I’m writing an Android App (using Java and OSMDroid) to fly VFR.
I rendered the maps using an own tiles server and the data from OpenStreetMaps in order to have a style very similar to the ICAO maps.
It works.
Now I’d like to add a function in my App to display a vertical profile of the route. Unfortunately I didn’t found any function to get this information.
I think, OSM does not have the elevation of a point, too, so OSMDroid cannot give me an information it does not have…
Very important: my App must work completly offline, since in the airplane I don’t have an Internet connection!
Can some suggest me a way to solve my problem? I don’t need a huge precision, but I do need a relative small file to import in the App…
I think the max elevation in a square 2x2 km (or maybe even 5x5 km) is enough.
The map app I use (Locus) uses HGT files from that source to implement vertical route profiles and slope shading. The files appear to each cover 1 degree by 1 degree, and are typically 2.8MB in size.
The ele tag is used infrequently in OSM (mostly for peaks and saddles), and - in my own region at least - is occasionally quite inaccurate. I wouldn’t rely on it for aviation safety!