Any ForeFlight Users Out There Made the Switch?

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HomeHomeDiscussionsDiscussionsiFly GPS for iP...iFly GPS for iP...Any ForeFlight Users Out There Made the Switch?Any ForeFlight Users Out There Made the Switch?
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5/13/2014 9:33 PM
 
Here's a case IMO for using iFly instead of Foreflight or other iPad GPS aero navitator if you use a dedicated iFly GPS:

# Similarity: Almost identical interfaces and controls. More likely to really master it if not two different styles.

# The folks at iFly tell me they are working on some way to sync (flight plans, custom way points, aircraft setup, etc) between the dedicated iFly and iFly iPad. Nice to be able to punch in a flight plan on one (like maybe a complex one at home on the iPad and have it sync to the cockpit iFly.

# If you have a cellular data plan on the iPad while flying it can update weather from ground stations.
(not full weather, but terminal and some ground stations. Also can update TFRs. (Don't know if Foreflight does this via cellular)

# Last, but not least, Cheaper. If you have, as you would if you you're flying an iFly hardware unit, a subscription for it adding two more tablet devices (e.g. my iPad mini plus my wife's full size iPad) cost only $20 more per year.


I wasn't using foreflight, Wing X, etc, before getting iPad iFly so as a iFly 720 owner it was a no brainer for me to go with iPad iFly.
Probably a bit tricker to decide if heavily invested in skills on another iPad aviation GPS app.

Alex


 
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2/20/2015 8:31 PM
 

I have FF on an iPad mini as my primary IFR app. I just loaded iFly on my android phone to replace Avilution/FlightPro as my backup app (I like having a backup data source as well as a backup hardware and I love my Note 2!). My wife just got a 720 for VFR use in her Ercoupe, mostly because of the bright screen. I'll have a better comparison after I've used the apps side-by-side for a while but I do like FF for IFR. Probably the best thing about FF is the dedicated airport-map-plate-document buttons along the bottom of the screen. One tap on airport - there's all the data plus ADS-B TAF/METAR. One tap on map - the map. One tap on plates - the approach. One tap on document - the checklist. Makes accessing data, particularly in turbulence, very easy. I also like the FF folders for approach charts. I can select the plates I want and put them in the order I will need them then three-finger swipe thru them. The lists of chats ordered by which ones you viewed last makes for a constantly changing list. I haven't downloaded enough data from iFly for a comparison but one of FF's string points has always been their download performance - you select what you want, tell it to download and a little while later, the data is all there. It just works. iFly's download menu is actually fairly similar to FF so I have good hopes for it. As a CFI, I also really like FF's documents. I get electronic copies of all the FAA training manuals and FF automatically updates them along with the charts whenever the FAA releases a new version. That saves a major PITA keeping things like the Airplane Flying Handbook and a couple dozen others available and up to date. Everyone has their own way of organizing things in the cockpit so each of us is going to value some features more than others. Luckily, we have a variety of apps to choose from right now.

 
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2/21/2015 11:55 AM
 
I am not a Foreflight user, but...

Foreflight is a non-starter for me. It doesn't offer a vector screen and requires a proprietary ADS-B box. I don't care how cool their synthetic vision looks; vector screens and open architecture is more important to me. No Android support.

AnyWhere Map Freedom has great vector screen configurability but no interfacing with ADS-B yet, and it appears they are back into one of their annual 2-year hibernation periods.

WingX supports all the non-proprietary ADS-B boxes , as does iFly, and has some nice features, as does iFly. No (practical) Android support. WingX's vector screen is better than iFly's, but iFly's profile view is better than WingX's in that it shows airspace as well as mountains.

I guess I am part of a non-vocal minority who sees value in vector screens. I get that rendering a vector map is a lot more complex that just slapping a sectional map on a screen, and presenting it upside down when flying southbound in track-up mode. You can get that for free in the Android world. And if the customer base is happy with that, why invest in vector screens? IFly offers hardware platform redundancy with some really nice and well thought out features. As a company, it listens to its customer base. It would be nice to retire all those other apps if iFly's previous investments in vector screens was made more usable.
 
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HomeHomeDiscussionsDiscussionsiFly GPS for iP...iFly GPS for iP...Any ForeFlight Users Out There Made the Switch?Any ForeFlight Users Out There Made the Switch?