Cockpit Weather, by Iam Mac

30 Jun Cockpit Weather, by Iam Mac

Okay, here’s the result of my study on available technologies for an electronic flight bag.

First, to the dismay of many I am not a Mac fan but it looks like ForeFlight with Stratus is the best option for an electronic flight bag.  A top of the line iPad plus Stratus and an annual subscription is under $1600 for the first year and $75 for each year afterward.  This gives you pre-flight planning and in flight moving map and weather without a subscription.

On the iPad, there are three other products that are more expensive and/or have fewer features.  WingX is the ForeFlight competition that is two steps behind.  One step is that it costs about $25 more but the next step is a biggie: they don’t guarantee the accuracy of the charts.  I prefer the phrase “legal charts” on my electronic flight bag because the whole point is to save trees.

WingX also has products for the Android, Blackberry, and PocketPC (no longer made) but these are currently crippled products that do not include IFR charts.  On the upside they’ve partnered with an ADS-B manufacturer that gives them traffic information.

Finally, for the iPad Garmin Pilot.  This entry is for both iPad and Android at $100.  You can get in flight weather but currently only with XM and a monthly subscription. The XM website doesn’t give you price information but I understand it’s around $50 per month.  There are a bunch of other Android apps that are listed but each one of them says that the data is not legal.  Some are free and most are inexpensive, $5, and apparently the data is free.

As it turns out, you can actually just download images of all charts, approach plates, and other NACO publications from the FAA website directly.  They come as very large image files but if you’re got a reasonably fast device capable of displaying those images you can have all the electronic charts you want.  You may print them.  However, you can’t get a moving map or weather overlay without a program (geo-referenced plates).

The guys who make GoldenEagle FlightPrep, the free DUATS flight planning program, also make an iPad version that has all the features of ForeFlight for the same price except that they currently use XM weather.  They also make a flight planning and PC based electronic flight bag (EFB).  If you buy the PC package for $150 per year you also get all the iPad data so presumably you can use a PC for flight planning at home and an iPad in the cockpit.  I don’t know if the iPad in the cockpit version, called iChart, can use ADS-B but I do know that under ios not all ADS-B receivers work with all programs whereas under Android and PC you may use whatever ADS-B hardware you want.  This might come in handy in the future because the devices that are sold for cockpit weather currently are only receivers and eventually we need to get a transmitter, required by 2020 per current FAA regulation.  Also, not all current ADS-B receivers that can get weather can get traffic and visa versa.

There are two other PC based products, Seattle Avionics and Chartflier.  Both have all the pre-flight features and in flight features of ForeFlight, and then some, with ADS-B weather and traffic.  The Seattle Avionics software is pretty cool because it gives you winds at altitude and gas prices so if your fighting a headwind you can find the optimum altitude then decide where to land.  These both cost twice as much as the Apple software for annual subscriptions, and PC hardware is currently twice as expensive as the iPad.  My dream machine, however, is the Acer Iconia which is two side by side 14″ screens, almost three times as much viewing area as in an iPad with true multitasking in Windows 7 or 8.

I haven’t tested all these systems and a potential issue is readability under various lighting conditions: not only in bright sunlight but how dark can the screen go so you don’t screw up your night vision.  In terms of hardware, the iPad’s display is the best of all options with its high resolution and clarity but Android and PC models are improving.  The size of the device is an issue for those of you with a yoke (sorry, I had to throw that in), or a small lap.  Heat apparently isn’t too much of an issue because most of the devices run fairly cool, although the PC based devices probably run hotter than the others.  Also, the iPad has the longest battery life but most units will last at least bladder time plus a lot of planes have power outlets.  My personal preference is PC because I can update my Garmin data on the same device.  Oh, I didn’t mention Jeppesen’s product because it’s just too expensive.

However, at the current time the most cost effective electronic flight bag by far is the iPad with ForeFlight and a Stratus ADS-B.

Whatever you decide, ask around, check out friends’ systems, go to shows, ask questions, and read reviews. And even then, if you wind up unhappy, you can always unload your mistake on ebay, craig’s list or the VASI Angle Market Place. Then you get a “do over.”

Please feel free to add your comments, suggestions and feedback on your system of choice.

Fly Safe!