Developed by the same folks who brought us the ForeFlight Mobile digital chart app, ForeFlight’s Checklist Pro is a dirt-simple electronic checklist that makes running through cockpit flows a breeze. Again, with this one there’s a free “Lite” version, but the $20 cost for the Pro version is worth it once you realize what you get for your money.
The first thing, obviously, is the ability to tailor your checklists not only for your specific airplane, but also exactly how you like to do your flow. (The Lite version also lets you move items around but isn’t as customizable.) Even better, you can create and edit checklists online at the ForeFlight website and then synch them to your iPhone or iPad. There’s even a feature that lets you share checklists among multiple users, which is perfect for large flying clubs and schools.
Pilots love the app because of how easy it is to use in the airplane. To run through the checklist, simply tap an item and a green check mark appears. This also automatically moves you along to the next item on the list. You can hit the “skip” button to move past any item without checking it, or tap the emergency button to take you to the emergency checklist procedures. Bottom line, if you want fast and easy, this is the checklist app to get.
Spin-a-Wind presents you with a screen that shows selectable values for the runway number, wind direction and wind speed. You simply spin each wheel to the appropriate value and the app reads out your headwind and crosswind component in large, easy-to-see type.
Additional screens let you calculate pressure and density altitudes as well as set caution and warning parameters for those times when the wind is blowing perhaps a bit too strong for comfort. The default setting warns you when your crosswind component exceeds 30 knots, so you might want to dial back the values if your airplane doesn’t say Boeing on the data plate.
WnB Pro is a simple yet powerful app that is designed to quickly and accurately calculate weight and balance for nearly any GA aircraft. A couple dozen of the most common airplanes are pre-configured, but the real benefit is the ability to set up custom aircraft by entering your specific data.
The template airplanes are good for learning how to use the app, but you’ll want to take the time to enter the correct data for the aircraft you fly. To use the weight and balance calculator, you simply manipulate a number of sliders on the screen to input weights for passengers, baggage and fuel. If the weights you have input place the airplane outside its CG envelope, all the values will turn red to warn you. Once you’ve entered the values, the weight and balance is plotted on a graphic envelope for easy reference.
You can also set up the app with your airplane’s tail number and share its weight and balance data with other app users, making WnB Pro another app that’s perfect for flight schools and flying clubs. For under five bucks, this one’s hard to beat.
FltPlan.com Mobile is the companion tool to the highly regarded fltplan.com website. With this app, you can download free routes, approach charts, navigation logs and FAA-certified QICP (qualified Internet communications provider) weather from FltPlan.com and bring it all along in the cockpit, with no Internet connection required once what you need is downloaded to your device. You can also plan and file flight plans using the app, download approved weather briefings for offline viewing, track a flight and view FltPlan’s FltDeck Guide with detailed information on more than 6,000 airports in 17 countries.
The FltPlan.com Mobile app is completely free to download and use. So why wouldn’t you just use this one app and be done? There are a couple of reasons, one being that the resolution in the paid apps is better, as well as the fact that the paid apps include a ton of additional features besides charts and maps. But for a basic EFB app, FltPlan.com Mobile is one of the best we’ve seen.
