Apps Archives - Plane & Pilot Magazine https://cms.planeandpilotmag.com/products/apps/ The Excitement of Personal Aviation & Private Ownership Tue, 27 Feb 2024 00:11:19 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.4 Relive Your 2023 Flights with ForeFlight https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/news/the-latest/2024/01/03/relive-your-2023-flights-with-foreflight Wed, 03 Jan 2024 17:39:45 +0000 https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/?post_type=news&p=628871 ForeFlight has capped off the year by launching a great tool allowing pilots to see—and share—an interactive summary of the flights they logged in 2023. Named ForeFlight Recap, the web-based...

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ForeFlight has capped off the year by launching a great tool allowing pilots to see—and share—an interactive summary of the flights they logged in 2023.

Named ForeFlight Recap, the web-based feature pulls “aggregated data from a pilot’s 2023 entries in ForeFlight Logbook.” It then showcases information, including the number of flights, total distance flown, total time logged, and number of landings completed for the year. The tool also provides an interactive map thatwhich connects all airports visited by the pilot in 2023.

Pilots can choose to keep their rRecaps private or share an image and interactive preview of them on platforms such as Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). In addition, ForeFlight included a “Make Private” button, so access to previously shared rRecaps can be revoked. Recaps can also be downloaded.

According to the company, Recap is now available for any pilot who logged flights on ForeFlight in 2023. ForeFlight noted that Recap will also work for pilots who have not logged flights in ForeFlight Logbook, provided they “import data from other digital platforms or from their paper logbook using catch-up entries.” 

Recap is currently not supported by the ForeFlight Mobile app but can be viewed with both computer and mobile device on ForeFlight Web.

READ MORE: ForeFlight Merges with CloudAhoy



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Killer Feature in iPhone 14 is Just What Pilots Need https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/news/2022/09/08/killer-feature-in-iphone-14-is-just-what-pilots-need/ Thu, 08 Sep 2022 15:14:16 +0000 https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/?post_type=news&p=625534 This safety feature might seem like a value-added capability, but for pilots, it’s way more than that

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It’s no secret that Apple just introduced its latest iPhone, the 14, and while pilots are generally iOS friendly, thanks in part to apps like Garmin Pilot and ForeFlight, not to mention the great cameras in Apple phones, this latest iPhone has a feature that pilots might feel that they need.

In 2007, we were all introduced to the very first Apple iPhone. At that time, there was no thought to throw it in your flight bag. After all, why bring a cellphone with you when one of the reasons for your pleasure flights was likely to get away from the tethered terrestrial world of always being in touch?

Times have changed. Our phones and tablets have become important tools and ones that we would likely not want to leave earthbound when we take to the skies. 

In its official announcement of the Apple iPhone 14 on Wednesday, the company shared the news that this version will include the ability to connect to orbiting communications satellites for emergency services when regular cellular or Wi-Fi coverage is not available. Technology and specialized components, along with software that is part of this new iPhone. will allow users to reach emergency services in those locations where it would normally be impossible to communicate using standard cell phone towers. For now, this will be limited to North America.

This means that in the coming days, your iPhone 14 sitting in your flight bag could in fact be one of the most important survival tools you have. Basically, it becomes your ability to communicate in an emergency via satellite technology that Apple is integrating with their ecosystem.

How will it work? Should you need to initiate emergency communications, the device will prompt you with a few questions about your situation, then it will give you step-by-step graphical instructions on how to latch on to the orbiting satellites. Once connected, your information will be forwarded to Apple-trained specialists who will contact the appropriate emergency service personnel, providing details of your emergency along with GPS coordinates of your location. It’s easy to see how this could be a total game changer in the general aviation community, without the need to bring along a dedicated satellite communicator.

This could be just another way to mitigate risk and one that will likely find itself in many flight bags across aviation, potentially saving lives along the way.

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A Flight Simulator, A Gear Bag, And More Items for Pilots https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/products/pilot-gear/a-flight-simulator-a-gear-bag-and-more-items-for-pilots/ Tue, 14 Dec 2021 16:23:47 +0000 https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/?post_type=products&p=618056 In each issue of Plane & Pilot magazine, we share new gear and other items pilots and aviation enthusiasts will enjoy. The round-up in our October 2021 issue features a Redbird flight...

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In each issue of Plane & Pilot magazine, we share new gear and other items pilots and aviation enthusiasts will enjoy.

