ForeFlight Mobile version 6.4 is now available for download on the App Store.
New Performance Planning Capability
ForeFlight Mobile version 6.4 introduces taxi and take-off, climb, cruise, and descent performance data fields for aircraft profiles. Add these details to your aircraft profile for a more accurate fuel burn and time en route estimate (ETE) for the planned route.
To add this information, navigate to the aircraft profile (More > Aircraft). Open the profile, scroll down, and you will see the new data fields.
As you plan your route in the Maps view, use the Altitude Advisor to generate a current winds aloft forecast. The winds aloft forecast is intelligently integrated into your flight performance calculation, adjusting for things like more time in climb the higher your planned altitude and the winds at different altitudes during your climb and descent. These calculations give you a more precise fuel burn and time enroute estimate, especially for aircraft that spend more time in the climb phase to reach a higher cruise altitude.
For comparison, this table from our Pilot’s Guide shows the performance results for three different routes using the new performance planning fields (“Detailed”) versus just the average airspeed and fuel burn (“Simple”):
The Altitude Advisor also uses your aircraft performance data to make assumptions about how much time it will take your aircraft to climb to the selected cruise altitude before it needs to descend to the destination. The winds aloft entries are shown as dashes for altitudes above this point and no-wind performance data will be displayed in the NavLog.
Taxi and take-off fuel use is reported in the total fuel used for the trip. In the NavLog, the leg data will only include data for that leg, but the totals column will include the taxi and take-off fuel burn.
Sync Extended to Aircraft Profiles, Flight Plans
ForeFlight Mobile 6.4 brings aircraft profiles and flight plans into our cloud-based Sync feature.
Sync gives you more flexibility to move between devices during the flight planning and filing process. Your activity syncs and so each device is ready to pick up where you leave off. Plan your route and start your flight plan form on your iPad, then file or make changes on your iPhone. Each edit to the flight plan form or change to flight plan status is reflected on each device when it connects to the Internet.
No need to manually duplicate your aircraft profile information. Build your profile once on any device signed in to your ForeFlight account and Sync does the rest. The performance planning information you just added to your new or existing aircraft profile will also automatically sync across your devices.
To enable Sync, navigate to More > Settings > Preferences and turn Synchronize User Data ON.
In addition to these new capabilities, Sync reflects all of your recent and favorite routes, airports, weather imagery, and user waypoints across each device that is signed in to your ForeFlight account.
World Aeronautical Charts
World Aeronautical Charts (WACs) covering Continental US, Alaska, northern Mexico, and the northern Caribbean are now available as an overlay in the Maps view. Select the World Aeronautical layer from the drop down to view these charts:
In your Download Settings (More > Downloads), select World Aeronautical Charts in the United States and the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America coverages to enable bulk download of the chart type and to view them offline.
Customers with both USA and Canada subscriptions can simultaneously display the World Aeronautical and Canada VNC map layers for a complete VFR chart view covering all of the USA and Canada.
Tap on the Maps Settings button to turn Chart Legends ON. Then tap on an area of the chart to reveal the corresponding legend.
More Flight Recording Options Available with Stratus 2
ForeFlight Mobile 6.4 delivers firmware update version 1.6 to the Stratus 2 and unlocks the receiver’s flight data recorder making Stratus 2 the only available ADS-B receiver that has this capability.
Flight recording is a great tool for flight instructors and new pilots to visually debrief each flight. Students can see progress over time as they practice maneuvers and instructors can reinforce the effects of wind on performing those maneuvers. In addition, you always have a record of your flights to help with filling out your logbook.
Stratus 2 records position, speed, and altitude data throughout each flight onto the receiver’s built-in memory. Set the Stratus to record automatically when the unit is powered on and the built-in GPS senses motion.
In this mode, recording continues until the Stratus is turned off. After your flight, seamlessly transfer the Track Log data to ForeFlight Mobile where the logs are available to view, share, and debrief on all of your devices, as well as on foreflight.com.
The Stratus flight data recorder settings are accessible in two ways:
- From the Maps view: tap the Maps Settings (gear button along the top of the screen), then under Devices tap Stratus 2. Scroll down to Flight Data Recorder and slide the Enabled toggle ON.
- From the More view: tap Devices, then tap on the Stratus 2 box. Scroll down to Flight Data Recorder and slide the Enabled toggle ON.
Stratus 2 records approximately twenty hours of GPS and AHRS data and automatically deletes the oldest track log to make room for a new track log. The Stratus flight data recorder saves data regardless of whether you use ForeFlight Mobile’s Track Log record button.
To update the Stratus firmware, update ForeFlight Mobile to version 6.4, then connect your device to the Stratus 2 Wi-Fi network. Navigate to More > Devices > Stratus 2 > Firmware to apply the firmware update.
More Improvements and Fixes
- The Weight & Balance setup interview now prompts a warning when the empty arm is entered instead of empty moment, or when a smaller than expected empty moment is entered (i.e. empty moment is divided by 100 or 1000 directly from the POH).
- Bug fixes and performance improvements.
- For the V-22 pilots out there, we’ve got your Tilt Rotor location marker:
Our Pilot’s Guide is up to date and contains full details on the new features. Download the Pilot’s Guide onto your device using the built-in catalog in the Documents view.