FltPlan Go x Foreflight

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MacFlier

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MacFlier
So I have downloaded FltPlan and started messing with it before my x-country training starts.
I see ForeFlight is very popular but I didn't want to shell out money (at least yet) for it.
Meanwhile I have some questions about FltPlan:

Any of you use it?
Can you connect it with a 430W unit?
Any of you using it on a windows device? (I have both a Surface and an iPad and the app works on both)

Thanks!
 
I have FF, but downloaded FltPlanGo recently. I use it on my iPhone. I’ve played with it on numerous airline flights as a passenger. It works fine. Different user interface that was totally foreign for a while, since I only ever knew FF. I’ll keep using FF until it expires next month, then decide if I can live without it.

Oddly for me, the thing I like most about FF is the weather briefing.
 
According to Garmin’s site, you can connect a 430w if you have a flight stream 210.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/153681#overview

Only you can decide whether flightplan.go is what you should be using. When I chose an EFB, I listed the features I wanted and chose the one that had the most of those features. I didn’t consider price, deciding that the subscription cost was the smallest drop in the aviation budget bucket. Flightplan.go didn’t even make it to my top 3
 
I'm a happy FltPlanGo user. It should work with FlightStream but I haven't tried it. That said, syncing your EFB with a GNS430 at this point should not be a huge factor in my opinion. It's a nice feature but even as an instrument pilot, I've not once needed it.

FltPlanGo has geo-referenced charts and plates, is compatible with almost any ADSB solution, and is loaded with a bunch of little perks. I use android and apple products so I like having similar product on different platforms. App support is pretty solid as well when I started having issues with an older iPad running the app.

I think the only big things you don't get are synthetic vision and a decent profile view of your plan (but rumor is, that's coming in the near future).

Probably my biggest (and really my only) complaint is that it's a little clunky in its UI. Garmin Pilot wins there with its big buttons that are easy to find and relatively flat architecture. But after a while of playing with the app and more importantly, flying with it, I've not had any issues getting around the UI.
 
Foreflight is better, full stop.

Just as a corvette is better than a economy car, that said not everyone needs a vette to meet their mission, not does it fit everyone’s budget.

I’d also ask as a student if this is the time to be doing the geo ref thing?
 
Eric Gleason said:
According to Garmin’s site, you can connect a 430w if you have a flight stream 210.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/153681#overview

Only you can decide whether flightplan.go is what you should be using. When I chose an EFB, I listed the features I wanted and chose the one that had the most of those features. I didn’t consider price, deciding that the subscription cost was the smallest drop in the aviation budget bucket. Flightplan.go didn’t even make it to my top 3
Click to expand...
What were your top three and what features were important?
 
James331 said:
Foreflight is better, full stop.

Just as a corvette is better than a economy car, that said not everyone needs a vette to meet their mission, not does it fit everyone’s budget.

I’d also ask as a student if this is the time to be doing the geo ref thing?
Click to expand...

My plan is to start to get used to flying with an iPad. Most to use it as a backup or reference on x-country, but main reference would be to outside and avionics.
 
MacFlier said:
What were your top three and what features were important?
Click to expand...
Here's the problem. That can change. The method an app uses to bring up instrument approach plates may be important to an instrument pilot but not to a VFR-only pilot. And, to a very large degree, "most important" is more about how you get to a feature than what the feature is. 90% of these apps are the same in terms of feature set. They all have strengths and weaknesses. It's more about what you like than anything else.

I've been using ForeFlight for more than 7 years. At the time there were only ForeFlight and WingX in the market and Android tablets didn't exist. There were some Windows offerings, but they were iffy. I am also pretty familiar with most of the others out there - I have a dozen EFBs about equally divided between iOS and Android. Two of them also work with Windows.

The two biggest strengths of ForeFlight are "what if" planning and the way it handles instrument flight. You don't really care about the latter. On the former, comparing, say FlyQ, put a tentative flight plan in the FlyQ search box and it will bring you to the flight plan page and generate a flight plan based. Do the same in ForeFlight and it will paint it on the map so yo can see it and play with it without ever leaving the page. Big deal for some; not for others. A few others do it the ForeFlight way (Aerovie for one) and it's a feature I like. Foreflight's other big plus is the sheer number of users - that means easy availability of advice if you need it.

OTOH, for a VFR pilot there is a Foreflight feature I don't like - Foreflight will charge you for a "pro" subscription - basically an IFR subscription - in order to give you georeferenced taxi diagrams. First time you go to an airport with more than one runway, yo will realize how beneficial (I'd say necessary) those are. ForeFlight charges extra; FlyQ and some others do not (and FlyQ, like ForeFlight, has good taxi diagrams for airports the FAA doesn't).
 