The round-up in our October 2021 issue features a Redbird flight simulator, a gear bag, and more.

Model 300 Pocket Carbon Monoxide Detector

Model 300 Pocket Carbon Monoxide Detector

A life-saving device right in your pocket, the Model 300 Pocket Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detector is equipped with a loud, vibrating alarm that signals dangerous levels of CO. It has an easy-to-read backlit display that shows CO levels in 1 ppm increments up to 500 ppm. It’s light enough at 1 ounce to fit on a keychain, making it portable and easy to use. It self-checks upon start and comes with a one-year warranty. Its affordability makes it a popular item on a pilot’s must-haves list. 

Price: $134.95. Available at www.aircraftspruce.com.

Vertical Climb T-Shirt

Vertical Climb T-Shirt

Wear your aviation passion! Suit up for your next airshow with this Vertical Climb T-shirt, printed on all sides to show off your love for flying in 360 degrees. Part of Sporty’s Extreme Aviation line of shirts and exclusively designed by its Wright Bros. Collection, it’s constructed from a high-quality polyester/spandex mix for comfort and easy care. 

Price: $19.95. Available at www.sportys.com.

Sporty's Original Flight Gear Bag

Sporty’s Original Flight Gear Bag

This modern spin on Sporty’s Original Flight Gear Bag from over 30 years ago is large enough to store essential pilot supplies and more. With key organization features inside and out, the bag puts everything at arm’s length, so you can focus on flying. Its exterior extra-large headset pocket can fit most aviation headsets, even with a case. There are also two other custom-designed pockets for indispensable pilot gear, like a radio and a portable weather receiver. Even more outside pockets can be earmarked for paperwork, pens and even a flashlight, and the bag also has a slot for slipping over the handles of rolling luggage. The roomy main compartment is a pilot favorite, with a padded pocket for iPads and more than enough space for charging cables, batteries and even a change of clothes. Even better, the bag comes with a three-year warranty.

Price: $89.95. Available at www.sportys.com.

The Jay With  RD1 Rudder Pedals

The Jay With RD1 Rudder Pedals

Looking for ways to keep your pilot skills sharp at home? The scenario-based training with the Jay from Redbird is unparalleled. It contains the monitor, speakers, computer and flight controls—an all-in-one unit that’s ready to fly right out of the box. Redbird promises easy setup, so you don’t waste any time configuring the system to work for you. It boots up directly to a launch screen where you can choose your airplane, airport and weather conditions. With a 27-inch display, pre-installed Lockheed Prepar4D Flight Sim, a yoke, throttle and mixture controls and a keyboard, you can support your flight and training proficiency in an easy, convenient way with cutting-edge simulator technology.

Price: $3,093. Available at www.aircraftspruce.com.

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How Icon‘s Safety App Is Just One Element Of A Company‘s Transformation https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/products/apps/how-icons-safety-app-is-just-one-element-of-a-companys-transformation/ Tue, 28 Sep 2021 17:05:28 +0000 https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/?post_type=products&p=612851 A seemingly simple risk-assessment app is groundbreaking. And there’s a universe of change that allowed it to come about.

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When I stopped by Icon’s exhibition space at Oshkosh in July to say hi and meet some of the new folks at the company, I wasn’t really prepared for what I found. The company has transformed itself, and I say this even though I went into the meeting knowing that it had. The breadth of the change, the apparent commitment to safety that’s driving it, and a commitment to transparency wholly lacking in years past were on full display. Smiles. Friendly back and forth. Real answers to tough questions. I was and remain impressed.

But the thing that captured my imagination was the company’s new app, called Icon SMART, that prompts a pilot to input the major risks associated with the proposed flight and at the end of the process issues a risk-assessment score.

The backstory? While I know that the last thing Icon wants to read here is a rehashing of its troubled history, the story of the company’s remarkable transformation makes no sense in its absence.

Back in 2006 when Icon announced its planned Light Sport amphibian, the Icon A5, it made clear that the design would be correcting the lack of vision that other aircraft designers had exhibited since the days of the Wrights. This they would do by creating an easy-to-fly, spin-resistant two-seat amphibious seaplane that would bring in thousands of customers who were not yet pilots for the sheer joy appeal of the product. Except for the boastful claim about their design abilities, that’s all good stuff, though anyone who’s been around personal flying for long knows that when you bring in customers who aren’t yet pilots, there’s greatly elevated risk, such that even a very friendly, flying stall-averse light plane can only go so far to mitigate.

