even dream of staking your safety on this tool. Bring your sight reduction tables with you.
Ron DiGiovanni
Easton, PA
It constantly closes itself, wiping out all readings. When I reopen the app, everything is back to zero. All entered shots gone. My DR position gone. My course gone. My speed gone. I go through the whole process again, make it plot, and BOOM, back to my home screen, and it’s all gone again. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. For some ridiculous reason, I kept at it and it finally plotted my position on the fifth attempt, for only for a minute, then BOOM, all gone. Tried again, and it wouldn’t plot. Absolutely worthless! I’ll be pursuing a refund.
