Preflight vs Garmin Pilot: Which mobile app is best for you? : iPad Pilot News (2023)

Currently, there are several complete Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) applications for pilots, free and paid, that provide almost all of the pre-flight and in-flight capabilities needed for VFR and IFR operations. If you've been flying for a while, chances are you've gotten used to your favorite app and can use it almost with your eyes closed. For those new to aviation or moving away from paper graphics, there comes a point where a decision must be made about which application to use in the cockpit.

The most common question we get on iPad Pilot News after a pilot buys an iPad is, "Which app is better, ForeFlight or Garmin Pilot?" There's a good reason these two apps are at the top of most pilots' lists, as both have been around since the launch of the iPad and have gained quite a following in the aviation community over the past decade. Both are supported by major airlines and are continually updated with new features and enhancements throughout the year.

The mission of both apps has also evolved from an electronic chart display to an integrated avionics system and can now do more than most certified avionics systems. They also offer the most comprehensive suite of connectivity options, including ADS-B, SiriusXM, satellite messaging, flight plan synchronization with dash-mount avionics, and engine monitoring, to name a few.

However, when you look at it, the real question you have to ask yourself is which app is the best.For me.Both apps have all the features and capabilities to feel right at home in a student pilot's cockpit and meet the needs of professional pilots flying turbine aircraft. They have also grown through partnerships with Jeppesen and Eurocontrol, which offer international cards and travel support.

The Rise of the iPad

Prior to the introduction of the iPad in 2010, pilots relied primarily on handheld GPS receivers to provide additional airport data and a moving map in the cockpit. Garmin has dominated this segment with a variety of hardware options and screen sizes, selling for as little as $2,500. These portable GPS systems were good cabin accessories, but they didn't replace paper charts, nor did they offer much for pre-flight weather or trip planning. It also required some work and expense to keep the databases up to date.

So when the iPad was announced in 2010, pilots immediately recognized it as the long-awaited consumer product that could transform how data is managed and used in the cockpit. It was almost too good to be true: a slim tablet with a bright, responsive 10-inch color touchscreen and a battery life that would survive a 4-hour flight. And on the software side, ForeFlight has been equally responsive, releasing a full-solution iPad app, building on the popularity of their iPhone app version. The era of paperless booths had officially begun.

While they didn't make the jump-start like ForeFlight did, Garmin released its full Pilot app for iPad, iPhone and Android two years later, in the spring of 2012. Garmin may have been the biggest general aviation avionics company at the time. time, but they were in a position to catch up with the mobile app market.

Garmin has responded over the past six years with a steady stream of innovative feature enhancements that have allowed it to match and, on some fronts, surpass the capabilities of every other iPad aviation app available today. Combined with its extensive portable and certified avionics connectivity options, Garmin makes the decision harder than ever when it comes to choosing the best app for your needs.

similar instead of different

While the design and UI of these apps couldn't be more different, you'll quickly find that after a while you'll offer the same core features with both apps:

• travel planning– Airport data, FBO details and charges, pre-flight weather information, aircraft performance profiles, electronic navigation log, flight service weather information, weather images, ICAO flight plan support, pre-departure clearances (PDC)
• Diagram- Aeronautical charts based on FAA data, TACs and VFR sectionals, IFR high and low altitude route charts, final procedures, Jeppesen VFR/IFR world routes and final procedures
• air navigation– digital flight instruments, synthetic vision, GPS-controlled moving maps with georeferenced maps and terrain awareness
• connectivity- ADS-B weather, SiriusXM satellite weather and entertainment, integration with Garmin panel-mounted avionics; compatible with domestic flight simulators
• digital assistant– Weight and balance, logbook, aircraft checklists, track log and notebook
• document management– Upload, view and edit flight-related documents such as aircraft manuals, international documentation and training documentation

What you'll find after using any of the apps is that they truly are a one-stop shop for everything you need to get ready and board a flight. The next step is to explore each app's core functionality and see which provider gives you an advantage based on what, where and how you're flying.

pre-flight

The ForeFlight theme incorporates many of the standard Apple iOS interface conventions, menus, and controls, making the learning curve easy. It only takes a few taps to go anywhere in the app, which you'll appreciate when you need quick access to information like where you live. B. Look for an instrument approach chart or airspace information. ForeFlight uses the familiar iOS tab menu at the bottom of the screen to quickly switch between screens with one tap. Alternatively, you can search for any type of data (airport info, map, route, etc.) and get to your location within the app using the universal search feature available above in the Maps, Airports, and Boards sections of the app. jump app

Once you've spent some time with ForeFlight, you'll find many smart features designed to make life easier for the GA pilot flying with a pilot. The app excels at presenting routine data we've been using for years in a much more meaningful way. For example, if you are viewing an instrument approach chart or airport diagram, ForeFlight will display a link on the screen to display any applicable NOTAM related to that procedure. And if an airport has a NOTAM for a closed runway, the app will display a bold red banner in the middle of the airport information screen to make sure you don't go unnoticed. An automatic chart pack option is available when planning a flight, allowing you to download all the necessary VFR/IFR charts for your trip at the click of a button. So when new maps are available for download every 28 days, ForeFlight will automatically download them when you open the app, reducing the chances of getting stuck in flight with old maps.

