Symbolic Flight has introduced an app called ARPort, which uses GPS and the view through the iPhone’s or iPad’s camera to combine the outside view with the locations of the closest 20 airports within 25 nm through what the company calls “augmented reality.”
The app displays a tag for each airport in the viewing area and overlaps the airports that are closest. If the camera is aimed just below the tags, the identifier and distance to each airport will be displayed above the tag.
Airport tags will show up whether you’re on the ground or in the air, and you can scan the iPhone or iPad around you to see airport locations in all directions. The internal GPS may be sufficient, but, as it is with other aviation apps, in-flight data is more reliable with an external GPS unit. The app will only work on the iPad 2 and iPhone 3S or newer with iOS 5.0 or higher since earlier versions don’t have the required built-in gyro, according to Symbolic Flight.
If you have trouble finding the ARPort app in the iTunes store, you can search under the name of the app’s developer Paul Mace. The cost of the app is $9.99.