The A5 made its first flight in 2008. The first customer delivery was early in 2016.

In the interim, there was also the lavish spending on events while the A5 languished, giving some the sense that company cared more about continued sales than the airplane’s development. Which was troubled. Given the aircraft’s substantial wing design, the plane was too heavy, to the point that Icon concluded that it couldn’t make the A5 much lighter and still arrive at the intended product. Ultimately, Icon got an FAA exemption that allowed it to grow beyond the LSA standard category’s (too low, we believe) weight limit of 1,430 pounds by as much as 250 pounds, though the company only used a fraction of that allowance. And its argument in requesting the exemption, that the A5’s stall resistant wing design and ballistic parachute were worthy parts of that weight increase, makes good safety sense. 

There was also the issue of describing the certification standard of the A5. The company frequently mentioned the A5’s FAA certification, even though it was not and is not today FAA certificated. As an LSA, it’s approved by the aviation regulatory agency, which reviews the company’s records to check the boxes. This is a very different animal than actual FAA Part 23 certification, which involves great expense and direct involvement by the FAA before the type (aircraft) and production (factory) certifications are granted. It’s far from a semantic distinction, and it reflected poorly on the company that it was committed to the questionable, and in my view, unnecessary spin, one that I believe takes advantage of customers’ confusion about the differences between the Light Sport and Part 23 approval processes. 

And before long funding became an issue, because building airplanes is way more expensive than selling them. Predictably, the company shuffled and reshuffled. I’ll admit that I have little interest in the subject of finance in general, and crisis finance even less. It’s hard to watch companies walk the fine line between, on one side, going belly up and shutting the doors  and on the other side of the line, promising airplanes it doesn’t have the money to build. But sadly, it is one of the most common stories in our world of light planes. Icon, as some observers, myself included, predicted, could not escape the inescapable, that low revenue in the face of high expenditures cannot, no matter how desperately one dog paddles, keep’s ledger above water.

Hawkins resigned as CEO in 2018, and a new majority owner, Pudong Science and Technology Investment, Inc. (PDSTI) emerged, providing critical funding. That funding has been impacted by constraints on PDSTI from China, so much that minority shareholders Kirk Hawkins and Phil Condit filed suit against PDSTI alleging that it was transferring the company’s technology to China and that it doesn’t intend to make Icon successful. That action is ongoing. 

Underlying all of this was a safety problem, or I should say, a safety culture problem that turned into a safety problem. At an Oshkosh press conference years ago, then-company president and founder Kirk Hawkins in front of a crowd of many hundreds packed into and around the company’s large exhibition space, described a demo flight he’d given, one that included slow-flight demonstrations at pattern altitude, which is not a safe thing to do. But that seemed to be the point. The message I got was that the demonstration was intended to show that the A5 wasn’t just any airplane. It was safer and could do things that other airplanes either couldn’t or shouldn’t do. The company’s flashy video highlight reel, played at the same event, showed A5s flying low and fast and maneuvering aggressively near terrain and the water’s surface, sending a clear message that safety was anything but Job One at Icon.

A few years ago, the A5 suffered a couple of tragic, high-profile mishaps, including the crash that claimed the lives of two of their employees, chief engineer and test pilot Jon Karkow and Cagri Sever, a newly hired head of engineering. The A5 Karkow was piloting crashed into terrain when he mistakenly turned up the wrong canyon on the shore of Central California’s Lake Berryessa and couldn’t get turned around as the canyon quickly narrowed amid high terrain. The details of the crash are discussed on the Wikipedia page devoted to the A5.

A couple of years later, retired Major League Baseball pitcher (and surefire Hall of Fame member) Roy “Doc” Halladay was killed when he flew his Icon A5 at speed while maneuvering at low level into Tampa Bay, a story that, given Halladay’s status, was global news. Halladay’s crash revealed a wealthy of problems…with the pilot, not with the airplane. In addition to his risky low level maneuvering and anti-authoritarian attitude toward flying, the retired pitcher was found to have numerous disallowed prescription drugs in his system the day of the crash. 

Indeed, the NTSB found neither crash to be the fault of the airplane—the A5 has gotten rave reviews around the industry, including here—but the twin tragedies focused the attention of the world on the risk factors involved in flying and in flying light sport aircraft.