MacFlier said:
My plan is to start to get used to flying with an iPad. Most to use it as a backup or reference on x-country, but main reference would be to outside and avionics.
Click to expand...

Not sure it’s something that takes getting used to, it’s pretty simple and when it comes down to it, if you understand how to read a chart it’s really just another app. For someone of average intelligence, shouldnt take more a than evening or two playing with it to be able to get 90% of its function. That said learning and building a solid VFR (as in visual not virtual) foundation will help you much more down the road.
 
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James331 said:
Not sure it’s something that takes getting used to, it’s pretty simple and when it comes down to it, if you understand how to read a chart it’s really just another app. For someone of average intelligence, should take more a evening or two playing with it to be able to get 90% of its function. That said not learning and building a solid VFR (as in visual not virtual) foundation will help you much more down the road.
Click to expand...

I just got my SP cert last month and am doing 1 XC per week. I'm doing pilotage/dead reckoning just to learn the skill (and I like maps). I use FF to generate the flight plan, heading, times, and gas (I can do the math...it's just boring so let the computer do that stuff). I also screenshot each leg of the XC, print that, and use the mini-map with the planned route and checkpoints (which I add to FF) rather than a full folded map. I flew 2 XCs with the iPad hanging off the glare screen but realized I was cheating and using FF rather than the paper maps. I run FF but keep in the passenger seat; that way I can log the flight for upload to CloudAhoy but doen't rely on the app. This arrangement is working out great and my last XC I actually felt like I was working the plan!
So, tech makes my life easier but still allows me to fly old school.
 
All my guys use a map and do it all manually, also knowing how to fold a map down to the part you need and orientate it properly is something I find lacking in many of the students I inherited from other CFIs.
 
Like @midlifeflyer says, what's important to you can change, and my needs are not quite what I anticipated.

My top 3 were Garmin Pilot, Foreflight, and WingX. WingX was quickly dropped because I decided that I wanted vector charts. FF's web-based flight planning is pretty awesome and I use it a lot. If Garmin a version of that I'd consider switching.

I'm dissatisfied with FF's w&b tool. It's totally separate from the flight planner. There was one that seemed integrated, so it would know my starting and ending W&B based on fuel burn for the trip. You have to enter fuel burn manually in FF, and it's hidden in a menu.
 
Just a note on FltPlan Go; the Android version has an issue I confirmed with their tech support. I am using a Samsung Tab E and an S8 phone. The regional radar data from ADS-B will at times blank out between updates from the ground station. It comes back but it should persist between updates. Could be an issue if you are trying to navigate around weather but not so much if you are just keeping an eye on it. They said they will fix it in a update. Also the Android version does not support AHRS if you have it available. I no longer use Apple products but my Windows 10 Thinkpad works with Fltplan perfectly. It is just too large to use in a plane.
 
I use both. Or at least try to use both. FF works. Always. FPG sucks donkey ballz because they keep breaking it more and more. The crApple version works surprisingly better than the Android version which is total horse p*ss, it simply doesn't work. (experienced by myself and reported by numerous other pilot friends) So I cannot rely on its data.
So standard disclaimer: be aware, you get exactly what you pay for.
 
Most of these comments are over two years old. Do we have an update on this. I’m using FltPlan Go and think it works great. As a commercial pilot, I use it for Both VFR and IFR, does everything I need to do. I Especially like the suggested routes for IFR Flight Plans.
 
I'm a Flight Plan Go user as it was recommended by my CFI and I'm happy with it. I can connect it to the appero transponders in the schools planes easily and receive traffic data right on my screen. Connecting to the Garmin transponder has been problematic but I'll try again later today when I go fly. I saw in the 430 manual that I can connect to it but haven't tried yet, maybe I'll give it a shot today as the plane I'm using today has a 430. But since the 430 in the plane has traffic I don't sweat it too much and would rather get up and flying instead of sitting on the deck trying to fiddle with submenus to connect for something I already have. I don't use the app to its full potential as I don't use it to create flight plans although I know I can. I've recently created custom checklists and will play with that aspect of it today. I don't look up IFR data right now as I'm only VFR certified. The one thing I wish I could find would be instruction videos with tips and trick on flight plan go. There is a ton on FF, but not so much on flight plan go. I know, the manual exists but that thing is crazy thick. One day I'll get around to reading it.
 
