The History of Tomvale Ground School Software
(For those who might be interested)
The creator of Tomvale
Software, who doesn't like to talk about himself, (let's call him CV),
began his computer studies at York University in the early 70's as a
research assistant to James Tenney , (Wikipedia
Article on James Tenney).
At the time, James Tenney was working on Meta-Meta Hodos,
which used computer programming to create a music analysis
algorithm, based on Gestalt psychological principles. The hardware in
those days was an IBM 360/370 using Fortran WAT-IV and WAT-V. All input
was done with punch cards. CV also developed his own Harmonic Analysis
Program in the same environment. It was only after
the work was completed, that DECwriters came into existence, (Wikipedia
Article on DECwriters), which were the first
keyboard input devices for computers. Needless to say, programming had
to be meticulous and exact, lest you spent many more countless hours
punching cards, and waiting a day or more in the queue for the results.
After graduating, and further studies, CV became a high school teacher, and at various times Head of Music, 'Head of Computer Studies, Coordinator of Computers Across the Curriculum, Music School Principal, and founder of the Computer Arts Programme. (Incidentally, Bill King's magazine, 'The Jazz Report' was born in one of CV's Mac labs). In 1980, the school was given a classroom set of Apple 2+ computers, which no one knew what to do with. In those days, we had Grade 13 in the Ontario Curriculum, and a full course on Music Theory, equivalent to the Royal Conservatory requirements, (times have changed). CV decided to use those Apples, and wrote computer assisted instruction software to better prepare those students in Music Theory. The language used was Applesoft and Assembler, (needed because the computers were so slow and only had 64K of memory; 128K for the Apple IIe's which came in later). This software was based on a discovery learning approach, and became very successful in that students took about half the time to learn the required material. It eventually developed into Music Is Basic, named for the Basic programming language.
At that time both Microsoft and Apple were in need of software to complement their operating systems. Apple however was asking about $10K for a developer's kit, while Microsoft was giving it away. So Music is Basic was rewritten for Microsoft in Quickbasic and DOS, their original programming languages, (which we can still see vestiges of even today in Windows 10). CV used Quickbasic to approximate a GUI that did the job. Quickbasic was eventually replaced with Visual Basic (to complement Windows 3), and the software was rewritten for this new language. Unfortunately, with arts funding being drastically cut in most school boards, Music is Basic, although still alive, faded away.
After graduating, and further studies, CV became a high school teacher, and at various times Head of Music, 'Head of Computer Studies, Coordinator of Computers Across the Curriculum, Music School Principal, and founder of the Computer Arts Programme. (Incidentally, Bill King's magazine, 'The Jazz Report' was born in one of CV's Mac labs). In 1980, the school was given a classroom set of Apple 2+ computers, which no one knew what to do with. In those days, we had Grade 13 in the Ontario Curriculum, and a full course on Music Theory, equivalent to the Royal Conservatory requirements, (times have changed). CV decided to use those Apples, and wrote computer assisted instruction software to better prepare those students in Music Theory. The language used was Applesoft and Assembler, (needed because the computers were so slow and only had 64K of memory; 128K for the Apple IIe's which came in later). This software was based on a discovery learning approach, and became very successful in that students took about half the time to learn the required material. It eventually developed into Music Is Basic, named for the Basic programming language.
At that time both Microsoft and Apple were in need of software to complement their operating systems. Apple however was asking about $10K for a developer's kit, while Microsoft was giving it away. So Music is Basic was rewritten for Microsoft in Quickbasic and DOS, their original programming languages, (which we can still see vestiges of even today in Windows 10). CV used Quickbasic to approximate a GUI that did the job. Quickbasic was eventually replaced with Visual Basic (to complement Windows 3), and the software was rewritten for this new language. Unfortunately, with arts funding being drastically cut in most school boards, Music is Basic, although still alive, faded away.
During
this period, CV undertook pilot training, starting with a course at
York University, then developing the practical skills for the various
licences at King City, Maple, Brampton, Buttonville, and Toronto Island
airports, (only 2 1/2 of which exist now). Most of his training was
done
on his Cessna 172 and Cessna P206.
In 1988 CV, along with his lovely wife, (who also took flight training), left Toronto and built a small airport, (a lot of musicians fly airplanes). Along with the normal airport stuff, he built a pilot community on the lake, (Tomvale Waterfront Community), and began a Flight Training School, at first with Central Airways, then on his own, both at Tomvale and Arnprior Airports. As with any flight training, ground school is necessary and CV wrote software to assist in this part of the pilot training. The software was modeled after the same principles in Music is Basic, and at first was fairly simple, designed to prepare pilots for the Transport Canada Exams solely at Tomvale. However, soon pilots from other schools were asking for it, and it grew to become a full ground school, and covering not only the Private, but most other licences and ratings. CV also had the help of two computer nerds who happened to be his sons, (one of whom is now a computer specialist in internet security for a large firm), and his wife, (who happens to have two English degrees and is an editor extraordinaire. Incidentally, the name 'Tomvale' is a portmanteau for the family names). Later, helicopter instructors also asked CV for a helicopter version, and in return for their input, he developed Helicopter versions for each of the licences. Tomvale Ground School Software also morphed into a United States, FAA ground school, adapted to the specific needs of aviation in the United States.
Which brings us to today. Tomvale Ground School Software, has been a reliable addition to flight training since 1989, and will continue to grow and change, while maintaining certain principles. These include encouraging client input, personalized software support, a deep respect for user privacy, an aversion to the echo chamber of social networking, (a topic too long to go into now, but you might notice that Tomvale has no presence), and the use of technology as a tool rather than an end in itself. There have been monumental changes in technology since the 70's, but Tomvale has had the advantage of perspective over time, and has chosen not to jump on every one.
In 1988 CV, along with his lovely wife, (who also took flight training), left Toronto and built a small airport, (a lot of musicians fly airplanes). Along with the normal airport stuff, he built a pilot community on the lake, (Tomvale Waterfront Community), and began a Flight Training School, at first with Central Airways, then on his own, both at Tomvale and Arnprior Airports. As with any flight training, ground school is necessary and CV wrote software to assist in this part of the pilot training. The software was modeled after the same principles in Music is Basic, and at first was fairly simple, designed to prepare pilots for the Transport Canada Exams solely at Tomvale. However, soon pilots from other schools were asking for it, and it grew to become a full ground school, and covering not only the Private, but most other licences and ratings. CV also had the help of two computer nerds who happened to be his sons, (one of whom is now a computer specialist in internet security for a large firm), and his wife, (who happens to have two English degrees and is an editor extraordinaire. Incidentally, the name 'Tomvale' is a portmanteau for the family names). Later, helicopter instructors also asked CV for a helicopter version, and in return for their input, he developed Helicopter versions for each of the licences. Tomvale Ground School Software also morphed into a United States, FAA ground school, adapted to the specific needs of aviation in the United States.
Which brings us to today. Tomvale Ground School Software, has been a reliable addition to flight training since 1989, and will continue to grow and change, while maintaining certain principles. These include encouraging client input, personalized software support, a deep respect for user privacy, an aversion to the echo chamber of social networking, (a topic too long to go into now, but you might notice that Tomvale has no presence), and the use of technology as a tool rather than an end in itself. There have been monumental changes in technology since the 70's, but Tomvale has had the advantage of perspective over time, and has chosen not to jump on every one.
CV will continue to look for
better ways to train
pilots for
the skies, while relying on the stability and quality of proven methods.
Happy Flying!
Updated - 04/01/23
