We redesigned the ForeFlight Mobile interface on the iPhone to more closely match the iPad, and that new interface is available now to all customers with ForeFlight version 9.5. Also in this release, your preflight Graphical Briefing automatically syncs across devices, view and select your destination FBO in the Flights view, ForeFlight Military Flight Bag (MFB) customers can download and view the worldwide DOD library of tactical mission planning charts, and more.
Familiar iPad Interface Now on iPhone
The biggest thing you’ll notice about the new iPhone interface is the Tab Bar at the bottom of the screen, which replaces the “Menu” button as the primary means of navigating around the app. Tab Bar navigation makes it much easier to move between different views in the app. And with the new Flights view on iPhone, you can plan, brief, and file flight plans faster than ever before.
The iPad has some notable changes as well. Favorite and Recent buttons throughout the app are consolidated under a single button and a new “slim” tab bar design increases usable screen space.
Finally, we redesigned the More view to group the tabs on the left into more logical sections. We moved frequently used features like Logbook and Checklist to the top and administration functions like Downloads, Account, and Settings to the bottom.
Military Mission Planning Charts and Graphical Chart Manager
ForeFlight MFB (the version of ForeFlight built for US government, military, and DOD aviation) is now the first and only mobile solution where authorized and authenticated customers can download and display the worldwide library of US Department of Defense military mission planning charts, including Joint Operations Graphics (JOG), Tactical Pilot Charts (TPC), Operational Navigation Charts (ONC), and Range charts.
A new interactive Graphical Chart Manager makes it fast and easy to select and download only the desired charts from the thousands available in the library.
The charts use the newest format standard in military digital chart technology, developed by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, called Enhanced Compression Raster Graphics (ECRG). The ECRG format combined with ForeFlight’s compression process technology results in faster over-the-air (wireless) downloads, less used storage space, higher resolution, and quicker load times.
All four mission planning chart types are geo-referenced and support display of ownship position, the overlay of weather and hazard information, and seamlessly integrate with all of ForeFlight’s innovative map features.
Select FBOs in Flights with Destination Services
A new section in the Flights view planning form allows you to select an FBO at your destination airport, making helpful functions and information easily accessible while planning and viewing your flight. The Destination Services tab opens the familiar ForeFlight Directory list where you can compare all the FBOs at an airport and view additional details like services, photos, comments, and fuel prices. Once you select an FBO, new buttons appear on the planning form to call or email the FBO, find its location in the Apple Maps app, or view its details.
ForeFlight also remembers your selection at every airport where you choose an FBO and automatically selects the same FBO the next time you plan a flight to that airport, saving you time and making useful functions quickly accessible.
Preflight Briefing Sync and Other Planning Enhancements
ForeFlight’s Sync platform now includes preflight Briefings, making critical weather information and NOTAMs quickly accessible on iPad, iPhone, and the web. As soon as you retrieve a briefing, ForeFlight makes it instantly available for viewing on any of your other signed-in devices. In addition, Briefings are now created automatically for every filed flight plan and stored permanently in the ForeFlight Cloud.
Graphical Briefing now includes graphical area forecasts (replacing the legacy text-based area forecasts for CONUS regions). The new imagery for cloud cover, visibility, surface winds, and precipitation help you make better, faster analysis of the weather along your route. Tap on any graphic in the briefing to view it in full screen, then zoom in and pan for a better view of the details.
New Map Gesture: Tap on Route Leg
A small but powerful enhancement, you can now tap on any leg in an active route on the Maps view to see information about it and take a number of actions. The popup includes values for leg distance, magnetic course heading, and MEA and MOCA information if the leg is part of an airway. You can also use the buttons to delete the waypoint at the end of the leg, fly direct to that waypoint, or “Fly Leg”. Tap Fly Leg to activate that leg in the Navlog, which is helpful if you need to manually advance to the next leg.
Support for iPhone X and 10.5-inch iPad Pro
ForeFlight looks stunning on the iPhone X’s high-resolution edge-to-edge screen, with text and colors appearing sharp, smooth, and vivid. On the 10.5-inch iPad Pro, which has a slightly larger screen than 9.7-inch iPad models, ForeFlight now takes advantage of the screen’s full resolution to maximize every app view.
