iFly EFB questions, ipad vs android

Brad W

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doesn't seem to be a lot of iFly users here based on the hits I find searching for it...still I thought I'd post some questions

I just started playing around with the trial on an android tablet
Just doing preliminary research.... I still haven't found a way to demo foreflight as a comparison, but I know that I did not like Garmin pilot on Android. I understand Pilot is better on iPad

1) Have any of you compared iFly EFB on android and iPad? Is it any better or different on one vs the other?

2) I'd be very interested to hear form folks that have used iFly AND Foreflight
is foreflight really worth that much more money?

My initial impression just poking around with it on the ground is that the look and feel of iFly is a bit dated looking, but it does seem to be very intuitive. There's been a few times when I haven't readily seen the method to clear the screen or whatever, but mostly it's nicely simple. And it seems to have most things I can think to look for.

After my android garmin pilot trial a while back, I was ready to just break down and get an iPad and go with foreflight since that seems to be the gold standard more or less...just to cut to the chase. No need to re-invent the wheel here....
but since I have the android tablet, I figured why not give a few things a shot. I tried some of the others I've seen mentioned and rejected them pretty quickly, but iFly looks pretty decent...

I'm mostly just wondering if it would be worth it to get an ipad for a smaller and better tablet to run the iFly EFB, knowing that it would give me the option later to try foreflight.
or, should I just go with my initial plane and get an ipad for foreflight

It sure was easier back in the day.... just pick up a couple of charts and an approach plate book...available almost anywhere...and you're good to go!
 
doesn't seem to be a lot of iFly users here based on the hits I find searching for it...still I thought I'd post some questions

I just started playing around with the trial on an android tablet
Just doing preliminary research.... I still haven't found a way to demo foreflight as a comparison, but I know that I did not like Garmin pilot on Android. I understand Pilot is better on iPad

1) Have any of you compared iFly EFB on android and iPad? Is it any better or different on one vs the other?

2) I'd be very interested to hear form folks that have used iFly AND Foreflight
is foreflight really worth that much more money?

My initial impression just poking around with it on the ground is that the look and feel of iFly is a bit dated looking, but it does seem to be very intuitive. There's been a few times when I haven't readily seen the method to clear the screen or whatever, but mostly it's nicely simple. And it seems to have most things I can think to look for.

After my android garmin pilot trial a while back, I was ready to just break down and get an iPad and go with foreflight since that seems to be the gold standard more or less...just to cut to the chase. No need to re-invent the wheel here....
but since I have the android tablet, I figured why not give a few things a shot. I tried some of the others I've seen mentioned and rejected them pretty quickly, but iFly looks pretty decent...

I'm mostly just wondering if it would be worth it to get an ipad for a smaller and better tablet to run the iFly EFB, knowing that it would give me the option later to try foreflight.
or, should I just go with my initial plane and get an ipad for foreflight

It sure was easier back in the day.... just pick up a couple of charts and an approach plate book...available almost anywhere...and you're good to go!


I'm a reformed ForeFlight user now recuperating with iFly.

I use an iFly 740b in the plane, and run iFly on an iPad for flight planning. Not much difference between those two, but I haven't yet tried iFly on an Android. I'll note that iFly ("Adventure Pilot"), having discontinued the 740b, just announced that they will be marketing a ruggedized Android tablet with a daylight-readable screen. My 740b should be good for years to come, but it's good to know there will be a replacement device soon just in case.

IMHO, FF is a bit better on the ground and has better preflight briefings, but iFly is better in the air. I like the display options, I like the NRST button, and its fonts are easier to read.

Were I you, I'd wait for iFly to come out with the new ruggedized tablet and give that a go. iPads have a tendency to overheat and the screen on my mini is too dim. FF has become bloated with features I neither need nor want, and they've inflated the price. Also, my experience has been that iFly's customer service is more responsive than FF.
 
