Setting a Task

A task may be drawn on the map to allow the possible impact of navigation hazards to be better assessed. To access the task setting dialogue select Task from the menubar and the following dialogue will appear.

 

The Task dialogue allows an open or closed task with up to five intermediate points to be drawn. Depending on the mode set in the options menu, the dialogue will accept BGA trigraphs or ICAO airfield identifiers. These may be entered directly or, by right clicking on the desired turnpoint box, using the Turnpoint Selector. The Turnpoint Selector displays a list of turnpoints or airfields in plain text and selecting one will place the appropriate code in the turnpoint box.

When the draw button is pressed a number of checks takes place.
All entered codes are checked for validity - any invalid codes are redrawn in red. The user must correct these before the task will be drawn.
The start and finish points are checked for valid codes and whether they are the same. Both start and finish codes must be present for a valid task. The start and finish need not be the same, but if they are, then turnpoint 1 must have a valid code. If they are not the same (e.g. a point-to-point task) then no other turnpoints are required.

Turnpoints are checked in sequence and will only be used if the preceeding turnpoint is valid. That is, if turnpoint 2 has no value then any values in turnpoints 3, 4 and 5 will be ignored.

If all the turnpoints are valid, the task will be drawn to the map in blue and the map will be zoomed in so that the task is centred on the page. The task may be changed and redrawn without the dialogue closing. The Task dialogue may be closed by clicking the close button.

When the task is drawn on the map, the program will calculate the task distance and display this. If there are sufficiant points for a valid FAI triangle to be flown, the distance of this triangle will also be shown. These figures should only be used for guidance, particularly if a badge flight is being flown, and should be checked with your task planning software or glide computer.

When the AAT tab is selected the Asigned Area Task panel is shown. Tasks are entered in the same way except that the turnpoint sector may also be defined. Distances are expressed in metres and angles in degrees from north.