Tag: Airplanes »

I’ve always wished that a programming class had been available to me when I was in high school. I would have loved to start learning to program at an early age. Now, while I’m 23 and trying to teach myself to program, young 15-year-old developer Patrick Balestra has already released his first iOS app and is working on another!

The game, Catch the Airplanes (and iPad version Catch the Airplanes HD), is a simple one in which players destroy airplanes that make their way onto the screen. Similar to Fruit Ninja, the goal is to get all the planes that appear on the screen without missing any. The Swiss developer has created three modes for his game: survival, timer, and multiplayer. Survival mode goes until a plane gets past the player. Timer mode is a high score game where players try to get as many planes in the given time. And multiplayer (iPad-only) sets players against each other with each player trying to down specific colored planes.

Catch the Airplanes is available for $0.99 while the iPad version, Catch the Airplanes HD, is currently free. Support a young, growing developer by picking up this game.

Air Wings is an online multiplayer deathmatch-style game that sees the player pilot a paper airplane in an attempt to shoot down the enemy and score as many points as possible. While the game is free to play, there’s a severe lack of content on offer, therefore the in-app purchases become almost essential.

To start I should probably point out that due to the online nature of the game, Air Wings requires a Game Center account and active internet connect to be able to play. There is a training mode, but after that it’s online only.

The idea is simple; the player pilots a paper airplane around an arena-based level, facing off against an online opponent. The game is points based, so collecting a gold coin (of which there are many throughout every level) will earn the player 50 points, shooting down an opponent will bag 1000, and destroying an enemy three times and winning the match sees an additional award of 2000 points. These all add to the player’s Game Center Air Wings leaderboard.

Now, bearing in mind the planes are made of paper, real weapons are out of the question. Instead Air Wings uses everyday objects and turns them into deadly projectiles which are scattered about the place. Expect to use pencils as missiles, rolled-up paper balls as bullets, suction cups as timed explosives, rubber bands as ricocheting bullets, and firecrackers are floating bombs. It’s a very neat little touch.

Controlling the planes is incredibly easy; simply tilt the iOS device left or right. It's very responsive, with the plane's turning speed matching how quickly the iOS device was tilted. All other relevant icons, such as the fire button, are all well placed and easily reached.

Air Wings also looks very nice. The planes are nicely modelled, and arenas are based on locations one might see every day, such as a warehouse full of boxes.

The only downside is that, while the game is free to play, content is severely lacking with only one plane and two levels on offer. In-app purchases are offered, with the likes of better planes (all with different stats) and new levels becoming accessible. These are a necessity to get the most out of the game.

Air Wings is an enjoyable and also surprisingly competitive game. The controls have been done well, and the matches are free from lag. Players with a couple of dollars spare for the in-app purchases should definitely give this a try.

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Previously, I reported that pilots were using special apps to help cut down on paper clutter in the cockpit by storing digital copies of flight charts. Now, the Federal Aviation Administration is going to allow for the expanded usage of iPads in the cockpit for the use and storage of charts and manuals as well as flight charts in the cockpit during flights, starting with American Airlines flights on Boeing 777 planes on Friday, December 16th. What's curious is that even just by lightening flight loads by 35 pounds as iPad usage versus paper materials provides, airlines can save $1.2 million in fuel costs. For cash-strapped airlines like American Airlines, this is surely wonderful news.

This raises the question, of course, if pilots can now use their iPads in the cockpit, and if they can have them on during landing and takeoff as they conceivably could, what's stopping the FAA from allowing people to use their own iPads at the same time, far away from the sensitive equipment? With little evidence to suggest that electronic devices offer any kind of risk, it might be time for the FAA to re-examine this policy.