Boeing Acquires ForeFlight

[Andy95W]

My GDL-39 works perfectly with FltPlanGo- but mine is not a 3D version.  My guess is that traffic and weather will work well, just like mine.

[Marauder]

1 minute ago, aviatoreb said:

A thought - as a foreflight - GarminPilot user I have a GDL393d hardware.  I will now drop that foreflight moving forward and continue to use my garmin pilot as my main efb but I do like a backup - are any of the others capable to use my GDL39?

That is the issue with some of these apps. There are hardware limits of what will and won't work together. I am holding out hope that Garmin Pilot due to the integration with FltPln will allow my Lynx 9000 to work with it. FltPln Go does work with it but since GP is my primary flight EFB, I need to carry around my GDL-39 to get traffic and weather on GP. The good news is that I am ADS-B out through the Lynx which does trigger the GDL-39 to be fully TIS-B capable.

[Marauder]

3 minutes ago, Andy95W said:

My GDL-39 works perfectly with FltPlanGo- but mine is not a 3D version.  My guess is that traffic and weather will work well, just like mine.

That must be a recent add. It doesn't say which Garmin it works with. Just says "Garmin".

[kris_adams]

2 hours ago, Andy95W said:

Delta Airlines originally used the Microsoft Surface Touch for its pilots' EFB.

No surprise...the Surface Pro 3 was the worst device I've ever used in 25 years of laptops. (note I say "I"...I'm sure there are plenty that love them)

[kris_adams]

2 hours ago, Andy95W said:

My GDL-39 works perfectly with FltPlanGo- but mine is not a 3D version.  My guess is that traffic and weather will work well, just like mine.

That's good to know.  I bought my GDL-39 about 2 months before the 3D version came out.  I'll talke a look at fltplango just for fun if nothing else.  More details here:

https://www.fltplan.com/connectivity.html

[EricJ]

6 hours ago, nosky2high said:

So what are the opinions and recommendations of the group regarding the best of the non-garmin/FF EFBs for IFR cross country use?

FlyQ is what I’m leaning towards next, maybe iFly GPS.

Requesting real world/IMC experienced pireps please.

"Best" is going to be in the eye of the beholder.   I'm a total CB in this area, so I still use Avare, which is open-source and free.   It is fully functional and has geo-referenced approach plates, auto-switch to taxi map, plays well with ADS-B-in, etc., etc.   It is not quite as sophisticated as some regarding filing flight plans, etc., but I started using Avare because of some show-stopping bugs in FtlPln Go that affected my use of it.   Otherwise I'd probably still be using FltPln, but there's not a ton of difference between them.  Avare is android-only, FltPln Go is on both.

The future GA utility of FltPln Go and Foreflight are both questionable, since Garmin and Boeing acquired each respectively.   iFly, FlyQ, Wingx, and Avare certainly don't have concrete futures, either, but they all have a pretty solid GA focus and all have very good functionality.   The nice thing about all of it is that they're all good enough to be used, so I think it comes down to personal preference, and for that you just have to experiment with them to see what you like.   I think all of the subscription-based EFBs have a trial period.

 

[cctsurf]

Non-Garmin EFB:

I use Naviator on Android.  It seems it doesn't get nearly as much play as some of the others, but I've been using it for years.  It has numerous updates per year and the programmer is really quick to help if you have a problem. For VFR, it's about a $30 subscription per year.  For IFR use, you can use seattleavionics charts, they add $75 per year.  I tried Avare a while back (like 2 years) and it was way worse in capabilities than Naviator at the time.  I avoid Garmin like the plague because of their anti-GA ways  (sueing uavionix is just the latest example).

What I have against Apple:

Nothing, really.  I don't have the money to pay high prices for mediocre equipment that is locked down to Apple's whim.  My first smart phone was an iphone 1st gen i bought used from a friend.  I couldn't believe how little I could actually do with it compared to other devices I already owned.  I hacked it (jailbroke and unlocked it) and was still unable to do what I needed to with it...so I sold it to some apple fanboy at a significant profit.  I believe I used the difference to pay for my first tablet with which to run Naviator.

Edited March 9, 2019 by cctsurf
clarification

[0TreeLemur]

There is an identically titled thread to this one in the forum "Miscellaneous Aviation Talk".  They started within six minutes of each other.

 

[midlifeflyer]

Personally I haven't seen anything (other than SGOTI speculating) to change my existing ForeFlight weaning strategy.

[MBDiagMan]

Much of my career was with two companies, that were small, innovative and agile. I had a front row seat to see what happened when purchased by mega companies.  It was worse for the worker bees than it was for the customers, but over time the technologies grew stale.  I didn’t complain because I benefitted, both times, but eventually customers and remaining employees suffered in some way.

The good news is that the young entrepreneurs got the technology in motion and it will be with us from now on.  Even if we move to different vendor, we will be flying with EFB’s from now on, thanks to entrepreneurial, forward thinking young people.

[aviatoreb]

4 hours ago, Hyett6420 said:

Forced him to listen to Beatles tracks for hours on end.  (Nb not everyone will get that one)

I get it.

When I was a teenager, like 14 years old, I was a computer-wiz kid and spent all my time programing arcade games in machine language on my Apple II - back when apple was not a big company.  My best buddy then who sat next to me on the bus to school was a big John Lennon fan and dressed like him in a Vietnam era jacket with a big collar and he was always saying how funny this little computer company Apple named itself after the Beatles. Now unbelievably that little company has grown to outshine event he Beatles.  And John Lennon was shot and I remember that day on the bus with my friend too when we talked about that.

[MBDiagMan]

Apple did not name themselves after The Beatles.  They picked apples to earn the first money they had available for investment.

[Marauder]

To add to the conspiracy theory. Now that Boeing’s market value has dropped $28B, how much of a price increase do you expect on your FF and Jepp products?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[RocketAviator]

On 3/6/2019 at 7:32 PM, johncuyle said:

I switched from FlyQ to Foreflight shortly after I got my cert.  FlyQ is pretty good but at the time FF's map rendering performance was significantly better, FlyQ's database management UI is brutally bad, and I don't think FlyQ has non-US charts yet.  I considered switching to Garmin Pilot, but Foreflight is just a bit better.  If Foreflight falls behind, I'll re-evaluate my options.  Really wishing I'd bought the lifetime sub for FlyQ a while back, but Seattle Avionics seems to have a tendency to create new products and abandon them.  

I won't use Android.  I might consider it when they fix its update and security issues, but not before and even then I'd only consider it reluctantly because I don't use Google anything.  They're a dishonest company, and I avoid them like the plague.

Yes FLYQ has non US charts

[carusoam]

Apple records... founded by the Beatles...

Apple Computer... founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak...

Nobody would ever confuse the two companies... until....

 

iTunes, an Apple computer division... has Beatles albums on it... for download. 

The Beatles Box Set by The Beatles...
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-beatles-box-set/402060584

 

Even the Beatles couldn’t see this coming... frienemies?

So a takeaway from this could be.... don’t decide too quickly... or keep your options open...

 

Best regards,

-a-

[chriscalandro]

The good news is Boeing seem to be experts at software. Especially when it comes to automation software.