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For the record, I think ForeFlight is honestly the best app I've ever used. In terms of depth, reliability, and ease of use it is really unmatched not just in aviation but in any app I use on a daily basis.

Giving all the information and capabilities a pilot needs is a hard problem.




What are the hard parts and what does ForeFlight get right?


There is just SO MUCH information. Airport diagrams, approach and departure plates (geo-referenced), all the different charts (sectionals, TACs, IFR hi and low, etc), checklists, radio frequencies, route planning, airspaces, weather, NOTAMs, TFRs, etc. I'm sure I'm leaving off tons of stuff. The flight planning features are fantastic.


Synthetic Vision, terrain avoidance.. also flight logs (including automatically determining currency.)

ForeFlight is amazingly good and fully leveraged the power of the new iPad pros as well. Literally the best app. They also didn’t compromise by trying to do some kind of cross-platform attempt. It’s supremely optimized for iOS hardware. An electronic flight bag app that can perform just as well as the G1000 glass cockpit. Combined with the Stratus receiver, it’s even better because it gives you traffic and weather data in flight.

If there was ever a use case for not using some kind of pseudo-native framework in favor of real-native, this is it. Glass cockpit applications are the last place you want lowest common denominator code. It works great on even the iPad mini, but it really flies on the new iPad Pro.

Another cool feature is that you can use it with the X-Plane simulator. Amazing app and so inexpensive for what it does. The most expensive plan is $300 per year and the cheap plan is $99/year. I never fly without it.


I presume that it is meant for private pilots, i.e. commercial pilots would be required to use the airline supplied charts and checklists?


No, it can be and is used by pilots of all flavors. I have a commercial rating but not an ATP and use it every time I fly.


As another commenter mentioned not true. There are various levels of commercial pilots. Not all commercial pilots fly for a large airline or shipping company.

Even though most commercial planes have a full avionics stack it usually isn't as good as for flight for most features.


For a VFR pilot, flight planning with available wind alofts forecast is very simple with helpful routing to avoid restricted areas, class B airspace, active TFRs, etc.

Single-click flight plan activation (and closing) is also as simple as it can be.


Amen!




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