Another HP 15CE post with pictures…

[Geoff Quickfall]

The HP 15CE and extras. The HP15CE and extras can be found at thecalculatorstore.com while the HP15CE, cable and 16C overlay can be found at https://commerce.hpcalc.org (but not the aviation pac and overlay ?)

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But this is about the aviation pac (gratuitous self promotion ?).

The photos apply to my particular use for the 15CE, which I wish was available while I was flying (just retired when this came out). At work it was mainly the 41CL which did not fit in my shirt pocket but the CL is a completely different machine. For those who want a true shirt pocket programmable the Voyager family is the best! Yes it lacks the alpha prompt capability, but when familiar with the programs the data entry is just as easy without alpha prompting.

The aviation pack contains 21 standalone programs in USER mode using A through E keys plus GSB 0 through 9 and GSB .4 through .9. They are all referenced with the manual and of course the Quick Reference Cards.

See the manual for each program explanation as well as why I chose to include these specific programs for the aviation pac.

Do you have an idea for a pac? Contact Jose at thecalculatorstore.com. Yes, you surveyors and engineers; chip in (pun intended)!

Cheers, Geoff Quickfall

P.S. did not do this for any renumeration, just for the hobby and the community, I do not receive any compensation for the work other than my personal enjoyment :-)

[rprosperi]

Geoff, what case is the one shown in the photos, it's neither classic Voyager nor 15c CE, nor the leather cases TCS sells.

I see the "HP" tag, is this from one of the Pocket-PC models from the early 2000's?

[Geoff Quickfall]

I am thinking my HP IPAQ.

[rprosperi]

Just as I thought, thanks. I used an IPAQ for a couple years, and while annoyingly bad initially, it improved quickly, but just couldn't keep up once smart phones came along.

[Eddie W. Shore]

HP 15C - Aviation Edition

This is beautiful.

[Geoff Quickfall]

Bob!

Still have mine plugged in and working, but yes, then came the iPhone and I fell into that trap. But just can’t give it up. Went around the world with it and used it for emails, weather and etc.

Eddie!

Many thanks, it was a fun project and having Jose produce the overlay was a real treat.

See you next year at HHC2025!

All the best, Geoff

[Idnarn]

Well done. I am not an aviator, but looking at what you have done, you appear very passionate about this topic. I am sure that there are aviators who would get a 15C CE if they come across this pac, just to have it in their pocket.

[JAK08]

These Pacs are amazing with the overlays. I'm excited to see what else comes of them. I've been pondering the question of what one for me would look like where I'm in the metal building industry.

I could probably see more than 1 depending on the role. But for detailing I'm imagining inch - feet inch - feet dec conversion. Slope calculator inputting width and pitch. Functions for hip/valley information would be amazing. Determining bend allowance would be nice too. I'm not sure if that'd be enough functions quite yet though.

[Johnh]

These look great! Really well developed and professional

I'm interested to know what is considered the best approach to setting up inputs to a set of programs like this? So each main program uses a lable or user key, maybe with a reference on the overlay. Then, maybe there are several inputs needed for each program. Is it better to have the program recrjve inputs in a set order, and you type them in in a known sequence? or do you load each input separately into particular memories, and then run?

Or another way?

I have some of each, for my field (structures) A sequence seems quicker for short very familiar routines. What do others think?

[Geoff Quickfall]

Firstly, thanks!

Now to the point of data entry:

Depends on the program and the stack used. The voyager as with many others have are restricted to a 4 stack data input such as

‘A’ ENTER
‘B’ ENTER
‘C’ ENTER
‘D’

That worked with the data input in the Aviation co-ord routine by pressing “A” (in user mode) after the above four steps.

So that one routine enters two points for both the Great Circle distance and track program and the Intermediate Latitude routine. BUT the Intermediate Latitude routine requires another data input, the longitude required to determine the latitude associated with it on the great circle plot.

If you have greater than four data points to input, then a R/S (there are no prompts on the Voyagers) would allow for greater than four inputs.

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In the Aviation Pac I packed as many standalone routines in as possible with the use of USER mode keys A through E and GSB 0 through 9 and GSB .4 through .9. Why you might ask; well this has the effect of making key assignments.

The missing GSB .0 through .3 were used as subroutines in various routines, which I tried to keep to a minimum allowing for the maximum amount of assignable routines.

This did make some of the routines less elegant using conditionals. But one can modify the pac to reflect their preferences. Of course the overlay may not match any longer.

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The upshot is, your choice, what is convenient, requires the least amount of knowledge to run (lowest common denominator as a user :-)

I cover this in the manual preamble in more detail.

Cheers

[Divasson]

For the sake of full disclosure: I run The Calculator Store

Thanks to Geoff for the fantastic Aviation software compendium! Just reading it is very illustrating on the actual calculations run in an aircraft (mind you, these are to support and check the flight computer, not replace it). I am just missing the aircraft. That may take longer to get...

The manual can be found here: Aviation Pac manual

The software file to be uploaded to your calculator via VoyagerSave is here: Aviation Pac

The overlays can be found here:

Aviation Pac overlay

Finance Pac overlay

HP16c hidden mode overlay

Accessory set including all three overlays + cable + screwless back door

All three overlays are included together with a latest-firmware HP15c CE and a calculator cable here: HP15c CE "bundled"

We have a 12% discount during Black Friday using the BLACKFRIDAY24 code, until the end of November (tomorrow!)

[HP67]

Where's the thumbs up button for Geoff and Jose?

[BruceH]

(11-27-2024 01:26 AM)Geoff Quickfall Wrote:  But this is about the aviation pac ...

Black Friday special offer: free Boeing 757 with every 50 million bought!

:-)

[Helix]

For those missing the physical toy accompanying the Aviation Pac, a virtual aircraft is less expensive and also more safe in case of pilot error.
Microsoft Flight Simulator and X-Plane are well-known simulators.
I have X-Plane 11, which costs only 30 $, and requires less computing power than X-Plane 12.
https://www.x-plane.com/product/desktop
A free demo can be downloaded here:
https://www.x-plane.com/desktop/try-it/older
I’m not interested in the Aviation Pac because I’m still a beginner, and I don’t fly airliners.