Just saw it on Twitter. Simbrief to remain free. Thoughts?

I love Simbrief , have been using it for years. I send in a donation every 6 months or so. I notice the last time I tried to donate, it said that function was not available anymore. Can't imagine it will be free if Navigraph takes it over. I hope it doesn't get screwed up now. 

Edited March 31, 20215 yr by Bobsk8

Thoughts; Neutral at this point.

Quietly optimistic this is an efficacious move all round and well done to the guy who started SimBrief. It's a fantastic piece of work and he deserves to make a few quid out of it.

Errhhh -- Eventually, this will become a payware aspect of Navigraph I suspect.

Sadly I predict we will loose another Freeware resource.

I have no evidence of this - just looking at past buy outs of freeware resources history....

Navigraph will probably integrate Simbrief into their subscription plan, hopefully with no additional cost.

fly safe

If you read the official Navigraph blog post, it says they intend to keep Simbrief free.

https://blog.navigraph.com/post/647197147182333952/navigraph-acquires-simbrief

(Folks have been debating on our Discord about whether this is legit or an early April Fools' joke, but it feels legit to me.   Would have leaned more to joke if they also announced a new subscription for it.) 

Edit:  Just confirmed for us by Richard from Navigraph.  It's legit  😄

 

 

Edited March 31, 20215 yr by kaosfere

I have no problem with this. I use both for every flight. SimBrief will remain free for now as they say but what the future holds and how Navigraph will use it will remain to be seen. Imagine all the SimBrief functionality built right into Navigraph charts, all linked to your simulator as one. Having one source for your flight planning, fuel, weight and charts in one app would be great.

35 minutes ago, mokeiko said:

Navigraph will probably integrate Simbrief into their subscription plan, hopefully with no additional cost.

fly safe

The additional cost will be you will have to subscribe at around $30 a year. Simbrief is free now, and I only get 1 month of Navigraph once a year for about $8. Plus they probably will require an extra fee for Navigraph-Simbrief  and the charts I never use, bummer. I hope I am wrong. 

Edited March 31, 20215 yr by Bobsk8

I think it is a good move, and I doubt they will start charging for it. I could see them adding premium features, but having Simbrief remain free could actually become a draw for paid Navigraph subscriptions.

17 minutes ago, duckbilled said:

I think it is a good move, and I doubt they will start charging for it. I could see them adding premium features, but having Simbrief remain free could actually become a draw for paid Navigraph subscriptions.

I suspect the option to unlock the latest charts already is a draw for paid subscriptions.

Edited March 31, 20215 yr by Matchstick

22 minutes ago, Matchstick said:

I suspect the option to unlock the latest charts already is a draw for paid subscriptions.

Exactly.   I could see them funding a free SimBrief perpetually as a sort of loss leader for their subscription products.

If Navigraph has taken it over, I'm okay with it.  It's a completely sensible acquisition and I'm glad the Simbrief guy got something for his monumental efforts over the course of many years.

Navigraph Newsletter

Navigraph acquires SimBrief Navigraph, the flight simulation community's trusted source for updated charts and navigational data, today announced that it has acquired SimBrief, the flight simulation community's most popular flight planning software. The acquisition is a natural progression of the already close collaboration between Navigraph and SimBrief. It builds on the integration between the two platforms existing since 2013 and provides the ability to do flight planning using up to date navigational data. SimBrief's flight planning functionality will continue to be free. Users who want to use the most current navigational data can subscribe to Navigraph and unlock the AIRAC cycles in SimBrief, as before. "SimBrief founder Derek has done an outstanding job creating a flight planning service which the flight simulation community loves." says Magnus Axholt, CEO and co-founder of Navigraph. "We plan to integrate SimBrief and Navigraph even further and enable additional functionality to SimBrief using the data and resources Navigraph has available." "Derek will play a key role as we develop some of the features in the next generation Navigraph Charts product. With the powerful combination of his real world aviation background and software development experience, Derek is a very welcome member of our skilled and multi-disciplinary Navigraph Development Team. "We shall make SimBrief's flight planning functionality even more accessible to developers in the community by structuring the SimBrief API together with Navigraph APIs in the upcoming Navigraph Developer Portal." Magnus summarizes. "Navigraph has been a strong SimBrief supporter from the very beginning." Derek adds. "I have always enjoyed working with them to improve the integration between the two services. This very much feels like a natural progression, and I am excited to be a part of the team going forward." He goes on to say, "I'm confident that Navigraph's resources and experienced development team will not only help ensure that SimBrief remains available to the community for years to come, but also make for some exciting new features and improvements that wouldn't otherwise be possible." "I have been both humbled and incredibly grateful for the support the community has shown me since I launched SimBrief nearly eight years ago, and I'm looking forward to this next chapter in SimBrief's development." says Derek in closing. SimBrief will continue to operate under the name SimBrief, but with the tag line "by Navigraph". All for now, The Navigraph Development Team

They've (Navigraph) stated the Simbrief service will continue to be free. No reason to think this is going to change.

Cheers, Ed

I suspect they saw what flybywire was doing, and nabbed it before MS could fold it into MSFS fer’ free.

I was wondering if that would happen.