Navigraph acquires SimBrief

[David Vega 348]

4 minutes ago, mpo910 said:

Read this page and you will find your answer.....One of my prior posts

@mpo910, I don't see an answer in one of your prior posts.  I understand that access to SimBrief flight planning will remain free.  I'm asking about SimBrief's application programming interface.  

[mpo910 2,112]

40 minutes ago, SAX702 said:

@mpo910, I don't see an answer in one of your prior posts.  I understand that access to SimBrief flight planning will remain free.  I'm asking about SimBrief's application programming interface.  

Understand. Sorry. Maybe you can get this answer from NAVIGRAPH or Simbrief. 

[simbol 5,819]

They said they will extent the API.. I don;t understand why people are so worried.. these news a super good.. Navigraph is expanding and more amazing services and features will come to everyone.. 

Why is everybody so scared? good lord..

S.

[Egbert Drenth 250]

6 hours ago, djbully said:

Yes if they could buy fsaerodata that would be very good. Currently no way to update all the p3d data without it. When it finishes later this year. 

Why would they need to buy FSAerodata?
FSAerodata provides updated BGL files, something which Navigraph can do themselves very easily since BGL file format is public domain.
And also there's another way to update P3D Data: Herve Sors.

[David Vega 348]

Not scared, just trying to anticipate potential changes.  Call it risk planning.  For example, would a virtual airline that uses the SimBrief API have to pay for what they're getting today for free?  One would hope their statement about current free services includes the API.  I'm all for new integrated services and wish the best of luck to Navigraph.  

[FPStewy 538]

19 hours ago, jabloomf1230 said:

Since SimBrief requires a Navigraph subscription,  the acquisition makes perfect sense. I wonder if Navigraph is considering buying the rights to fsaerodata, which updates the P3d navigation database for each AIRAC. fsaerodata also uses Navigraph and is being discontinued at the end of this year.

 

This brings up an interesting speculation issue that is it possible that SimBrief was also going the way of Fsaerodata and knowing that it's a major Navigraph requirement, did Navigraph just save SimBrief from a shutdown. I mean how much is something that offers everything free really worth.

[ha5mvo 253]

3 hours ago, simbol said:

They said they will extent the API.. I don;t understand why people are so worried.. these news a super good.. Navigraph is expanding and more amazing services and features will come to everyone.. 

Why is everybody so scared? good lord..

S.

I'll ty to explain. It's not Putin as some had suggested....

Navigraph is a business, and their business is not philanthropy (which is just fine, don't get me wrong). Since they just ended spending some money (and they are not into philanthropy..remember...), some might boldly assume they did so to see some cash flowing in the opposite direction....(which is also fine, don't get me wrong).

Now here's the catch... where would that money come from? wanna have a guess?

So far simbrief was a 100% free service. People are not "scared" , just concerned that this service might come with  (financial?) strings attached in some future time

[Bob Scott 7,721]

Well, nothing in this world is actually free--someone, somewhere is paying for the bandwidth, servers, software development and support etc.  Navigraph got its start by providing the community free nav data for quite a few years, and eventually the significant time demand and the expense of access to better (e.g. Jeppesen) resources made it too much of a commitment for a guy that also has to earn a living.

If Simbrief goes the same way, it'll probably be for the same kind of reasons.  If the users aren't paying, someone else certainly is.  Occasionally we're fortunate enough to benefit from the generosity of genuine altruists footing the bill and carrylng the workload for the common good, and sometimes despite their going-in intentions, circumstances change and they run out of time, money, or interest.  When that happens, we can either watch it go away or step up and contribute to keep it going.

I remember people bad-mouthing Pete Dowson after he took his freeware FSUIPC work commercial, and there were more than a few entitled spoiled children throwing tantrums rather than thanking him for something like 15 years of valuable freeware development that was arguably responsible for much of the most significant progress we made in the hobby during that time.  I sure hope we don't see that kind of self-entitled ingratitude bubbling up out of the gutter again.

[jabloomf1230 2,445]

9 hours ago, mpo910 said:

Why not make them aware of your wish? It probably will not harm to post it at Navigraph forum.

😉

I'll inform the developer. He may have other plans.  

[ha5mvo 253]

@w6kd

This is all true and if it goes commercial then so be it. However one shouldn't shrug ones shoulders pretending not to understand where peoples concern is coming from....

[jabloomf1230 2,445]

4 hours ago, Egbert Drenth said:

Why would they need to buy FSAerodata?
FSAerodata provides updated BGL files, something which Navigraph can do themselves very easily since BGL file format is public domain.
And also there's another way to update P3D Data: Herve Sors.

It's true that Navigraph should provide a paid subscription that updates the P3d navigation database every four weeks, but the question is whether they want to invest any resources in developing that conversion process from scratch. The developer of fsaerodata automated the process by which each Navigraph AIRAC is converted to the format used in the P3d navigation database. There are a lot of nuances to the conversion process that are too esoteric to discuss here, but suffice it say that the conversion is far from trivial. If it was, someone other than fsaerodata would have done it including LM.

As to the freeware version of the navigation database, it is a subset of what fsaerodata provides and the differences have been discussed here at length. 

BTW, the BGL format has been deciphered by 3rd party developers but it is not "in the public domain". It has and will continue to be the property of MS. To my knowledge, MS hasn't sued any 3rd parties for using it, so I doubt that they will start now.