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Alpenman

Foreflight Worth It?

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Hey All,

I have a Mac laptop sitting next to me when I fly that I use for Skyvector and other things. I really would like to invest in a program I could run on it that would give me a live map with airport info etc. It seems like Foreflight is one of the only apps that does this on Mac? Is it worth the cost for most people?

 

I am not a real pilot but I do take one-off lessons from time to time. I have a feeling most will say that Foreflight is best if you're a real pilot. If so, what are others using on MacOS?

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I have been using Foreflight for many years in flightsimming, and I am not a RW pilot as well. I just like the professional feeling and immersion this tool gives to my hobby, and if you flying mainly in the US like I do, you will never regret signing a subscription. It is not cheap though, depending on which version you prefer. You will get everything a pilot can dream of: moving map, weather reports and radar, synthetic vision, SIDs, STARs, approaches...

Yesterday I upgraded my sim with a yoke mount which makes the ipad even more useful during flight.

You can run Foreflight on your Ipad or on the web (plan.foreflight.com), the latter with less features.

28806222yd.jpg

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3 hours ago, Alpenman said:

Hey All,

I have a Mac laptop sitting next to me when I fly that I use for Skyvector and other things. I really would like to invest in a program I could run on it that would give me a live map with airport info etc. It seems like Foreflight is one of the only apps that does this on Mac? Is it worth the cost for most people?

 

I am not a real pilot but I do take one-off lessons from time to time. I have a feeling most will say that Foreflight is best if you're a real pilot. If so, what are others using on MacOS?

Hi,

I have been using Foreflight for more than a year now, for both my real world flying and simulator. Overall it is a very good app. It is very handy and gives you great amount of information.

It is one of the best way to start flying like real life if you want to push your professionalism to the next level in simulator. With F1 plugin connects to FSX/P3D, it gives you position of the aircraft and also the traffic around. When you get close to the destination it will show ATIS frequency, notify when you get close to TFRs, and now with the latest updates it provides glide range depends on the wind, very nice!
The only down side I can find is that it only uses NACO charts, and only NA.

I am using it on Ipad and also my phone.

(Picture taken at default airport in P3D with F1plugin)

rHjcAIM.jpg

Cheers,

Hoang Le


Hoang Le

i5 13500 - eVGA RTX 3070 Ti - 32GB RAM

P3D v5

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Yes.

Search Foreflight on this forum and you'll see.

Cheers,

Mark

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I was introduced to this app when I was a sim instructor as many of the clients were using it during their recurrent training sessions as well as a actual flight op's.I would have liked to have had this application when I was flying, sure beats the old Jeppesen paper chart renewals and hauling around half dozen leather binders. Although there is some nostalgia about the feel of a well used Jepp binder.I use it now for sims and with FSGPS and wifi you will have your aircraft displayed on charts real time.It is an excellent application.


Gary Stewart

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I don't even use Foreflight while instructing in the back of a Level D FFS. Too expensive when there are free apps that are just as good. 

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@KenG,

    Could you mention a few of the free apps that are good.

 


PC=9700K@5Ghz+RTX2070  VR=HP Reverb|   Software = Windows 10 | Flight SIms = P3D, CAP2, DCS World, IL-2,  Aerofly FS2

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Hello:

Re free apps, try Fltplan.com and the Fltplan Go app for your tablet.  One can then have a moving map display and immediate access to airport charts and procedures.  Fltplan Go works wirelessly to your tablet to give you flight information you need without clogging up your monitor or monitors, and you can move your tablet around to suit your setup.  All for free, including procedures with a moving aircraft on the approach.  Foreflight is an excellent program but unless one has deep pockets, for flight simulation, it is a bit of overkill, in my opinion.  Hope this helps.

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Mike Hamilton

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"I just like the professional feeling and immersion this tool gives to my hobby"

The same reason I use Foreflight as well. By the way, nice setup you have there Thomas.

"Foreflight Worth It?"

