ForeFlight has integrated several key features into a single flight planning and in-flight source for business aviation operators. The dispatch, runway analysis, and weight and balance functions—among other tools—can be shared across a flight department.
ForeFlight’s executive vice president of sales and marketing Stephen Newman and marketing manager Sam Taylor gave FLYING a briefing on the new features for the National Business Aviation Association’s Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) in Las Vegas this week.
“Dispatch features bring it all together,” Taylor said. Introduced in 2019 at NBAA-BACE, Trip Support collects documents and messages into one place.
Runway Analysis for business aviation aircraft tied directly to the same base—such as a corporate flight department—combines those numbers for the aircraft with runway data and provides a fuel burn analysis as well as performance figures.
“It makes everything more efficient,” Taylor said.
Brand-new RNAV-based departure procedures replace VOR-based ones that had been developed in-house by Jeppesen and incorporate RNAV waypoints for smoother transitions.
How Can I Get It?
The Fuel Advisor feature will be available to purchase later this quarter, Newman said. It’s an add-on purchase that integrates contract fuel prices that are market-based or from available data. The function incorporates uplift fees and any minimum purchase amounts to help operators determine just how much fuel to tanker for best efficiency and cost savings—also taking into account obstacle data, runway available, and weight and balance limits.
“It’s linked to dispatch so that it happens within that session,” Taylor said.
The dispatch features are priced by tail numbers segmented into weight class to allow for utilization by more pilots within a department or company.
Runway Analysis uses a similar pricing structure, per flight department, by aircraft tail—for example, if you purchase the feature for your operation, and you have two Gulfstream G650s, you can purchase the feature for each tail to be used by as many of those pilots as the department has. Fuel Analysis will also be priced accordingly when it’s released.
