App Detail » iFlyHotair - Hotairballoon app

Published by: Henri van Bommel

iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad

Price: $2.99
Current Version: 12.1
Released: March 04, 2016

What's New

App crash fix, updated airport database, QNH and Altimetersetting labels are now shown depending on provided airport METAR data.

App Description

This app is build to make the hotair balloon load calculation as easy as possible for the pilot. The app contains a database of common hotairballoon components available on the market. In case you find missing components please let us know and we will add them to the app. This app is in the appstore for years now. This app works best when you have a WIFI or a mobile network available. It will work offline but it that case more manual setups are required that would be automatic otherwise. Weight calculation results can be emailed for later reference or auditing.

You can configure:
Persons on board
Cylinders
The envelope
Basket and burner
Meteo information
Temperature in celsius or fahrenheit
Weight in kg or pounds
Tank volume in liters, US-gallons or UK-gallons
Envelope volume in cubic meters or cubic feet
Altitude in meters or feet
Envelope volumes in m3 and ft3

METAR info can be retrieved automatically for an given airfield to:
Retrieve actual ground temperature
Determine actual field elevation *
Retrieve current QNH

All configuration data is kept locally on your iPhone.
Multiple balloon configurations can be stored.
Envelope volumes can be entered in cubic meters or in cubic feet x1000. The app determines automatically if cubic meters or cubic feet are used based on the entered value. For values greater than 1000, cubic meters are assumed, cubic feet (in thousands) for values less than 1000.

Note: When all automatic options are selected the following steps are taken to retrieve meteorological and field information:
Search for the nearest airport that provides a METAR report
Using the retrieved METAR get the QNH and temperature.
When your phone contains a barometer field elevation is determined
The retrieved values are then used to perform the load calculation

In some cases you may not want all options selected. If you are for example preparing your flight at noon you may want to enter the ground temperature manually because it will differ when you are flying in the evening.

This app was made by balloon pilots for balloon pilots. In case you are missing any cylinder, basket or burner types in the configuration list please supply information details of those to us and we will update the app. For questions or Recommendations please contact [email protected]

The load calculation results can be send to any place, so they can be used for later reference, when your device has Email capabilities.