Like 1/2 fast I have a 740b. I have the app on my iPhone & sometimes use it for planning. I agree that waiting for the upcoming tablet release from Adventure Pilot might be worth the wait. They still support the 740b but they no longer sell those units. I guess they out ran the hardware capabilities and the newer tablets and EFB additions will make for a great unit if they don't get into a bloated system like many others have ...
 
iFly is seamless in function and performance between Android and iOS. Foreflight is not available on Android.

I’ve used GP, FF, iFly, Avare, and FlightPlanGo.

From a price perspective, FPG and Avare win. For experience across Android and iOS, iFly beats out FPG.

Now that iFly is no longer limited by WinMobile, expect more and more improvements.
 
iFly is absolutely identical on all its OSes. And is, by far, the best choice for Android. It is also, by a long shot, the most customizable EFB out there.

I've been using Foreflight for over 12 years and am not going to get rid if it until I decide to stop flying IFR. But iFly was my backup for several years and is the app that got me closest to thinking about switching.

There are a few potential downsides, if you care about them. For some reason, their database doesn't (currently) include T-routes. They can't connect with Garmin avionics. And the way it sits on top of the OS rather than being integrated into it (which is why it works so well on all platforms) also means that OS things like copy and paste don't work.
 
I've been flying with IFly for 15 years. Currently have a 740 and just interfaced it with my SuperEco Autopilot. IFly is coming out with their "own" (rebranded from a major mfgr) tablet which is supposed to be bright and tough. Supposedly coming out in the next few months. No idea of the cost but I think it would be the only tablet specifically designed around an EFB as far as I know.
 
I've been flying with IFly for 15 years. Currently have a 740 and just interfaced it with my SuperEco Autopilot. IFly is coming out with their "own" (rebranded from a major mfgr) tablet which is supposed to be bright and tough. Supposedly coming out in the next few months. No idea of the cost but I think it would be the only tablet specifically designed around an EFB as far as I know.
The Garmin Aera series is basically a dedicated aviation tablet. Been around for about 15 years. So's the original iFly.
 
iFly is absolutely identical on all its OSes. And is, by far, the best choice for Android. It is also, by a long shot, the most customizable EFB out there.

I've been using Foreflight for over 12 years and am not going to get rid if it until I decide to stop flying IFR. But iFly was my backup for several years and is the app that got me closest to thinking about switching.

There are a few potential downsides, if you care about them. For some reason, their database doesn't (currently) include T-routes. They can't connect with Garmin avionics. And the way it sits on top of the OS rather than being integrated into it (which is why it works so well on all platforms) also means that OS things like copy and paste don't work.

That explains it! This morning I was trying to login on a different device, to see if the aircraft configuration I'd done for weight and balance on my phone, would port over to the tablet.....
I was trying to copy and paste in my password to login, but couldn't get it to paste in.... I spent probably 10 minutes or more diving through the settings in the tablet to see if something there was a cause....

weird!
 
That explains it! This morning I was trying to login on a different device, to see if the aircraft configuration I'd done for weight and balance on my phone, would port over to the tablet.....
I was trying to copy and paste in my password to login, but couldn't get it to paste in.... I spent probably 10 minutes or more diving through the settings in the tablet to see if something there was a cause....

weird!
They say they're working on that, but they said that 5 years ago. I'm guessing there are some significant technical hurdled due multiple OSes. now, it's pretty much OS-independent.
 
I've been deep diving into my trial with iFly EFB...well as much as I can on the ground at this point.
this sitting on top of the OS thing is weird.
Last night I tried installing the app onto my chromebook computer. It seems to work very well....but when I went to enter my email and password, I naturally start typing on my keyboard.....but it doesn't work. Gotta use the touch screen thing that pops up.
It is perhaps minor in the big scheme of things, but it's an annoyance taht I can't use my password manager to autofill passwords, or otherwise copy and paste in things, etc...
Very weird...and unfortunate.
 
I'm a reformed ForeFlight user now recuperating with iFly.

I use an iFly 740b in the plane, and run iFly on an iPad for flight planning. Not much difference between those two, but I haven't yet tried iFly on an Android. I'll note that iFly ("Adventure Pilot"), having discontinued the 740b, just announced that they will be marketing a ruggedized Android tablet with a daylight-readable screen. My 740b should be good for years to come, but it's good to know there will be a replacement device soon just in case.

