Foreflight vs Garmin Pilot

[hubcap]

My Foreflight subscription is up for renewal. Before I renew I wanted to get some idea of whether folks are moving to Garmin pilot with their new features seeming quite an improvement, and the likelihood that Foreflight will be under new Wall St ownership with perhaps reduced enhancements in the future. 

I have been happy with Foreflight to this point, but they have already announced a price increase for this years subscription. 

Thoughts?

[Fly Boomer]

18 minutes ago, hubcap said:

I have been happy with Foreflight to this point, but they have already announced a price increase for this years subscription. 

Thoughts?

My recollection (that phrase almost makes me laugh) is that prices go up every year regardless of ownership.

[hubcap]

9 minutes ago, Fly Boomer said:

My recollection (that phrase almost makes me laugh) is that prices go up every year regardless of ownership.

That very well could be the case. It will be interesting to see how much the new owners increase subscription prices next year when they are actually running the business.

[Scott Dennstaedt, PhD]

I have been using GP for quite some time now and while I have some gripes about the weather elements, I find that the features are perfect for what I need.  

[Pinecone]

I have been a FF user.  But with the new features, I have started to play with GP.  GP doesn't flow for me, but it is also the new guy to me.

For a while, I will run both.  But I don't pay for FF due to be a CAP pilot.  And my One Pack for my panel pays for the Premium upgrade to GP

[varlajo]

I am really enjoying GP so far. Love having secondary on-screen engine monitor capability. 

Hate the tiny (i) button to pull up complete airport info 

[PeteMc]

3 hours ago, hubcap said:

I have been happy with Foreflight to this point, but they have already announced a price increase for this years subscription. 

I hadn't noticed that, but of course they did....

On Pilot, here's the link for the recording of this mornings Webinar on the new SmartCharts: 

https://register.gotowebinar.com/recording/viewRecording/5427450425635572825/8939216898552200796/pete@flightmaster.us?registrantKey=4866260791280257884&type=ATTENDEEEMAILRECORDINGLINK&fbclid=IwY2xjawKtvwJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFVQ2dSYng1OE9tTXRadWJVAR7XuEmDMya3Z4bCXZ_-AagzdcRTHheVMQc5OpXlx4qhz2I9obrVd_K0rJVDTQ_aem_ORiYKjZ8xKGJIL8KqEfWgg

[midlifeflyer]

I subscribe to both. I love the Smart Charts but I would not make a “permanent” switch from one to the other for a single feature. 

FF and GP (for iOS) are both excellent EFBs. For most of what people use, there is functional parity. Most of the differences lie in flow - how one gets to the features they want.

Easy example is flight planning. In FF, it’s based on the map. Add waypoints, remove waypoints, look at  the mods you did before, pull up procedures and add or delete them, etc etc etc.  GP flight planning, OTOH, takes place on a flight plan page that has an interface and functionality similar to the latest Garmin navigators. One is not objectively better or worse than the other, but Pilot A may like the Garmin better because of similarity to their GTN; Pilot B might like the less structured FF method. 

If you are new to EFBs, a switch may not make any difference. But if you have gotten used to one or the other’s form and flow, the differences and learning curve might be a little frustrating,  How much varies with the person.  How I or anyone else use either or both is irrelevant to you. Best bet is do a trial and decide for yourself. 

 

[Pinecone]

One thing I have noticed is that it seems to take a lot longer to page through the Leidos briefing in GP over the FF briefing.

[hubcap]

Just read that Foreflight is reducing the features available to those who don’t purchase the Performance Plus package. I already purchase Performance Plus but I will be taking a look at switching to Garmin Pilot. I think the future of Foreflight is on a different trajectory than Garmin Pilot.

Garmin is dedicated to aviation. The new owners of Foreflight are not.

[Fly Boomer]

4 minutes ago, hubcap said:

Just read that Foreflight is reducing the features available to those who don’t purchase the Performance Plus package.

Just looked at my account in FF, and Performance Plus is knocking on the door of $400.

[Paul Thomas]

I hate to admit it, but all these EFB are still cheaper and way come convenient to use than the days we had to buy chart, plates, AFD, etc.

For those that don't want to pay and have access to all that date + Canadian info, there is FltGo.

[Rmnpilot]

5 minutes ago, Pinecone said:

One thing I have noticed is that it seems to take a lot longer to page through the Leidos briefing in GP over the FF briefing.

