The Latest from Stratus Insight

Relevant Traffic is a New Stratus Insight Exclusive Feature

(November 5, 2020) – In the latest app release (5.17.0), we included a cool new feature that allows you to do more than simply hide distant traffic. Relevant Traffic gives you the ability to filter traffic at different ranges–nautical miles and altitude–in relation to your aircraft’s position. 

Start by tapping on the new “Targets” button that appears when you have ADS-B traffic displayed on your map. It will list the number of targets being monitored, but the map will only show the aircraft falling within the range you selected.

Appareo Announces Stratus Insight Integration with Avidyne IFD Series Navigators

(August 27, 2020) – Appareo today announced the integration of Appareo’s Stratus Insight EFB with Avidyne’s newest FMS and GPS navigator products, Helios and Atlas. This integration allows for bidirectional communication between the application and the navigator. This capability is also currently available for Avidyne customers flying with the IFD 440, 540, and 550 GPS navigators.

Using this communication link, customers can create flight plans in the FMS and push them to Stratus Insight or, alternatively, push flight plans created on the app into their navigator. Additionally, if the navigator is receiving ADS-B in, it will send subscription-free weather and ADS-B traffic information directly to Stratus Insight. Other value-added information such as AHRS data that’s available from an Avidyne navigator will be sent to Stratus Insight as well.

To enable this bidirectional communication, Avidyne customers simply connect their iPad or iPhone Wi-Fi to their FMS, and open the Stratus Insight application.

“Avidyne has been delivering exceptional products to general aviation for years,” said Kristofer Garberg, President of Appareo Aviation. “With their expansion into new markets with the Atlas and Helio products, it provides more options for Stratus Insight users when selecting their hardware. Appareo is delighted to be working with Avidyne to deepen the integration to give the users a best-in-class experience in the future.”

ATC Radio Transcription & Playback is Available With Stratus Insight

(May 14, 2020) – This new AI technology is the baseline for exciting features we have in our app roadmap, which is focused on creating a safer, more convenient way to fly. When paired with a Stratus Audio Cable, the ATC Radio Transcription feature works similar to visual voicemail. ATC communications are converted into text and displayed directly above the audio playback line, providing a helpful visual assist for referencing previous audio clips. This enables pilots to receive a clearance, ATIS, or other important ATC communications without needing to write them down.

The speech recognition and language understanding technology that drives the Radio Transcription feature was custom-designed by our Artificial Intelligence (AI) division. Learn more in the Appareo press release.

Appareo introduces Stratus Insight

(March 31, 2020) — Appareo today introduced a new flight app called Stratus Insight™. Stratus Insight is an electronic flight bag (EFB) suite that includes VFR sectional maps, IFR low/high charts, geo-referenced approach plates, TAWS, and AHRS with synthetic vision. Beyond typical EFB features, Stratus Insight also provides ATC Radio Transcription and Playback, Vertical Weather Profile, Radar Forecast, and Smart Flight Plan. The Stratus Insight application supports integration with all generations of StratusTM receivers, which provide subscription-free weather, WAAS GPS information, and ADS-B traffic to the app during flight.

You can find more details in the news release.

Appareo Acquires Aerovie

(June 18, 2019) — Appareo today announced the acquisition of Aerovie, LLC, developer of the Aerovie electronic flight bag (EFB) suite that includes AHRS and synthetic vision, VFR sectional, IFR low/high, and geo-referenced approach charts.

Since introducing the first Stratus portable ADS-B receiver in 2012, Appareo has become the industry leader in the design and production of ADS-B equipment for general aviation. While the company has continued expanding on the hardware features and capabilities of Stratus receivers and transponders, it has been reliant on third-party flight apps to interface with the information provided by Stratus receivers. The first three generations of Stratus receivers (Stratus 1, Stratus 2, and Stratus 1S/2S/2i) were integrated with ForeFlight Mobile. The latest model, Stratus 3, was designed with “Open ADS-B Mode,” which means it integrates with any EFB app using GDL 90 protocol.