IMHO, FF is a bit better on the ground and has better preflight briefings, but iFly is better in the air. I like the display options, I like the NRST button, and its fonts are easier to read.

Were I you, I'd wait for iFly to come out with the new ruggedized tablet and give that a go. iPads have a tendency to overheat and the screen on my mini is too dim. FF has become bloated with features I neither need nor want, and they've inflated the price. Also, my experience has been that iFly's customer service is more responsive than FF.
@Half Fast
So what was it that tripped you over the edge to ditch foreflight in favor of iFly?​

I've been giving my trial a workout as much as I can on the ground anyway. (scheduled to fly with a CFI soon to get current again and checked-out for renting, but I recon it'll be a couple flights at least doing that stuff, and those flights won't likely leave a lot of time to play with the app)

So far I've only found one sort of important thing that seems to be missing.
It seems to be a bit clunky trying to find the controlling agency's freq.

a few different scenarios I'm considering:
1) when I click on special use, such as a MOA, it does a nice job of highlighting the borders of the airspace, and I readily see the times and altitudes, and the more info expands to show the rest of the info box. It even tells me the controlling agency when I've tried it but does not always list a contact.​
a) one example, Palatka 2 MOA in florida, it says controlling agency FAA Jax ARTCC....but does not give me a contact freq.​
b) clicking in R-2907A does say frequency 134. Is that supposed to be 134.000?​

2) my second scenario: If tooling along VFR not talking with anybody....and decide to pick up flight following. Intuitively, I was thinking that if I click on the map in an area especially with no airport or navaid, OR if I click on my "present position" that it might show me the airspace and list some contact freqs. Is the area controlled by a center or an approach control? and in that area, what is the best contact freq for them? Maybe better even to also highlight the ATC Center's sector geography, so that I can see if I'm getting ready to leave an area, etc....​
I don't care for the no cut and paste thing, but that's more of an annoyance I suppose...

Regardless, I'm getting that iFly offers way more than I really need for the flying I'll do...but foreflight seems to be a more complete and better polished application. Teh biggest downside I see to it for me, is that I currently use an android phone and chromebook is my primary home computer. Even if I were to buy an ipad to run FF, I would not have a back-up....but with iFly, I can have it also running on my phone as a chart backup in case the ipad has a problem in flight....
 
I've been deep diving into my trial with iFly EFB...well as much as I can on the ground at this point.
this sitting on top of the OS thing is weird.
Last night I tried installing the app onto my chromebook computer. It seems to work very well....but when I went to enter my email and password, I naturally start typing on my keyboard.....but it doesn't work. Gotta use the touch screen thing that pops up.
It is perhaps minor in the big scheme of things, but it's an annoyance taht I can't use my password manager to autofill passwords, or otherwise copy and paste in things, etc...
Very weird...and unfortunate.
The copy/paste thing has a number of consequences. Example. You are planning an IFR flight. So you go to one of the sites that give preferred routing or recently cleared routing. It's a lengthy one. Nice to be able to copy and paste it.
but foreflight seems to be a more complete and better polished application.
Different histories and different target markets.

iFly started out as a direct competitor to the Garmin x96 handheld units. App running on dedicated hardware. When they finally decided tablets were here to stay, they ported it lock stock and barrel. Just layered what they had on top of the OS. About all of the significant upsides and downsides are associated with that. Including "polish."

Foreflight was developed a generation after the original iFly and specifically for iOS. iPhone in 2008; iPad in 2010. And market share means the ability to expand. Many of the extras in Foreflight, while light GA useful, are targeted to the corporate jet and non-dispatch 135 markets.

Even if I were to buy an ipad to run FF, I would not have a back-up....but with iFly, I can have it also running on my phone as a chart backup in case the ipad has a problem in flight....
FWIW, I am a 12+ year Foreflight user who uses an Android phone. I mentioned iFly was my backup for several years. Actually had to use it in-flight once due to a Foreflight bug but I didn't have to go to my phone. Just switched apps on the iPad. I ultimately dropped my iFly subscription because I realized that all I needed was a chart backup on my phone. FltPlan Go! has become stable enough for me to feel comfortable relying on it for that purpose, especially given the history of only one need to use my backup since I stopped using paper charts in 2011.
 