I like that the second page of the briefing gives me a snapshot of what I’m dealing with as planned.   Then I can go through the document and see what I’m up against.  . I’ve gone back and forth with pilot vs FF.  For the value, GP all the way.  Split screen with traffic?  Oxygen saturation from my garmin d2 on the main page?   Split screen with profile view?  I love being able to see my route, where the icing is forecast at altitudes along my route, modify my route and make the wise decision.  To get this with foreflight, I’d pay $370/year.   Garmin is $210/year.  In the big picture it’s a minimal difference, but it’s still something. 

[toto]

1 minute ago, Paul Thomas said:

I hate to admit it, but all these EFB are still cheaper and way come convenient to use than the days we had to buy chart, plates, AFD, etc.

I’m happy to have my leather Jepp binders frozen in time, but it’s annoying that we have db subscriptions that cost as much as the old Jepp paper subscriptions - and then have to pay for the EFB subscription on top of that. It’s a rounding error in aviation, but still. If Garmin included GP in a OnePak, I’d be a happy camper

 

[exM20K]

9 minutes ago, toto said:

I’m happy to have my leather Jepp binders frozen in time, but it’s annoying that we have db subscriptions that cost as much as the old Jepp paper subscriptions - and then have to pay for the EFB subscription on top of that. It’s a rounding error in aviation, but still. If Garmin included GP in a OnePak, I’d be a happy camper

 

What’s your time worth? I had Jepp Full East coverage for years, but I don’t recall the cost.  What I do recall is 30-45 minutes of updating four big binders every two weeks. I was picking the Jepp confetti out of that sofa for years…

-dan

[exM20K]

18 minutes ago, Rmnpilot said:

To get this with foreflight, I’d pay $370/year.   Garmin is $210/year.  In the big picture it’s a minimal difference, but it’s still something. 

For those of us with a qualifying data subscription, Garmin Pilot is $110/ year vs near $400 for ForeFlight Performance Plus. $300 recurring savings is pretty good compensation for leaving the familiar abode and learning Garmin’s way of doing things.

-dan

[toto]

41 minutes ago, exM20K said:

What’s your time worth? I had Jepp Full East coverage for years, but I don’t recall the cost.  What I do recall is 30-45 minutes of updating four big binders every two weeks. I was picking the Jepp confetti out of that sofa for years…

-dan

Ha, yeah that’s certainly true. It was an insane time suck. 

[GeeBee]

When I flew corporate I had several full North American subscriptions as well as one western hemisphere and two worldwide. I had one employee who did nothing but updates on them and other manuals. While I am grateful for electronic charts, I would not mind to go back if I had her to update my charts. She was smokin' hot!

[PeteMc]

4 hours ago, hubcap said:

Just read that Foreflight is reducing the features available to those who don’t purchase the Performance Plus package.

No, that's actually incorrect.  There is a THIRD NavLog page for the Performance Plus subscription that shows a fuel calculation based on the extra feature of the Performance Plus.  But with the Basic and Pro accounts that NavLog was also showing up due to a programing BUG, and without the extra "Performance" calculations, the fuel could not be calculated and shown. 

So FF is just pulling the Performance Plus NavLog from the Basic and Pro level accounts.  And I'm surprised it took this long since the question of why this field is never filled in correctly is not new.  (Unless there was another bigger BUG that made it more apparent.) 

[GeeBee]

The new Garmin Pilot with "smart charts" is the bomb. It leaves FF in the dust.

 

[hammdo]

Nice deal on Garmin Pilot:

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/avpages/garminapppro.php

[GeeBee]

10 minutes ago, hammdo said:

Nice deal on Garmin Pilot:

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/avpages/garminapppro.php

Actually you can do better if you have a database subscription to your Garmin avionics because with that subscription the pro upgrade is free.

[hammdo]

I have one with my gnc 355 but it does not include GP…

-Don

[toto]

6 hours ago, hammdo said:

I have one with my gnc 355 but it does not include GP…

-Don

Yeah, only with the OnePak

 

[toto]

7 hours ago, hammdo said:

Nice deal on Garmin Pilot:

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/avpages/garminapppro.php

I used to do this every year before I started buying a OnePak. The process is a little bit strange - Aircraft Spruce “ships” you a code via email that you enter into GP as a coupon/voucher. But it works fine and saves a couple bucks.

If you’re only buying the standard version, it’s probably not worth the trouble. But for the Pro version, buying from Spruce is the best deal going imo.