fbpx

ForeFlight Adds High Performance Flight Planning Tools

Aviation app takes the work out of highly complex flight planning.

ForeFlight has added subscription plans to accommodate pilots of high-performance piston aircraft, turboprops and jets. The Performance Plus and Business Performance Plus subscription plans provide flight planning tools that quickly compute several route options with time, fuel, route and altitude data based on performance, payload and current weather conditions.

Powered by ForeFlight’s AviationCloud technology, the software includes hundreds of profiles for most popular high-performance piston airplanes, turboprops and jets from manufacturers such as Cessna, Beechcraft, Piper, Cirrus, Daher, Eclipse, Embraer, Gulfstream and many more. The program includes multiple cruise profiles for these airplanes, eliminating the time-consuming work of setting up a profile for each aircraft for flight planning purposes.

The app’s Route Advisor and Altitude Advisor provide multiple options for a particular flight plan based on current wind and temperature data, aircraft performance and recently cleared routes, taking the hard work of flight planning out of the hands of the pilot. Each route option includes estimated flight time, distance and fuel burn with quick comparisons for each route. Fuel cost is also included through a partnership with JetFuelX.

The File & Brief section of ForeFlight’s app has been replaced with what’s called “Flights.” This function adds payload and fuel planning to the route planning information. The “Flights” section’s payload function is continually adjusted based on each adjustment made to the flight plan and provides alerts for payload issues, such as exceeding the maximum weight limits for takeoff or landing. If a new scenario presents itself at the last minute before the flight, such as the addition of a passenger or more bags than expected, the pilot can evaluate the new scenario with a few quick taps on the iPad. An Internet connection is not required for the pilot to make these kinds of adjustments.

An Internet connection is, however, required for the most recent weather data. When connected, the app automatically syncs the data so that the active flight plan can be accessed on a computer or other ForeFlight supported platform. Conversely, a flight plan created on a computer is immediately synced and can be continued on another platform, such as the iPad.

“Pilots will be amazed with how fast they can create, brief and file complex flight plans from an iPhone, iPad or browser,” said ForeFlight’s co-founder and CEO Tyson Weihs. “Individual and business customers are going to have more accurate flight planning calculations, save time, and save a lot of money when planning with the new ForeFlight performance planning features.”

The cost for the Performance Plus Plan, for a single user, is $299.99 while the Business Performance Plus Plan starts at $300 per year per license.

Login

New to Flying?

Register

Already have an account?