So what was it that tripped you over the edge to ditch foreflight in favor of iFly?

My iPad Mini is too dim to see well in the cockpit, and it's also overheated a couple of times despite precautions and a cooling fan. FF won't even consider or discuss creating a version for Android, and the iPad is simply not designed for cockpit use. I wanted a device that was aviation specific with a bright display and that wouldn't overheat. I considered the Garmin Aera, but the iFly 740b has a larger screen, costs less, and I prefer the iFly app to Garmin's app anyway.

I really like having an app that's platform agnostic; someday when my 740b dies I'll be able to go to a solid, rugged, bright Android tablet. With FF, you're handcuffed to i-crap.

I kept FF for backup for a few months, but the next time my renewal came along I learned that (1) they were raising the price significantly and (2) the justification was they were adding new features that (3) wouldn't run on my Mini's old OS, so (4) I would have to buy a NEW iPad (still with too dim a screen and prone to overheating) just to use features that I was paying for but never wanted in the first place.

I also found that FF's customer service had become much less responsive, with an attitude of "FU if you don't like what we offer." That shift seemed to coincide with the Boeing acquistion, which doesn't come as a surprise to anyone who's had experience with Boeing.

Forget that ca-ca. No more FF for me.


Intuitively, I was thinking that if I click on the map in an area especially with no airport or navaid, OR if I click on my "present position" that it might show me the airspace and list some contact freqs. Is the area controlled by a center or an approach control? and in that area, what is the best contact freq for them?


I haven't seen any EFB that does that. If FF does, I never found it. IFR charts show some frequency info, but at least around here the frequencies shown are not what we really use anyway.

BUT, in iFly it's pretty easy to select a nearby airport (use the NRST button if necessary) and look at the communication frequencies and there you'll usually find a control center, or at least nearest ATC, listed. For example, in the Palatka area you mentioned, if you click on 3FLO (Mount Royal), you'll see the nearest ATC is Jax (St Augustine) on 135.45. Call that and ask for what you want, and they'll tell you if you need to be on a different frequency.
 
I'm getting ready to fly again after 19 month hiatus to restore my aircraft. Right before I stopped flying, I experienced 2 events where iFly froze in flight. One was on an iPad mini, while one was on an Android phone. Both were during lookup of airfield info. One was under stressful circumstances.

Based on that, I planned to switch when I started flying again. Has iFly done anything to their programming model that might make them more reliable?
 
I'm getting ready to fly again after 19 month hiatus to restore my aircraft. Right before I stopped flying, I experienced 2 events where iFly froze in flight. One was on an iPad mini, while one was on an Android phone. Both were during lookup of airfield info. One was under stressful circumstances.

Based on that, I planned to switch when I started flying again. Has iFly done anything to their programming model that might make them more reliable?
I don't have a direct answer to your question but I've never experienced a lock up using the iFly 740b dedicated unit or my iPhone either. Many moons ago I had an earlier 720 model unit and it did a one time lock up but I took care of that with a reboot of the unit ...
 
… Has iFly done anything to their programming model that might make them more reliable?
Maybe.

iFlyGPS is now iFlyEFB. They reached the limit of what could be done in the old windows OS of their hardware devices, so they dropped that and decided to focus just on the app.

Look/feel of EFB is the same, a few more feature slowly being added (checklists, W&B) and they just teased the next release is coming soon with refinements to terrain mapping and some other stuff. If you’re an AOPA member, the app integrates seamlessly with iflightplanner for web/desktop preflight planning.

VFR only single machine subscription is $79.

I’ve been testing fltplango as a backup efb since it’s free, and it works as a backup and does most things well but the learning curve, for me, has been steep.
 