I have declined repeated opportunities to fly the plane, not because I was worried about the A5—I’m not— but, rather, because I was concerned about how the demo fight might go—I’ve been on a few scary demo rides  and didn’t want to repeat the experience. (I have a flight tentatively scheduled for the coming months.)

So, when it comes to Icon, I’m not a fan girl, to put it mildly, and my history with former leadership was strained, to again put it mildly, as I was one of the few journalists who held the company’s feet to the fire on issues of financial constraint, safety culture and a lack of transparency, all stands that I’m proud to have taken. So, when Icon says that they’re happy to be “repairing the relationship,” I bristle a bit. It was never a relationship issue. They have repaired themselves, and that’s something to celebrate.  

Today’s Icon Aircraft seems a very different company, and in large part that’s because the culture has changed. Is it always necessary to make changes in leadership in order to effect a change in culture company-wide? I don’t know, but the new leadership at Icon is different, and a big part of that change seems to flow from new personnel, with Jason Huang, who’s led the company since 2020, and VP of sales and director of flight ops Warren Curry, along with chief pilot Genesah Duffy injecting a level of honest positivity that’s refreshing. 

Screenshot of Icon's safety app, SMART

Groundbreaking Safety App

It was Duffy who dreamt up and actually built the risk-assessment app, called SMART, for “Smart Survey for Managing And Assessing Risks To (Safety).” SMART works. The idea for the app, she told Plane & Pilot, came from her experience training and providing flight instruction at a Part 141 flight school, where risk assessment is emphasized throughout training.

Following a serious, non-fatal crash of an A5 during a sales demo flight, the company initiated a review of safety. It subsequently rolled out SMART internally at first, and it was such a hit the company decided to make it available to its customers, too. More than half of them, Duffy said, use the app.

The app really is simple to use, so much so that its ability to access and weigh various risk factors might seem an easy achievement. It’s not, and that ease of use is key. After all, what good is a risk assessment app that goes unused?

SMART walks the pilot through every step as they enter the various risk factors for the flight. These include (but are not limited to) pilot experience and, critically, experience in the A5, the size of the body of water, the winds, the surface condition, the density altitude, plus the aircraft weight (including fuel and stores and occupants) and center of gravity. It also asks the pilot to enter in factors that might negatively impact safety of flight, such as fatigue and mental state. And there’s weather to factor in, too, of course. The whole process takes less than five minutes to complete.

If this sounds like a lot of complexity, we agree. It sounds that way, but it’s not. The app is so elegant and well-designed that even first-time users can breeze through it.

In the end, the app looks at all the risk factors and calculates a score based on the inputted risks and their individual score—some risk factors are value limited in some way, such as wave height, visibility or wind speed and gust factor. And all of them are weighted in conjunction with the pilot’s level of experience.

In most cases, the score will be within acceptable limits, but it still poses relevant warnings for those risk factors that are noteworthy for that flight, such as if the water surface is glassy and the surface is glassy.

If SMART seems like the kind of app that every light plane pilot could benefit from, we agree. For now, owners and pilots of Icon A5s have the power to review the risk factors facing them before takeoff and make their go or no-go call based on a multitude of factors. The app doesn’t prevent pilots from taking big risks, as Halladay did and paid for with his life, but for pilots who are looking to realistically assess their risk factors, it’s pure gold.

And it is, let me repeat, a powerful indication, it seems, of a company headed in the right direction in terms of safety culture but also in listening to its employees’ ideas, in this case a great idea, and putting it into action, making for better informed and, ultimately, safer-flying customers.

Icon’s A5 To Grow Beyond LSA Limitations

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A New Weather Forecast Feature In The Latest ForeFlight Version That We Love https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/products/apps/a-new-weather-forecast-feature-in-the-latest-foreflight-version-that-we-love/ Thu, 17 Dec 2020 12:57:30 +0000 https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/?post_type=products&p=604711 The hourly weather forecast gives you a snapshot or a detailed picture of the weather anywhere on Earth from hour to hour for the next 10 days.

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The features war between aviation app developers continues at full tilt—with consumers winning. In this edition of This Cool New Aviation App Feature, we focus on ForeFlight 12.11’s new hourly weather view, which we love.

