Boeing Acquires ForeFlight

[Niko182]

5 minutes ago, DXB said:

Someone please explain to me why exactly would Boeing want Foreflight?  Or Jeppesen for that matter? How exactly does it help them with their core business of big planes and some weapons?

boeing owned Jeppesen. Jeppesen sold Paper charts. due to modernization, why pay 150 to 200 bucks in charts and books and flying accessories per year, when you can just have foreflight for 100 bucks a year and it offers exponentially more and its way easier to have. no ordering charts, or having to buy charts for new areas you're flying to. Foreflight has VFR, IFR high and low, Satalite, Metars, Tafs, Notams, and literally everything you need. it replaces jeppesen.

[bradp]

I hope the company ends up more like ForeFlight and less like Jeppesen 

[MikeOH]

Ok, I'll come out an say it:  This TERRIBLE news

A slow moving, hugely bureaucratic, government subsidized behemoth company buys an agile successful company...what could possibly go wrong?

SHEESH! I give it year, huge price hikes, forced Jeppesen charts, zero customer service...I'll be looking at FlyQ.

Well, I'll continue to enjoy FF while I can.

[aviatoreb]

I started as a foreflight user almost as soon as it was released.  I really liked it.  But a few years ago I actually got Garmin pilot and I like it more for in cockpit use.  I really like those airport dials and its seamless integration with my Garmin avionics.  Currently I have both - foreflight in its cheapest version and Garmin in the deluxe version.  In part as a backup in case something is flakey - or I forgot to download something - or whatever - and in part because I am very impressed with the foreflight routes that is better than anything around for filing routes that more often than not are accepted as filed.

...but I was leaning to dropping foreflight as soon as this annual subscription is up - and now its done.  Maybe I will get flyq as a backup app.

BTW. Why is everyone so anti iPad?  Like it or not it runs the aviation apps well and so I keep an iPad mini that lives in the airplane full time and its only job is to run my efb apps.  Which it does very well.  So essentially it is dedicated avionics and cheaper than any other avionics I have, and very reliable and easy.

[McMooney]

The new ipad mini is way more than a rumor,  unfortunately I refuse to use apple products 8(  

ok, non free apple products 8)

[aviatoreb]

2 minutes ago, McMooney said:

The new ipad mini is way more than a rumor,  unfortunately I refuse to use apple products 8(  

ok, non free apple products 8)

What did apple do to you to elicit a strong position?

[johncuyle]

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.

[MooneyTunes]

AA uses the JeppProX which is a FF platform. Even the big boys are using FF. 

[Bryan]

 

[Hector]

Ok, I'll come out an say it:  This TERRIBLE news
A slow moving, hugely bureaucratic, government subsidized behemoth company buys an agile successful company...what could possibly go wrong?
SHEESH! I give it year, huge price hikes, forced Jeppesen charts, zero customer service...I'll be looking at FlyQ.
Well, I'll continue to enjoy FF while I can.

I’m afraid I’ll have to agree. Most of the development efforts by FF over the last year or two has leaned strongly towards commercial customers. GA has taken a back seat. That movement will accelerate now with Jeppessen and Boeing as the owners. No doubt prices will increase too. Anyone who does business with Boeing knows that well. I have been an avid FF user from day one but I’m afraid I see the writing on the wall. I hope I’m wrong but I doubt it. Time to start considering other options.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[glbtrottr]

This sucks very badly.  I have seen Boeing come into a market and double or triple prices without substantial value in an attempt to monopolize a vertical like a baby amazon. Prices will go up or value will go down, without a doubt. 

[M20S Driver]

Saw this on Facebook

[Steve W]

I do find it interesting that anyone puts any stock in what the founders/employees say after a purchase. They're under a ton of NDAs as well as probably on the hook for 1-2 years to get a full payout. Of course they're going to continue saying whatever their new corporate overlords want. 

Maybe it's just that I've been in the tech world and not the aviation world.

[carusoam]

For anyone jumping ship....

Basic WingX is nearly free... 1USD or less...

Free to CFIs...

That’s enough to get a feel for a different supplier without the big corporate/heavy iron feel....

By the time you add all the other things like blue dots on the IAPs and connect weather and traffic to it....

You Buy two years and get the third free...

What is really amazing is the I-devices are moving into some pretty mission critical areas.... Navigation in commercial jets, and pseudo medical devices on your wrist...

Both Boeing and Apple are run by excellent leaders... GE, the greatest engine manufacturer of all American aviation.... has been in the swamp and it’s leadership has changed again recently... there is power in the truth... hopefully GE can come to grips with the truth soon... Something about their accounting practices have not been normal for decades....

What i didn’t like about the iPad was the price... Since I have a WAAS GPS SkyRadar... the cheapest iPad without GPS is spectacular... the GPS is linked via WiFi to the iPad....

Jump ship!

I intend to stay a WingX user until my IP starts sporting hardware from Big G.... then i’ll Write about how Great the glide rings are.... 

Best regards,

-a-

[gsxrpilot]

5 hours ago, DXB said:

Someone please explain to me why exactly would Boeing want Foreflight?  Or Jeppesen for that matter? How exactly does it help them with their core business of big planes and some weapons?

ForeFlight has contracts with several of the major carriers to provide EFB's for all pilots. They've been working to support professional pilots for some time now. It's a good fit for Boeing.

As someone who's made a living in the tech industry, I don't begrudge ForeFlight selling to Boeing and taking a nice payday. Typically all employees will benefit from the increased value of stock options converting to Boeing stock and now being convertible. They built a very strong and popular product against fierce competition from Garmin and others. But they prevailed and can now enjoy a nice payday.