I’ve been testing fltplango as a backup efb since it’s free, and it works as a backup and does most things well but the learning curve, for me, has been steep.
its become my backup.it does have a different flow, but for backup the only thing I really care about are approach plates and SID/STAR.
 
its become my backup.it does have a different flow, but for backup the only thing I really care about are approach plates and SID/STAR.

That’s exactly what I’m testing it for. There seems to be some issues with getting a weather brief thru fltplan.com since the change at aviation.weather.gov and that’s keeping me from using fpg as anything other than a backup.
 
That’s exactly what I’m testing it for. There seems to be some issues with getting a weather brief thru fltplan.com since the change at aviation.weather.gov and that’s keeping me from using fpg as anything other than a backup.
My goal for Go! as an EFB (I was a FltPlan.com user well before the EFB existed) is limited to backup use so I don't really care about the other features.

But sort of back on point, iFly is the only EFB app Ive used that actually led me to consider switching from Foreflight.
 
I'm getting ready to fly again after 19 month hiatus to restore my aircraft. Right before I stopped flying, I experienced 2 events where iFly froze in flight. One was on an iPad mini, while one was on an Android phone. Both were during lookup of airfield info. One was under stressful circumstances.

Based on that, I planned to switch when I started flying again. Has iFly done anything to their programming model that might make them more reliable?
Did you submit bug reports after the crashes? Adventure Pilot's historically been pretty good about chasing down bugs, but they don't do any chasing if they don't know about them.

I've been an iFly user since the original 700, and have used it on numerous Android tablets over the years (Nexus 7 (2013), Samsung Tab S2, ASUS Zenpad 3S 10, Samsung Tab S6). I've been a beta user for most of that time so I'm usually on the bleeding edge, but even so I can't say I've ever seen iFly _lock up_ in the hundreds of hours I've flown with it. I've had beta versions that flat-out crashed on me (bugs which were stamped out before the update was released publicly), but never locked up. I've also been active on the user forum for years and have not heard people complain about lockups.

Your experience should not be disregarded, but I would say that my experience has been different. Aside from the expected hiccups during beta testing, the product has been very stable for me. Based on user commentary on the iFly forums over the years, it would seem to me that's not a widespread issue that folks have experienced.
 
I’ve been testing fltplango as a backup efb since it’s free, and it works as a backup and does most things well but the learning curve, for me, has been steep.
Not to hijack the discussion, but I also have religiously kept FltPlanGo on all my flight devices with data constantly updated. I had reason to use it recently when (a beta version of!) iFly kept crashing on me during flight. However, despite the fact that it showed "green" on the download status page for the sectionals I was trying to view, I got only a blank screen. I fiddled with it for a fair bit before deciding I needed to just fly the plane and gave up on the tablet.

Perhaps it's a comment on how reliable iFly has been for me that I've never had to use FltPlanGo as a backup in flight before. Clearly I need to spend some time to figure out how FPG actually works.
 
I've been an iFly user since the original 700, and have used it on numerous Android tablets over the years (Nexus 7 (2013), Samsung Tab S2, ASUS Zenpad 3S 10, Samsung Tab S6). I've been a beta user for most of that time so I'm usually on the bleeding edge, but even so I can't say I've ever seen iFly _lock up_ in the hundreds of hours I've flown with it.
Funny, the only time I actually had to use iFly as a backup was when Foreflight locked up :D
 
Not to hijack the discussion, but I also have religiously kept FltPlanGo on all my flight devices with data constantly updated. I had reason to use it recently when (a beta version of!) iFly kept crashing on me during flight. However, despite the fact that it showed "green" on the download status page for the sectionals I was trying to view, I got only a blank screen. I fiddled with it for a fair bit before deciding I needed to just fly the plane and gave up on the tablet.

Perhaps it's a comment on how reliable iFly has been for me that I've never had to use FltPlanGo as a backup in flight before. Clearly I need to spend some time to figure out how FPG actually works.
Thats why I use my cell phone as a backup. The routing I put on my tablet is also put on my cell phone.
 
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I'll stick with Avare. It does everything I need for basic VFR flying, and it's free.
 