Reving this thread now that I got my IR and CPL. I recently did a few flights using FF (trial, so no geo-ref plates).
Things I really like about it compared to FltPlan Go:

- Weather briefing: miles ahead of FPG. Very intuitive, easy to understand. Access to weather charts is very nice, easy to browse.
- Creating/filing flight plans: very easy to do, shows recent assigned routes.
- Glide ring!
- Important NOTAMS are highlighted in airport page

Things I think are not that great and could be better:

- Geo-ref plates require mid-tier subscription
- Can't hide the toolbar on the plates page, so you can't see a plate in full page (FPG does this).
- Can't have multiple plates for multiple airports at the same time, requiring the use of custom folder (same thing in FPG)
- Airplane performance info: at least in my experience, I had to enter all the numbers myself even after picking up a standard type (like PA28-180). I'd expect at least for the numbers to be pre-populated and then I could tweak them. This is particularly a pain for a renter like me.
- Important NOTAMS sometimes fail to display, like runway closures.

I may signup for a year and see.
 
MacFlier said:
How did you do that? I tried in the plates page and couldn't figure it out. It worked only when I created a folder...
Click to expand...
I just pulled up the plate from the Airport Procedures and tapped on it. Works the same from the Plates page. Also works the same when pulling it up from the MAP page. Not sure what you are doing differently.
1694864608647.png
 
I tried it and it doesn't work for me. I'm using an iPad mini, so maybe that's the reason?
 
MacFlier said:
Reving this thread now that I got my IR and CPL. I recently did a few flights using FF (trial, so no geo-ref plates).
Things I really like about it compared to FltPlan Go:

- Weather briefing: miles ahead of FPG. Very intuitive, easy to understand. Access to weather charts is very nice, easy to browse.
- Creating/filing flight plans: very easy to do, shows recent assigned routes.
- Glide ring!
- Important NOTAMS are highlighted in airport page

Things I think are not that great and could be better:

- Geo-ref plates require mid-tier subscription
- Can't hide the toolbar on the plates page, so you can't see a plate in full page (FPG does this).
- Can't have multiple plates for multiple airports at the same time, requiring the use of custom folder (same thing in FPG)
- Airplane performance info: at least in my experience, I had to enter all the numbers myself even after picking up a standard type (like PA28-180). I'd expect at least for the numbers to be pre-populated and then I could tweak them. This is particularly a pain for a renter like me.
- Important NOTAMS sometimes fail to display, like runway closures.

I may signup for a year and see.
Click to expand...
I've been debating trying FF now that we have our own airplane. Maybe I'll see if I can borrow a friends ipad with FF first to see if its right for me. The weather briefing and glide ring aspect is interesting.
 
Will Kumley said:
I've been debating trying FF now that we have our own airplane. Maybe I'll see if I can borrow a friends ipad with FF first to see if its right for me. The weather briefing and glide ring aspect is interesting.
Click to expand...
I have a friend. Hates Apple. No way he'd ever buy an iPad. Has been using an Android EFB for years. A good one with a fairly long history as these things go.

Helped a buddy bring his newly purchased airplane from the west coast to the east. Buddy used Foreflight.

my friend now owns an iPad.
 
FltPlanGo is the only EFB I've ever used and am happy with it. I don't rack up a lot of hours, so free works for me. FltPlanGo is not only free for US but also Canada. My only issue is that SUA no longer shows altitudes when you click on it. I'm told this is an Android device issue and will be fixed (someday). The fix is to go to the applicable chart legend.
 
MacFlier said:
I tried it and it doesn't work for me. I'm using an iPad mini, so maybe that's the reason?
Click to expand...
I use an iPad Mini.I have no idea why it doesn't work for you. it's a feature described in the manual. Where are you tapping? Are you tapping the plate (not somewhere else). Are you tapping (distinguish "tap" from "touch" from "hold") the plate?

Its documented in the manual.

1695029838659.png
 
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I gotta check the Accessbility setting... that might be the culprit
 
DoubleD said:
FltPlanGo is the only EFB I've ever used and am happy with it. I don't rack up a lot of hours, so free works for me. FltPlanGo is not only free for US but also Canada. My only issue is that SUA no longer shows altitudes when you click on it. I'm told this is an Android device issue and will be fixed (someday). The fix is to go to the applicable chart legend.
Click to expand...
I use it on an iPad Mini. I first used it on an older iPad Mini but the app would crash every now and then, especially when superimposing the plates on the maps.
I got a more recent iPad Mini and it hasn't crashed since.
 
I once had occasional issues with FltPlanGo on my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 which have seemingly gone away, except for the aforementioned SUA altitudes. FltPlan is continually making improvements and they appear to have made Go more stable on my old Android device. When I have had persistent issues (none recently) their technical support has been exceptional.
 
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