No matter where you are or where you’re going, just tap into the weather view in one of several ways, from the airport weather view, the add-to-route pop-up menu (which is super handy when you’re looking for quick snapshot of the weather, say, for a diversion airport), from the nearby airports list or by short-tapping on the icon on your phone or tablet. So, it’s cool even if you’re not going flying. 

When you access the hourly weather (again, for anywhere on earth, let’s say, Iceland), you get an hourly view with color-coded flight conditions below that show either VFR, marginal VFR, IFR or low IFR. Then when you tap on the hour you’re interested in, a detailed weather forecast appears for that place and time at the top of the forecast window.

You can, of course, download the weather, along with everything else, right before you head out to the plane (which ForeFlight refers to as “packing” for the trip), and the app reminds you how old the information is, to help keep you on your toes and remind you that these are not reports but, rather, forecasts.

Check out ForeFlight’s video on the new feature here.

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Garmin Pilot App Update: Huge Leap In Safety And Situational Awareness https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/article/garmin-pilot-app-update-huge-leap-in-safety-and-situational-awareness/ Tue, 18 Feb 2020 14:11:47 +0000 https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/?post_type=article&p=37973 Pilots can now do most everything from their iPads.

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Procedure Selector on the Garmin Pilot App
Procedure Selector on the Garmin Pilot App

Envision a busy aviator flying single-pilot IFR in IMC on a real IFR day, his trusty iPad by his side. He’s heading direct to the intermediate approach fix and has been cleared for the approach to the ILS to Runway 01. The ATIS is calling it 200 and a quarter, and two other planes have already flown the approach and landed.

Then this happens: The pilot taps the instrument flight plan on his tablet device and activates the approach (which he has already loaded). This, again, he does on his iPad, which happens to be wirelessly connected to the Garmin GTN 750 in the panel. That instrument dutifully activates the approach as commanded, again, on the iPad.

New Garmin Navigators And More: Supercharged GTN 650Xi and GTN 750Xi

With the introduction by Garmin of these new features, pilots can now do nearly all the controlling of a connected Garmin panel-mount device, like the GTN 750, remotely, from the iPad, or from their phone that’s running Garmin Pilot.

This is all well and good, but why, you might ask, should anyone care? Isn’t it just the same planning done from a different device?

Yes, but more importantly, no!

The reason it matters, and I was skeptical until I saw the accompanying screen shots, is that this ability brings with it some huge safety-of-flight benefits for pilots on IFR flight plans (or who are just using an approach unofficially to guide their way to, say, an unfamiliar airport on a low-visibility day). Moreover, Garmin points out that the way pilots will make those inputs, loading IAPs, departures and arrivals, is identical to the way that they would on on the Garmin software in their panel-mount avionics.

In the first shot, you can see how remarkably clearly the Garmin Pilot app illustrates, in living color, the many approaches into Minneapolis-area Flying Cloud Airport.  You want to fly the Schep9 approach? Its location, orientation and feeder fixes are hard to miss. And besides making it easier to verify, this ability makes it simple to visualize how you get to the IAF and what you’ll do then.

Vertical Planning with the Garmin Pilot App

But it gets better and applicable to all pilots, even those without an instrument ticket. In the second screenshot, the profile view clearly indicates the vertical elements of the flight plan in a way that makes it clear what the vertical situation is, in this example of a flight from one Minnesota city to another. 

In the IFR realm, this will allow pilots to enter and visualize crossing restrictions—a danger zone on many flights—in a way that makes it clear when it’s time to descend and to what altitude you need to get before the next fix.

This newest release is already available on Apple devices from the App Store.

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Why ForeFlight‘s New ADS-B Receiver is Turning Heads https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/article/why-foreflights-new-ads-b-receiver-is-turning-heads/ Fri, 13 Jul 2018 10:47:47 +0000 http://www.planeandpilotmag.com/?post_type=article&p=30803 You might not believe the wealth of features on ForeFlight’s new ADS-B receiver.

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ForeFlight introduced a brand new ADS-B receiver on Thursday, the Sentry, that establishes the company as a bona fide hardware creator –the manufacturing is done by ForeFlight partner U-Avionix–and an innovative one, at that. Sentry (the Sentry?) is a light (about a quarter of a pound), powerful portable unit that’s pretty thick but still light enough to toss into even your small flight bag, or a jacket pocket, for that matter. Sentry does what ADS-B units typically do but does it with more of everything. It’s a dual-band receiver, using both 1090ES and UAT (978 MHz), with ADS-B traffic TIS-B weather, NOTAMS and both ground based traffic and aerial traffic, when available. The unit interfaces with ForeFlight Mobile and is compatible with a number of Apple tablets and phones.