Thats why I use my cell phone as a backup. The routing I put on my tablet is also put on my cell phone.
Part of being a beta tester involves trying the new beta code on as many devices and OS versions as possible, so I don't always have a "pristine" device remaining when I go fly. That's why my plan was to use FltPlan Go as my backup.
 
Which ADS-B In portable devices currently sold are compatible with iFly?
 
Which ADS-B In portable devices currently sold are compatible with iFly?
Pretty much any device that isn't locked down. If the ADSB-in device allows 3rd-party software integration, you can pretty much expect that iFly supports it.

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Pretty much any device that isn't locked down. If the ADSB-in device allows 3rd-party software integration, you can pretty much expect that iFly supports it.

So, not Garmin or Sentry?

Seems like a lot of the 3rd party ADS-B receivers are disappearing from the market.

I spoke to the iFly folks 2 years ago at SnF. They recommended the iLevil Astro. That product is still for sale via the company site, but not on major retailers like Spruce. I do like that they have a model with all remote antennas.
 
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Spent all morning browsing for ADS-B receivers. The state of the market is pretty discouraging. Looks like the only surviving platform-agnostic devices are Stratus, iLevil, and Stratux. Am I missing any?
 
Spent all morning browsing for ADS-B receivers. The state of the market is pretty discouraging. Looks like the only surviving platform-agnostic devices are Stratus, iLevil, and Stratux. Am I missing any?

Skyguard advertises compatibility with iFly.
 
Which ADS-B In portable devices currently sold are compatible with iFly?

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iFly EFB and Avare are the only legitimate primary EFB's on Android in my opinion (a bunch of for pay EFB's have less features than Avare and are in less development, including arguable GP Android). GP ios and GP Android phone is fine. ForeFlight (Mini 6) and Avare (Pixel 7 pro) user here.... I think people undersell Avare a little bit. It's got a lot of features at his point and is consistenly being improved via open source development (very stable as well). One of my largest hang-ups was multi airplanes and that was just fixed via a release. The recent killer feature for GP and FF in my opinion is true integration of NOTAM information in the EFB. That is about the only thing (also auto logging log book and terrain alerts) are about the only things holding me in the FF space. Avare (especially with the new improvements) has the very best chart rendering... it is always super sharp and fast. My hot take is that iFly EFB uses such a slow tablet for their physical product (and past ones) that they have to mess with the rendering resolution a lot. ForeFlight I would say is 2nd best which makes sense because everything from ipad 6 mini or better is a beast of a processor.

The ADSB question for iFLy ---- Stratux (open source, and pretty cheap), Stratus III (our club has two of these and they seem great), and iLevel (I have only heard great things about). I would not be considering anything else on this list, I own a 15 year old Dual but they seem to have not changed the design in 15 years. iLvel seems to have the best back up AHRS if that matters to you.
 
How do I disable the *&%#! pop up AHRS gauge on iFly? I just spent 10 hours of XC flight trying and failing to prevent it from covering the right side of my screen every time I change bank or pitch.
 
How do I disable the *&%#! pop up AHRS gauge on iFly? I just spent 10 hours of XC flight trying and failing to prevent it from covering the right side of my screen every time I change bank or pitch.

On the bottom menu bar, go to Inst Group and you can modify or delete from there.
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Alternatively, go to map mode and deselect 3D EFIS.
 
On the bottom menu bar, go to Inst Group and you can modify or delete from there.


Alternatively, go to map mode and deselect 3D EFIS.

I spent hours in the Inst Group menu without success.

Ok, poking around, I may have found it. Setup Menu > Alerts and Warnings has a submenu for AHRS Alerts, where pitch and roll threshold can be disabled.
 
Ok, poking around, I may have found it. Setup Menu > Alerts and Warnings has a submenu for AHRS Alerts, where pitch and roll threshold can be disabled.

Yep. Alternatively, you could stop looking at iFly while you're doing aerobatics. ;)

I kept mine enabled, but set the thresholds where they won't bother me but might be useful if I'm screwing up. IIRC, the roll is set to 50deg.
 
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