When it's time to plan a flight, the Flights section of the app guides you through each step of the process, eliminating the need to collect and enter data. For IFR pilots, ForeFlight offers a recommended route feature to help select the optimal IFR route. This routing engine analyzes thousands of possible options based on your aircraft's detailed performance profile and time/fuel savings, while also considering your aircraft's ceiling, preferred routes and trending routes released by ATC.

ForeFlight Alternate Advisor reviews other similarly submitted flight plans along with fuel and time requirements, forecast weather conditions and available approach procedures to suggest an alternate IFR airport to include in your flight plan.

Takeoff and landing performance planning is another unique feature of ForeFlight. This powerful feature automatically calculates takeoff and landing performance data based on the profile of the aircraft selected for the flight. It takes current weather, runway variables and aircraft weight into account to automatically calculate takeoff and landing distances (this requires a Performance Plus subscription).

There are so many tools available during the flight when automation can really help. Playing the role of digital co-pilot, ForeFlight's contextual alerts alert you on the ground with a visual and audible message as you approach and enter active lanes. Over the air, they notify you when joining a TFR or Washington, D.C. SFRA approach. From a flight safety standpoint, the app, in conjunction with an ADS-B receiver, alerts you to concerns about cabin altitude, nearby terrain/obstacles, high sink rates, descent to 500ft AGL, and oncoming traffic.

There are also convenience alerts like displaying the ATIS frequency for the destination airport upon arrival or displaying the nearby altimeter setting as you descend the FL180. And the performance planning feature alerts you when calculated takeoff or landing distances exceed available runway lengths.

Another hallmark of ForeFlight is its commitment to providing a quality weather information experience. It includes all the essentials like text weather reports, forecasts and basic weather images, but goes further by including lesser known forecast products. For example, on the airport weather screen, next to the TAF, you will see a computer generated text MOS forecast available for over 2,000 US airports covering a 72 hour forecast period. You'll also see a forecast discussion option, which includes plain language notes from the meteorologist who created the TAF, describing the weather factors considered and the level of confidence.

ForeFlight includes a dedicated weather imagery section within the app containing a variety of forecast charts and is by far the most comprehensive aviation app on the market. It aggregates data from multiple sources including the National Weather Service, Aviation Weather Center, Storm Prediction Center, and Aviation Digital Data Service into one well-organized place. Here you can track long-term forecasts for precipitation, thunderstorms, visibility and clouds with easy-to-read graphs. If you don't mind stepping out of your comfort zone and learning about new weather products, you'll be rewarded with a better understanding of the weather before every flight.

For those who prefer the standard flight service weather information, ForeFlight is the only app that offers a graphical weather option in the Flights section of the app, similar to 1800WXBRIEF.com, filled with useful graphs and colorful images. This is a significant improvement over traditional flight duty briefings, which were commonly referred to as "wall of text" - useful information, but time consuming to contextualize.

Seamlessly offering a subset of features designed for the professional and turbine pilot segment, ForeFlight delivers an additional level of performance designed for the demands of high-performance operations. It includes custom aircraft performance profiles for hundreds of aircraft, from piston engine trainers to Citations and Boeing 737s, making long-haul flight planning easy. They even offer fullRunway analysis and engine shutdown proceduresfor most modern business jets in production today.

Created with data collected directly from the manufacturer's performance tables, these profiles provide highly accurate ETE and fuel calculations for flight planning. The app monitors your structural weight limits for each phase of flight and offers several fuel policy options to assist with fuel planning. And since JetFuelX is a ForeFlight company, this free fuel card management program is well integrated into the app, allowing you to view fuel contract prices and submit fuel approvals directly from the app.

For larger carriers, ForeFlight is optionaldelivery serviceallows pilots, dispatchers, managers and other flight personnel to manage multiple flight plans for a fleet of aircraft. This collaborative flight planning feature makes flight planning much easier for corporate flight departments, and all relevant details for each flight are sent directly to the ForeFlight app on the assigned flight crew's iPad or iPhone.