OP, as for being worth it, it's entirely subjective and your money. It's worth it for my needs.

fly safe

 

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Francisco Blas
Windows11 Pro ASUS Hero Z790 | Intel i9-13900K | G.SKILL 32GB DDR5 | ASUS STRIX 4090 | WD 4TB SN850X NVMe | ASUS Ryujin II AIO 360mm | Corsair AX1600i | Lian Li 011D EVO | DELL Alienware 38 G-SYNC

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Does anyone have any insight on which of these addons work with Mac OS? I don't use an iPad per the usual setup from folks, so I am just looking at running something right on my Laptop. Foreflight says it has the browser version which would work, but is feature limited? Does that affect P3D at all?

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Fltplan Go is what I use most of the time. There is Aero also free but you have to have an NGA account and it does not link with simulators unless you have a Badelf. 

Jepp and Garmin also have products but they are more expensive than Foreflight and also do not link (again unless you have a badelf.)

I don't think Foreflight in and of itself makes simming any more or less realistic. You can do the same thing the old fashioned way with paper. It's just another tool available and its integration can improve situational awareness during you simming. When I do fly RW I use Fltplan Go on my iPad with a Bluetooth GPS/ADS-B in device. I also carry paper as my backup.

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Hello all:

Good advice, Ken.  Carrying real world paper charts is wise.  You never know when technology will let you down.  Situational awareness is paramount in flying.  Where one is, and where one needs to go, are critical when things go south.  Having a simple backup like a readable chart at your knee is prudent, especially if you are flying GA.

That said, I too learned to fly before all the technology was available.  It is amazing what there is out there now, but these should be tools only to successful piloting.   No flight school is likely to start a student on how to program an FMS!  But understanding dead reckoning and need for heading holding and correcting for drift are amongst the first things taught for navigating properly.

Back on topic!  For sim flying, I find Fltplan Go is a great substitute for a moving map display, after I have planned things out on paper maps.  (I almost always fly small GA stuff and no more than a few hundred miles).  In the aircraft I have that use the GTN750, I use this for my primary navigation and autopilot guidance, and supplement this with Fltplan Go on my iPad.   The great thing about Fltplan Go is that you can bring up the VFR chart on the background and then see where your moving aircraft is on that map.  You can zoom in on the iPad to see exactly where you are (even down to what lake or feature you might be over), and then correlate this with an out the window view to verify.  From map to ground!   And if you want to divert to an airport, you can easily switch from the maps page to the airport one and at a glance see the approach plates, airport info, etc.   You can fly an approach and see on the moving map where you are intercepting or on the localizer on Fltplan Go.  I know Foreflight lets you do this, but at a cost.  (I presume soon someone will be able to show you on the moving map where you are on the glideslope too...vnav.)  It is a great way to know where you are and where you need to go, and what you are going to do when you get there!  Just like the real world.  Situational awareness!  Using the resources at hand for a successful flight is what makes a good pilot.

Hope this helps.  Flight simming and the online community with all its various experiences and knowledge is great. These will keep the flying dream alive for the younger among us, and the enjoyment of flight for those of us who have been around the pattern a bit too much!

Cheers,

Mike Hamilton


Mike Hamilton

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On 4/6/2017 at 6:12 AM, Alpenman said:

Does anyone have any insight on which of these addons work with Mac OS?

Other than the limited Foreflight web app, I don't believe any of them do.  And if you tried Foreflight, I don't know if the tools to feed it sim data would work in the browser version.  IRL, tablets are far more practical for cockpit use, so that's where the apps have migrated.

On FF vs Fltplan, I've also moved over to using Fltplan Go because, well, it's free.  I used FF for two years and then took a bit of a break from simming.  When I returned, I had a hard time justifying the cost of re-upping my FF subscription, so I tried Fltplan and discovered that it would do everything I needed and wanted.  If money were no object, or if I ever returned to RW flying, I'd go with FF in a heartbeat.  Both tools get the job done, but FF is just SO well done and elegant that it's hard to give up.  But Fltplan is an amazing bargain...

Scott

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