GPS app without internet connection wanted

[biohead]

I know of several GPS apps used for turn-by-turn navigation, but I'm looking for something on a bigger scale...

Going on holiday soon, and would like to open up a GPS app on my iPhone and by using the GPS see how far around the globe I am (and therefore a quick estimate of how much time is left of the flight).

Obviously as there'll be no reception over a big stretch of ocean (and "flight mode must be enabled" safety regs etc), I'd need an app that has a full map of the world. Obviously no details of roads etc would be needed so it shouldn't be a pretty big app either.

Does anyone know of a good one? Price not really a problem, but the cheaper the better!

 

[Obscurelight]

TomTom and Navigon are both offline navigators.

 

[SooneratND]

I've used Navigon for a few years now and it works great. Both TomTom and Navigon load all the maps onto your phone and don't need working data connections to provide guidance.

 

[sjinsjca]

I use and recommend CoPilot Live, which stores its maps on your iDevice. But I don't think it or Navigon or any other consumer nav system will tell you want you want to know, because they are map-centric and rather useless when you're in an area for which there's no map information.

It wouldn't be too difficult to write an iOS app that takes your origin and destination and computes the great-circle route between the two, then compares your current position to that trajectory. But I'm not aware of an app which does so.

There may be safety or regulatory issues which might prohibit usage of GPS in-flight. On at least some airlines, GPS units are on the list of electronic equipment that's not allowed to run while in-flight.

There's a nifty app called WindowSeat which computes your progress along the most common routes between airports using time-of-flight rather than GPS input. Last time I checked it was for domestic U.S. routes only, though.

 

[sjinsjca]

Incidentally, most transoceanic airliners have live maps which show you where you are and how long before arrival.

 

[biohead]

TomTom and Navigon are based around turn-by-turn - and the fact I'm going from the UK to Africa means I'd have to buy more than one just to get all the maps required.

The last time I flew with this airline they proceeded to show kids films for the duration of the flight (barely any children on board!) on every single one of their CRT monitors (Which were badly in need of replacing!).