Garmin Pilot

Compared to when ForeFlight started out as a weather app, Garmin's roots have always been in GPS navigation, and that's where this app really shines. Pilots familiar with other Garmin navigation products, including the GTN 650/750 navigators, Aera handhelds and the G1000 integrated cockpit, will feel right at home with Garmin's data-driven moving map.

The app has a bespoke feel and doesn't rely too heavily on Apple's standard iOS conventions and layout. The icon-based main menu is very reminiscent of the splash screen on GTN 750 and FMS controllers used in Garmin OEM installations, again providing an added level of familiarity for those with previous Garmin experience. As with other Garmin navigation systems, there are nearly endless customization options for the map display on the go, offering a high level of control. The downside to this design is that it can cause you to miss out on some important features and settings when starting to use the app, but nothing an extra flying chair can't fix.

The first big difference you'll find on the map screen is the ability to launch a split screen view with 13 different options to display alongside the map. Garmin's implementation of these options is very well done and allows you to graphically track your position on the map, as well as display important things like taxiway charts, instrument approach charts, a flight plan screen, a traffic screen or dedicated land.

Flight instruments can be displayed using Garmin's modern glass cockpit design or Garmin's unique circular instrument display. The synthetic visual canvas is visually appealing and uses the same graphics as the certified PFDs.

Like its panel-mounted navigators, the Garmin Pilot app offers dedicated Direct To and Nearest features that are always visible in the top menu bar. Pilots have loved the dedicated Direct-To button on pretty much every other aviation GPS device, so it makes sense that it's also front and center in the app.

The Nearest feature highlights the nearest airports on the moving map that meet predefined criteria for runway surface type and length. There's also a list of the nearest airports at the top of the screen: tap one of the icons, press the shortcut button and follow the magenta line to that airport.

Then there's Garmin Pilot's limp mode, which is arguably more useful in flight when things are heading south. If you need to act quickly (engine failure, instrument failure, medical issue), tapping this button activates a modified version of the Nearest feature, which highlights all airports on the map that are within flying distance of your current location. . It also allows split screen view and displays the emergency checklist for your plane. Well done Garmin.

Pilots flying with ADS-B receivers will really appreciate the dedicated traffic display in full or split screen view. This helps keep the moving map screen clean and allows you to better see oncoming traffic in busy airspace. It uses Garmin's unique TargetTrend technology to show where the aircraft will be for a user-configurable amount of time (eg 2 minutes), plotted with a green trend line. You can easily filter targets by relative altitude and tap on one to view its course over ground, rate of ascent/descent, speed over ground and speed of approach.

Garmin Pilot also has smart features that provide contextual alerts. Start with pre-flight planning: the app constantly compares the weather reports for your planned departure and destination airports with personal minima (maximum surface wind, minimum visibility and ceiling) that you set in the app and displays a yellow triangle next to it from an airport Identify the trip planning screen in case they are overtaken based on the nearest TAF.

For IFR flights, a similar warning icon is displayed in the same location when weather dictates an alternate airport, and a helpful alternate airport selection guide is displayed to help you find an option that meets FAR 91.169 requirements. You will also receive an alert when the selected altitude is too low for the terrain, when incomplete aircraft data is entered to submit a flight plan, and on the moving map when approaching controlled or special airspace.

In the air, Garmin provides pop-up and audio alerts for traffic, terrain, nearby airspace and nearby TFRs. When connected to a Garmin engine monitoring system on the dash, you can even activate custom alerts for exceeding preset parameters like CHT on a piston engine or N1 on a jet.

While Garmin Pilot doesn't offer the same level of professional aviation support as ForeFlight, it does offer tight integration with FltPlan.com, a popular flight planning service used in corporate aviation. This allows you to create, edit and sync flight plans with fltplan.com and view all relevant data right in the Garmin Pilot app. This also allows pilots to use premium FltPlan.com services on Garmin Pilot such as:

connectivity

An important element to consider when choosing an app is connectivity. At the most basic level, you'll need some sort of GPS location source, and both apps fully support the internal GPS found on iPad models with the option of cellular data and third-party GPS accessories.always elfYdouble.

The next upgrade is the addition of a portable ADS-B receiver that provides weather and traffic information without a subscription. Both apps are only compatible with select ADS-B receivers, ensuring a reliable user experience and tight hardware/software integration. the garminGDL 50,Stratum(solo ADS-B) yGDL52(ADS-B and SiriusXM) work with Garmin Pilot and ForeFlight, while theSentinel-MiniYMailReceivers only work with ForeFlight. The most important thing here is to choose your application first and then buy the compatible ADS-B receiver, as they all offer excellent performance.