Foreflight Sentry

It’s also got a great battery life, up to 12 hours, and a built-in GPS-WAAS receiver and AHRS sensor, a barometric pressure sensor so users can display pressure altitude in ForeFlight. There’s also a track recorder, for playing back on ForeFlight.

The namesake feature on Sentry is a carbon monoxide sensor that issues an audible warning on the unit itself, as well as interfacing with ForeFlight on your tablet.

ForeFlight Sentry is available now. Check the price on Amazon!

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Here‘s the Greatest New Feature in ForeFlight 10 https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/article/heres-the-greatest-new-feature-in-foreflight-10/ Wed, 25 Apr 2018 14:23:20 +0000 http://www.planeandpilotmag.com/?post_type=article&p=30383 The latest iteration of the app gives pilots several great new features’€¦ but there’s one that’ll really make you grin.

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ForeFlight’s latest version of its app, ForeFlight 10, has dropped and it raises the bar in the app game yet again with features that add real quality of life improvements for the user.

ForeFlight 10

I’ll save the best for last, but these new features are so cool that there’s sure to be argument about which is the best upgrade.

5. Search: Instead of having to know the inaptly named “three-letter” identifier for your intended airport, or the IDs for a VOR (yes, they still exist) or intersection, you can now search in FF 10 for what you want. You can search from any of the map views by name or, if you’re online, by city name or the name of the VOR or airport. And it remembers recent searches, too, which is handy. It’s what we’d always been wanting.

4. Airspace in profile: Ever dream of a map view in which you can see how close you are to busting a slice of upside wedding cake airspace? Well, we’ve long had the ability to see where were from the normal top-down view, but that didn’t help us in three dimensions, which is how airspace is designed. Now ForeFlight will show you the vertical components of special use airspace, allowing you to preview your route with airspace you route will intersect highlighted and color coded for easy recognition. (Available in Pro Subscriptions and higher. )

3. Airspace Highlighting: This feature is a kind of subset of the Airspace in Profile feature and is standard with ForeFlight 10. As you fly, Airspace Highlighting will change the highlighting of airspace ahead that you’ll intersect based on your planned altitude. It will even predict your plane’s climb performance to predict what airspace you’ll intersect, all while giving the flight a safe buffer zone from the airspace.

2. Global Airspace: This one doesn’t sound as interesting as it really, is because what this data upgrade does is give you all kinds of information on special use airspace, like coastal protected airspace, MOAs and Restricted Areas with important and hard-to-find information such as frequencies, cruise altitudes and unique operational notes and instructions.

And the Winner is:

1. Automatic Downloads. Have you ever gotten to the airport after a too-busy morning only to realize your data has expired because you boneheadedly forgot to download the new data the night before. I certainly never have but I’ve hear tell!. In any case, with automatic downloads, ForeFlight will help you eliminate such moments, so it becomes one of pleasant surprise—I got new data!—instead of the opposite.

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FlyQ InSight Changes The Look Of Flying https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/article/flyq-insight-changes-look-flying/ Fri, 02 Feb 2018 13:11:29 +0000 http://www.planeandpilotmag.com/?post_type=article&p=29783 From finding airports to planning flights, this augmented reality app is a wealth of useful information

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Augmented reality apps, like FlyQ InSight from Seattle Avionics, are just beginning to take off in the aviation world. InSight overlays a view of the real world with data—in real time—just by turning on the mobile app (on either a smartphone or tablet) and pointing the device at the scenery. Using the device’s camera—to show what’s in front of the lens—and its GPS—to provide location information—the app can find airports, show distance and weather information, and even help plan a route and file a flight plan.

FlyQ InSight
In addition to its many other capabilities, the FlyQ Insight app can be a very useful tool for finding hard-to-spot airports.

All Things Airport

Nearby airports are marked with a tag that extends to their location on the ground, which makes them easy to spot from the air. The tag shows the airport identifier and distance to the field. With a tap on the airport marker, more details pop up.

With all of the airports around, it might sound like the screen could get cluttered pretty quickly. The folks at Seattle Avionics thought of that one too. FlyQ InSight has a variety of filtering tools. It can be set to show airports up to 100 nm away, with a slider that can reduce that distance as desired. It can also filter out airports based on pilot-selected runway length and airport type.

