EFB - Flight Planning Apps

What Flight Planner /EFB do you use

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AdamZ

AdamZ

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Adam Zucker
So the ForeFlight Nit thread got me thinking, especially since I'm starting to fly IFR again and am in the market for a flight planning app for my ipad mini 5. ForeFlight is great and does a lot but there are others that look like they do a pretty good job. I've actually been using FltPlanGo for a few years and it is a pretty good app with geo referenced charts and its free. Where I think apps like FF have an advantage is in their value added features and planning. For example in FltPlanGo you can't plan right in the app, you need to connect to the FltPlanGo dot com site and plan and then it downloads. For those using a device without cellular you would need a WiFi connection to plan or change plans. Not so great if your outside or in the plane. So I'm curious what EFB/Planning Apps do you use? Do you use them for IFR or VFR and what do you like about them or not like?
 
Like a whole bunch, I'm a ForeFlight user. But that's in large part because I chose it over 11 years ago when only it and WingX existed. It does everthing I want and i'm so familiar with it that it's never a distraction. Never have to think, "how do I do this?" in a high-workload environment. That's important to me IFR. It doesn't matter what I use FVR.

But I'm also a EFB geek and have used all but two on your list - plus one you have not listed - Stratus Insight. I used iFly as my backup EFB for several years (just let it lapse) and, especially if you are looking for multi-platform functionality, it up there at the top. If you have a modern Garmin panel, Pilot really is on a par with ForeFlight these days.
 
I used ifly through my instrument rating and a while after. I really liked it, but I bought a plane with a bunch of garmin avionics in it, and I didn't want to deal with a stratux when I already have a gdl-88. I switched to garmin pilot, and have been pretty happy with it. It suffers to some extent from feature overload like FF, but it's more usable IMO. It also allows me to keep using android tablets, although I did break down and buy a mini for my primary in the plane as the ios version is more stable. Amazingly garmin added stratus support the same month I joined a club with a hardwired stratus in their 172.

If ifly ever cracks the garmin adsb language, I'd consider going back, but "database concierge" has become something of a killer feature for me. Makes keeping the gtn updated literally zero effort.

I've used all the free options, but I found only GP, FF, and iFly really usable, especially for ifr.
 
I use FlyQ on the ipad mini and iFly on my android phone. I prefer their interfaces more than Foreflight, but in my experience, Foreflight is more stable than either of them.
 
I use Garmin Pilot for planning, then send it over to my Aera 660 and panel mount GPS175 in the plane. IPad mini has overheated to many times
 
DroidEFB. FltPlan Go is OK, too, and the price is right. Using Android. Like having compatibility with Lynx NGT-9000 transponder. iFly is OK, too, but wasn't enough different for me to switch.
 
If everyone would fill out the poll it will be interesting to see the results.
 
DroidEFB and Avare.

I use them both. If one needs an update and I am out of internet, I can switch to the other.

No complaints...
 
iFly for many years. I settled on it after trying all the other Android compatible apps available at the time I have foreflight on my company iPad as the company pays all the fees including Jepp charts. Still prefer iFly
 
ForeFlight is great, and I think the best for IFR. However, I have been playing with FltPlan Go since Boeing announced the price increase for ForeFlight. A little clunky, but not too bad.
 
I use FltPlanGo for filing and briefing. And then ForeFlight as my EFB after that. I didn’t like the way FF briefed weather when it first came out, which I keep saying I’m going to revisit it, but since FltPlanGo is so accurate with the fuel burn numbers on the airplanes I fly, I hadn’t seen the need to change. I haven’t tried any others because we would need to get them approved for our Part 135 Operations.
 
Wow. There was an WingX update on the App Store … no new features just performance and stability updates. At least it’s still alive
 
I started with ForeFlight when Garmin Pilot was locked to only Garmin ADS-B devices. Once they opened it up with one of the recent updates, I'll most likely be ditching ForeFlight due to price increases and that I have an Android phone along with an iPad. I like being able to grab my phone for a quick look in GP without having to get my iPad.
 
For my personal flying I use FltPlanGo. The Fractional I work at switched to Foreflight because it could hold the entire fleet and do weight & balance. Foreflight also does climb, takeoff, and landing performance as well as pushing flight plans between Dispatch and the PIC. I find them both equally good but I enjoy the free price of FltPlanGo.
 
Voted other. FlyQ user here

do the other services offer different features? Sure. But right now the difference isn’t enough to warrant a change.
 
FF app navigation is, in my subjective opinion, more intuitive. Garmin is fine, but comes off a little klunkier - not horrible, or miles worse, just not as smooth and intuitive. Even with a Garmin GPS in the panel, I find FF/iPad is a "better" source en route, so I'm interacting it with it quite a bit in-flight.
 
I was a big WingX fan for years, it was simple and worked. Support for it over the last few years has been near zero, so moved to Garmin Pilot on both iOS and Android and Avare as a backup on Android.

New fan for Garmin Pilot, wish the android version was on par with the iOS version

Funny that WingX just released an minor update the other day after 18+ months of silence
 
I plan my flights in SkyVector. I print pertinent sections for visual reference. It's easy and cheap, and ok for VFR.
 
Scrabo said:
New fan for Garmin Pilot, wish the android version was on par with the iOS version
Click to expand...