Both apps also support the same SiriusXM satellite weather options that provide enhanced coverage over the terrestrial ADS-B network. the garminGDL51is a dedicated SiriusXM receiver, while the GarminGDL52is a hybrid device that provides ADS-B weather/traffic information and SiriusXM weather information from the same handheld device. Both the GDL 51 and 52 work equally well with ForeFlight and Garmin Pilot.

The biggest advancement in recent years has been connecting the iPad to the avionics on the dash, providing two-way flight plan feeds and an installed source for GPS, weather, AHRS and more. Garmin's connected dashboard system is called Connext and was originally designed to work exclusively with the Garmin Pilot, but now also supports the ForeFlight app. Garmin avionics that offer this connectivity include the Flight Stream 110/210/510 I/O transceivers, GTX 345 and 375 ADS-B, G3X-Experimental Flight Display, and most of Garmin's new glass cockpit systems that are present on new aircraft are installed .

There are some Garmin Connected Cockpit features that only work with the Garmin Pilot app. First, you can only send SiriusXM satellite weather to a Garmin Pilot with the Flight Stream system and a GDL 69 SiriusXM receiver installed (However, Flight Stream sends ADS-B weather to ForeFlight). There is also a time-saving feature, Database Concierge, which allows you to update databases on GTN navigators wirelessly from your iPad using the FlightStream 510. This is only possible with the Garmin Pilot app.

If your aircraft is equipped with a Garmin Flight Display with Engine Indication System (EIS) and a Flight Stream 510, you can also view data from all engine sensors (CHT, EGT, oil pressure, etc.) in the app. This offers in-flight monitoring and post-flight review capabilities and can be configured to display in-app alerts when thresholds are exceeded. This engine information can be viewed even in a split screen view.

Garmin Pilot also interacts with theno 660Yno 760portable gps units,D2 Smartwatch Collection, VIRB camera, inReach messenger and GSR 56 Iridium data link for satellite calling and messaging. ForeFlight users, on the other hand, have the option to connect to additional avionics, including the Avidyne 550/540/440 navigation system, Dynon SkyView panel and ADS-B transponders from L3, FreeFlight and uAvonix.

make a decision

There's more to consider when choosing an app than just how it looks and works on your iPad. Both apps include access to a version designed specifically for the iPhone's smaller screen, which often serves a completely different purpose than the iPad. Many pilots prefer to use the iPhone version when away from the airport to look up airport and FBO information, weather maps, and route planning, so spend time with this version while you evaluate it. It's also a great backup for in-cabin graphics.

You might prefer an Android phone, but using an iPad on the plane - Garmin has you covered, as it runs on Android and one subscription gives you access to three separate devices. Another consideration is whether you prefer to use a web browser on a computer for pre-flight scheduling. ForeFlight is unique in that it offers a complete web interface for viewing maps, forecasting the weather and planning a flight. This information syncs to the app on your iPhone and iPad.

You can't go wrong with either app as they both offer the core functionality of saying goodbye to paper charts, but there are enough differences that it's worth personally evaluating both apps to see which one suits your preferences and type of business better. . There is no risk of making the wrong choice, as you can try both apps for free for 30 days. Annual subscriptions start at less than $100, the same amount you'd spend on paper charts for a 200-mile IFR cross-country flight.

Give both apps a try, and you'll likely find that one works for you in the end. Yes, you should compare features, connectivity, and pricing to premium features, but you should also spend some time considering which app feels comfortable on your lap when flying a low ILS approach in turbulent, pouring rain conditions. That's what really matter.

price fixing

pre-flightoffers different levels of performance depending on the characteristics and type of flight:

Basic Plus:Flight planning, weather, VFR/IFR charts, weight and balance, logbook. $120/year

More:Everything in Basic Plus, plus georeferenced approach charts, hazard warnings, synthetic visibility, ice/turbulence/surface analysis weather layers. $240/year

Performance plus:Everything in Pro Plus plus aircraft performance profiles, advanced planning engine, AviationCloud routes, fuel policies/safety checks, JetFuelX pricing. $360/year

You can also add additional database and graphics for Canada or Europe for an additional $100 per year or Jeppesen graphics worldwide.

Click here for a complete comparisonof the ForeFlight subscription options.

Buy a ForeFlight subscription here.

Garmin Pilotoffers two packages:

US standard:Flight planning, weather, VFR/IFR charts and terrain. $99.99/year

US Prize:Everything in the standard package, plus georeferenced approach charts, ice forecasts, Garmin FliteCharts, terrain/obstacle warnings, synthetic visibility and SafeTaxi airport charts. $159/year

You can also add more international regions and Jeppesen maps to Garmin Pilot for an additional subscription fee.