#goodonem

 

[Jeff_S]

As another tech industry veteran, I will add my congratulations to the ForeFlight crew for getting the buyout they wanted. And I think Boeing was a pretty good choice. For those wondering why on earth Boeing would want ForeFlight, think about all the applications for extending ForeFlight capability even into the big-iron world, not to mention the military. I see big opportunities there.

And I also grudgingly agree that the latest ForeFlight innovations are targeted more toward commercial users...and have come with the commensurate price increases. But let's face it: as basic GA pilots tooling around in our Mooneys, we don't really need ALL those new gewgaws that ForeFlight has introduced, so I'm happy keeping my current subscription and its feature set.  We GA pilots were NEVER a target market that was going to take FF to the next level, so they've behaved like rational business folks looking to increase their return on investment. What's not to understand about that?!

Finally, someone asked a question about Apple haters.  There was a time when the Apple closed ecosystem was sneered at by the nerds who wanted to build their own machines and add components willy-nilly for maximum geek-out.  Those days are long gone, but for some the "us vs. them" mentality still holds true.  But we all have our biases...I won't go near a Brussels sprout no matter how hungry I am.  I can't explain that any more than I can explain why someone now would hold such enmity against Apple.  

The French have a saying: A chacun ses goûts! 

[Ftlausa]

I also don’t understand the hostility toward Apple.  The iPhone and iPad were huge developments.  Is Apple perfect — of course not.   Are their products expensive — yes. But that’s why I own the stock!!

[RLCarter]

I have nothing against other tablets or apps, but for me I'll stay with my iPad and Wing-X

[larrynimmo]

fyi...the only reason I own apple products is because of foreflight...I do get a new phone once a year, and typically would get the latest and greatest....Years ago I had several Treo's, then the Samsung 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and then I started flying lessons....Apple 7p, then Apple X...and my Apple X which I got the day it came out is now 17 months old...a record for me.  As for the tablets...I had always owned a couple Samsung 8 tablets for tasks, and I had an full size Ipad that I used strickly for travel and movies.  Since flying I have 2 Verizon wireless Mini4 which I keep charged and in my plane.  

For flying, the Apple ipad on the yoke is among the most important tools and displays because of Foreflight.  I can do a flight plan on my phone at home, and when I fire up the planes ipad, my phone flightplan goes to the ipad.  My ipad gets info and GPS signal via WiFi from the Lynx G3 displaying traffic & weather.  This allows my Garmin GTN650 navigator to have an uncluttered screen showing the course and obstacles. (of course the L3 has its own dash mounted  ADS-b traffic screen that I assign my passenger to also study for traffic)

My point...I loved my Samsung products...they make the very best phones (not tablets) but the Apple iPhone is in its own right a good product and not that much inferior to Samsung...The switch to Apple to me is the only way to go if you fly via Foreflight...and I do.  As a bonus, you can download at the app store a FREE AI program to have on your phone on ipads to get you out of a jam if all else fails. 

[Jerry 5TJ]

Glad to have tablets and smartphones running various apps to aid in flight.  

Glad that Boeing values the tools highly enough to buy a respected developer. 

Glad that Boeing has spent decades in fully CAD design of aviation innovations. 

Glad that I no longer have to mess with paper charts while hand-flying behind a single mechanical gyro powered by a single vacuum pump.   

Yesterday I filed my flight plan on my iPhone while sitting in the FBO lobby.  Then I walked to the plane and used the iPhone to send the full-route plan wirelessly to the panel avionics.  

My late father used a clock, compass and kneeboard in his F4U to navigate on long submarine patrol flights.  He always found the carrier (or I would not be here) but he certainly was impressed with the early handheld GPS I showed him in the 1990s.  “Man, I wish I’d had one of those in the Corsair,” he said.  

 

[Andy95W]

8 hours ago, Ftlausa said:

I also don’t understand the hostility toward Apple.  The iPhone and iPad were huge developments.  Is Apple perfect — of course not.   Are their products expensive — yes. But that’s why I own the stock!!

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

It operated so poorly they bought iPads for all 12,000 of their pilots.

[Igor_U]

I use WingX Pro for 8 years now and very happy. At the time, it was only one running with Sky Radar ADSB receiver and IMHO superior to FF (I tried both). I think over time WingX didn't get developed and upgraded as FF did and lost a market share to them and newcomers (Garmin, FlyQ etc...) and FF became major player partnering with Sporty's and running on dedicated receiver (which I tried to avoid).

Now, I do have FlyQ as well and like some of it's features but just can't warm up to it's fly planning and few other details... so, I still use WingX Pro.

I do have FltPlan.com as well on my iPad but I don't find it infinitive and don't enjoy using it while flying. you can't beat the price, though since it's free.

Regards,

[KLRDMD]

35 minutes 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.

If I haven't used all of the available products I haven't missed many. And I try to keep relatively current on many. But I've gone to iFly GPS. WingX is free for CFIs, FltPlan Go is free for everyone, FlyQ is $19/year for CFIs and AeroVie is free for CFIs. I have them all and use them all to try to stay reasonably proficient with each of them. Despite all the free and reduced fees available as a CFI, I still pay full price for iFly GPS.

I wonder if they gave their product to CFIs for free if their market share would increase and be worth it to them. I think a bunch of people would start recommending it if they start using it. And it is available in multiple OS platforms.

[aviatoreb]

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?

[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?

Nope.