Nailed my biggest gripe. I use GP as I have an Android phone, and they still don't have FltPlan.com integration into Android phone app yet, and it's been several years since they bought it.
 
Voted other, started with FF in training but gave it up at renewal time for the price. Went to FlyQ, then shortly thereafter bought the lifetime subscription. I does all I need very well, and is much more price friendly.
 
Started using FF a long time ago and do not see a reason to try another one at this point. Unless someone can tell me what another EFB can do that FF can't.
 
A nice feature foreflight has is the route advisor that shows perviously cleared ATC routes. I am not sure where this information is coming from, but it is very useful.
 
sarangan said:
A nice feature foreflight has is the route advisor that shows perviously cleared ATC routes. I am not sure where this information is coming from, but it is very useful.
Click to expand...
FltPlan.com has had the feature for 15-20 years; before Foreflight existed.

Many EFBs have it. It probably all comes in via a common database but it looks like they massage the data a bit differently. Perhaps in terms of how deeply they go. FltPlan.com is still a bit better than Foreflight and Foreflight better than the other EFBs I've looked at.
 
Personally, I find the previously filed routes mostly useless.

Many regions like Chicago have known IFR “gates” around the region mostly known only to only ATC and it’s very hard to find these “agreements“. I look forward to a day those gates are published to help everyone.

@310pilot. Kevin - Any insight to getting these easier discovered by mere mortals?
 
As an almost twelve year Foreflight user I am not interested in changing until someone shows me a function that I need that can be accomplished on another EFB but not on Foreflight. I know FF cold meaning that in a bouncy plane in a stressful situation I can still find what I am looking for.

A few responses on this thread led me to believe that there are people using their EFB for things that should be don with a certified in panel Navigator. That is required for a reason.

Peoples brand loyalty has always been interesting to me. I continue using FF because I have logged enough hours with it that it is second nature. If I had gotten to the same level of competence with another brand I would continuing using it. Making all this a Ford/Chevy argument seems as silly as a Ford/Chevy argument. They each have her strengths and weaknesses so it’s a wash.

My $0.02,
 
General advice, the best EFB is the one you know in and out. For people like me, I had my private and instrument rating before smartphones became popular. I took a long break and when I returned to flying, trying out all the different EFB softwares, foreflight didn't seem obviously more intuitive to use than others. Give them all a fair shake and then stick with one long enough to be fluent with the program.
 
farangutan said:
General advice, the best EFB is the one you know in and out.
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Absolutely. There is enough of a difference is feature and flow that knowing one well doesn't automatically translate to another. OTOH, the degree to which the differences really matter is very individualized. It's not a bad idea to know another well enough to use as a backup in the case of a "primary" EFB failure.
 
farangutan said:
General advice, the best EFB is the one you know in and out. For people like me, I had my private and instrument rating before smartphones became popular. I took a long break and when I returned to flying, trying out all the different EFB softwares, foreflight didn't seem obviously more intuitive to use than others. Give them all a fair shake and then stick with one long enough to be fluent with the program.
Click to expand...

I too did most of my flying before even GPS was in the scene. As a result, I have taken a minimalist approach to EFB software. 90% of what I need is an airplane icon on a moving map. Everything else is icing on the cake.
 
sarangan said:
I too did most of my flying before even GPS was in the scene. As a result, I have taken a minimalist approach to EFB software.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure it's a result of doing most of your flying before GPS was invented. I got my instrument rating in 1992 an airplane with two VORs, one glideslope, and an ADF. My first GPS approach was 11 years later, so I guess I can't say I flew longer without it. But I don't think your minimalist attitude or my multi-EFB geekery are "results" of that.

My own minimalism is for my backup app. Even the airplane on the moving map is #2 for that. #1 is as a chart reader - the ability to pull up the charts I need, especially approach charts.
 
midlifeflyer said:
I'm not sure it's a result of doing most of your flying before GPS was invented. I got my instrument rating in 1992 an airplane with two VORs, one glideslope, and an ADF. My first GPS approach was 11 years later, so I guess I can't say I flew longer without it. But I don't think your minimalist attitude or my multi-EFB geekery are "results" of that.

My own minimalism is for my backup app. Even the airplane on the moving map is #2 for that. #1 is as a chart reader - the ability to pull up the charts I need, especially approach charts.
Click to expand...

I guess I was not correct in saying I did most of my flying before GPS. I did most of my training before GPS, not most of my flying. Being able to pull up any chart is nice, but a pdf instead of a paper chart isn't a compelling case by in itself. Being able to see your position on the chart is the innovation that changed everything.
 
A bit of a tangent but ...

What are folk's thoughts on geo referenced approached plates? Some apps give you that for free while some upcharge for it. Not IFR rated, (but plan on starting the rating in the spring) so I really don't know if it adds value or not. I am considering going from Insight EFB to ForeFlight but you need FF Pro for georeferenced plates.
 
sarangan said:
I guess I was not correct in saying I did most of my flying before GPS. I did most of my training before GPS, not most of my flying. Being able to pull up any chart is nice, but a pdf instead of a paper chart isn't a compelling case by in itself. Being able to see your position on the chart is the innovation that changed everything.
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I agree about position being an important innovation for EFBs but I'm talking personal backup - primary EFB has failed. In the soup with working avionics and a moving map in the panel even if it's just a 430, I want the charts more than I need the EFB's moving map since I haven't had paper charts since the Spring of 2011.
 
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