Have a destination in mind? You can search for a specific airport by name, city, state or identifier. Once you’ve selected an airport, the information available begins with all of the stuff you can find in an AFD—like elevation, airport diagrams and frequencies—and adds a lot more, such as fuel prices, current weather, satellite maps and even rental car companies. As a bonus, if any of the facilities at the airport have a phone number on record, InSight lets you call with a tap. The app is easy to navigate and, for anyone worried about having to read tiny text on a smartphone, there are zoom functions built in.

Weather And Wind Information

Airports aren’t the only things InSight has info on. Under the “Weather” tab, you can find current weather information. You’ll be able to access things like radar images, METAR and TAF information, and winds-aloft. Weather maps can be stored for reference for when your device isn’t connected to the internet. You can even use InSight to get a Lockheed Martin or DUAT weather briefing.

In addition to outside weather data, InSight has a feature to help you calculate the winds at your current location. All you have to do is tap the wind calibration button, set the compass dial to match your magnetic compass heading, and select your true airspeed. The app will do the rest.

Flight Planning

The InSight flight planning feature acts as an aid for route planning. The pilot inputs the departure and arrival airports, takeoff time, type of flight and preferred routing, and InSight puts together a flight plan. If you choose, the app will use the wind information from winds-aloft forecasts to suggest the best altitudes.

Once the flight plan is set, InSight automatically requests a weather briefing (Lockheed Martin or DUATS). There’s even a one-tap option to file the flight plan. Lastly, rather than having to re-type the route, InSight can wirelessly transmit the plan to some Garmin GPS units.

There is a lot of depth to this app, and the list of things it can do keeps growing. FlyQ InSight is currently available for iPhone and iPad.

Learn more at Seattle Avionics.

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SocialFlight Expands Worldwide https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/article/socialflight-expands-worldwide/ Mon, 08 Sep 2014 04:00:00 +0000 http://planepilotdev.wpengine.com/article/socialflight-expands-worldwide SocialFlight is expanding worldwide.

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SocialFlight is expanding worldwide. This includes international aviation events, airports and Points-of-Interest (POIs) within walking distance of airports and aviation events. Local aviation METAR weather is also provided for most airports.

Following this latest expansion, SocialFlight now contains nearly 30,000 airports around the globe and 300,000 Restaurants, Hotels, Attractions, Transportation options, Campgrounds and Aviation Businesses; all within walking distance of an airport or aviation event.

The rapid pace of development for SocialFlight is made possible by a growing list of aviation industry leaders partnering with SocialFlight to promote the aviation industry. Most recently, Continental Motors, Piper Aircraft and Jeppesen have teamed up with SocialFlight. This is in addition to SocialFlight’s already impressive list of supporters, which includes Champion Aerospace, Sennheiser, Avidyne, AOPA Insurance Services, Lightspeed Aviation, Spencer Aircraft and ASL CamGuard.

“From the very beginning, we have been receiving calls and emails from all over the world, requesting that we help energize and promote General Aviation throughout the international aviation community, building on the success we have had in North America.” said Jeff Simon, President of SocialFlight. “We already have SocialFlight Ambassadors spreading the word and adding local aviation events in countries including Germany, South Africa, Norway, Australia and the Bahamas and are seeking more volunteers. It’s a very exciting time and none of this would be possible without the incredible support we have received from our partners; the leading companies in General Aviation.”

SocialFlight is a FREE mobile app and web suite which maps graphically maps over 15,000 aviation events important to pilots such as Aircraft Fly-in’s, Air Shows, Pancake Breakfasts, Conventions, FAA Safety Seminars and much more. Key to SocialFlight’s success is the popular, personalized SocialFlight Weekly Event Planner, sent to SocialFlight members every Wednesday. It contains news and upcoming events in every member’s local area, supporting local flying organizations and motivating pilots to get out and fly!

SocialFlight has grown rapidly since its launch just over a year ago, reaching over 200,000 pilots directly and through the SocialFlight event map used by General Aviation News, AVweb, Kitplanes, IMC Club and many other media outlets and organizations across the industry.

SocialFlight is a FREE App available on the iTunes App Store for iPhone and iPad. It is also available on the Google Play Store for Android Phones and Tablets, as well as on the web at www.SocialFlight.com.

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