With the introduction of Stratus 3 last year, the engineers at Appareo began working with many EFB developers to ensure close integration with the newest model. Aerovie was one of the first companies to support Stratus 3 in its app.

“We were very impressed with the Aerovie team as we worked on the integration, and pleased with how smoothly it went,” said Appareo Aviation President Kris Garberg. “I started flying with the Aerovie app and Stratus 3 last year, and I was so impressed with the features and user experience that it became my ‘go to’ EFB.”

Garberg’s experience flying with Aerovie was the catalyst for Appareo to move toward this acquisition. Knowing that Aerovie was already performing well with Stratus 3, Appareo decided it was time to offer pilots a complete solution of tightly integrated hardware and software.

“All of us at Appareo Aviation are excited to work with Bryan Heitman and the Aerovie team to incorporate their exceptional EFB into the Appareo family, and offer a complete hardware and software solution. We plan to build on the success of Aerovie by adding many new features that will increase safety in the cockpit.” – Kris Garberg – President, Appareo Aviation

Some of the first additions to the Aerovie EFB will be features that Appareo developed for its own app, Stratus Horizon Pro. Introduced last year, Stratus Horizon Pro offers pilots helpful tools including backup AHRS, and Radio Playback, which captures Air Traffic Control (ATC) communications and saves them for easy one-touch playback. Additionally, there’s a beta feature called Radio Transcription, which converts ATC communications into text that’s displayed directly above the audio playback line.

“The product development team at Appareo Aviation has spent a considerable amount of effort developing speech recognition technology customized for aviation, and we’re excited to embed that cutting-edge technology throughout the Aerovie app,” Garberg said. “Our product roadmap is focused on creating a safer, more convenient way to fly. It centers around a beyond-glass strategy, which is the future of aviation.”

Bryan Heitman, the founder of Aerovie is a software developer, private pilot, and self-proclaimed weather geek. As the EFB market was getting started, Heitman considered how he could utilize his skills to create something valuable for pilots. When Lockheed Martin Flight Services announced in 2014 they would provide PIREPS into the national air system, Heitman saw an opportunity. He developed AerovieReports, the first app to deliver free PIREPS. AerovieReports grew a following, and Heitman began adding features. “As a pilot, I was using some of the popular flight apps, but there were gaps in their features. I decided to expand Aerovie to become a flight bag that provided everything I needed,” Heitman said.

Since then, Aerovie has evolved into a full-featured cockpit tool designed to make pilots’ lives easier and provide enhanced situational awareness. Aerovie is a leader for preflight weather planning, with tools designed to give pilots a deeper understanding of weather. For example, weather modeling products such as radar forecast, and a vertical weather profile tool that allows pilots to see conditions across their route of flight based on their aircraft speed and departure time.

“Being as committed as we were to providing robust and reliable weather tools, Stratus was definitely on our radar,” Heitman said. “We saw Appareo leading the ADS-B market with the best quality receiver available, but our customers couldn’t experience it until Stratus 3 was introduced.”

With the Aerovie acquisition comes good news for pilots who own older models of Stratus receivers. The first enhancement planned for the Aerovie app is support for Stratus 2, 1S, 2S, and 2i.

“We’re very excited to take Aerovie to the next level by joining the Stratus product family. Our companies have been aligned in our commitment to G.A. over the years. We understand the unique needs of a single-pilot operation versus a crew, and we’re committed to making flying safer and more friendly for that G.A. pilot,” – Bryan Heitman – Founder, Aerovie

Aerovie currently offers two subscription plans — $6.99 monthly or $69.99 annually. Current Aerovie app users will not experience a disruption in their service during the acquisition by Appareo. Once additional features are added to the app, current and new subscribers will be able to select from various plan levels. Those subscription options, as well as the app naming and branding, will be announced at a later date. The terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed as both companies are privately held. 

Blue skies ahead!