anyone have experience with FF military flight bag and intl flying? worth 299 a year? hard to find reviews for it
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foreflight military for intl flying
- Thread starter whitesoxnation
- Start date
I use the civilian FF (pro?) and like it quite alot, albeit its not enitrely "legal". But last time I checked thats why the pubs officer maintains nav bags and we are still required to have them in the aircraft regardless of whats on your iPad.
I would immagine that for international (ICAO) it would be just as useful.
Worth $300? Meh. Thats relative. Paying the $150 per year made me cringe. Especially when your command should have access to talets some time in the near future. If you can get a JMPS FLIPs DVD you could have access to everything electronically. You would only be without the ablility to use the flight planning, w&b, etc.
I would immagine that for international (ICAO) it would be just as useful.
Worth $300? Meh. Thats relative. Paying the $150 per year made me cringe. Especially when your command should have access to talets some time in the near future. If you can get a JMPS FLIPs DVD you could have access to everything electronically. You would only be without the ablility to use the flight planning, w&b, etc.
I did some browsing around and it looks like he NGA has their own app similar to FF. I think I'm going to try that out before paying for FF as it looks like it is fairly useful.
The NGA app is called Aero and it's so-so. You will have access to all pubs, plates, and VFR/IFR charts, but there is only one type of moving map and the plates aren't georectified. It's handy to reduce paper clutter but it is about an 80% solution.
I use Kilswitch, which is primarily geared towards grunts and can be adapted for aviation use. Still not 100% for aviation but I actually like it better than Aero.
I used the firelight app on my last deployment overseas. The new DOD subscription is pretty awesome. It gives access to the entire FLIP. It was quite helpful to use for planning. The geo-referenced approach plates (when combined with a Bad-Elf GPS or the like) and field diagrams were pretty amazing, especially when landing in a foreign unfamiliar field. Though I'm not entirely convinced it's worth the $299. I did write it off on my taxes as a work related expense though.
Just curious, do you guys notice a greater amount of aviators flying with electronic charts or an iPad strapped to their knees vs. a traditional kneeboard? The push for paperless cockpits seems to be pretty prevalent in the commercial community so just wondering if it's the same in the mil community.
At the civilian flight school I moonlight at, the students there would look at you like you were crazy if you pulled out a chart in the cockpit.
I think the issue is framed by the Navy's policy on an electronic nav bag and thier verry slow but deliberate attempt at implimenting an electronic solution that wholesale ignores off the shelf solutions. This, coupled with front offices that didn't grow up with electronic devices in the cockpit and the resulting stigma has led to non existant implimentantion of what is readily available.
My perspective is very helo/crew concept centric though. When you are a single-seater (or once you make HAC), you never run the risk of having your wrist slapped for pulling out your iphone/ipad.
So much in Naval Aviation revolves around a slightly inflated fear of the however-improbable "what if" involving an electical failure and resulting need for a paper backup. Then there's batteries and an inability to recharge in flight. Then there's funding...
It's always easier to say no to something new, than figure out a way to impliment change.
I think the issue is framed by the Navy's policy on an electronic nav bag and thier verry slow but deliberate attempt at implimenting an electronic solution that wholesale ignores off the shelf solutions. This, coupled with front offices that didn't grow up with electronic devices in the cockpit and the resulting stigma has led to non existant implimentantion of what is readily available.
My perspective is very helo/crew concept centric though. When you are a single-seater (or once you make HAC), you never run the risk of having your wrist slapped for pulling out your iphone/ipad.
So much in Naval Aviation revolves around a slightly inflated fear of the however-improbable "what if" involving an electical failure and resulting need for a paper backup. Then there's batteries and an inability to recharge in flight. Then there's funding...
It's always easier to say no to something new, than figure out a way to impliment change.
I use AVARE which is only on Android but is free and no ads. I have not tried it overseas.
No overseas info for AVARE, except for I think Canada.
There is partly what are we using the app for compared to the civilian side. They just need to know where we are at. On ours, we need to work out 9-lines, be able to draw ROZs/GTL/etc, and do it pretty quickly.
I use a Samsung while I fly and I have some pretty capable CAS/CFF apps that I use. That said, there have been times when I can work out the geometry faster on a paper chart with a Sharpie.
The tablets are good but paper is also pretty convenient too.
I think the android tablets with kill switch are pretty much standard now. All the marines used it in Afghanistan until that was finished. We also had iPads for the transit there and back. No foreflight, but all the charts, pubs, natops, etc.
It's cultural, specific to the Navy. Go on the bridge and you still see paper charts, moboards and grease pencils, too, even though the Shoes have finally bowed to electronic charts. I shot stars with the QMs during night watches as an Ensign - 20 mins of work to get a less-accurate fix than we already had from any of a dozen GPS units. I got hollered at for using a calculator during VNAVs - I "should be able to do it all in (your) head, just in case".
I think it's still because there's a fundamental tribal memory in the Navy of what happens when a ship takes a hit - first thing that happens is power drops and the lights go out. It's so deeply rooted in our collective lizard brain that we just can't bring ourselves to rely on anything electronic. Also, years of experience with government-produced electronic gizmos that crap out when you need them. Inexpensive, reliable, off-the-shelf electronics are a relatively recent phenomenon, and the military, like all bureaucracies, moves on geologic time.
I just did a tour of a DDG and nary a chart, moboard or grease pencil in sight on the bridge. The bridge had just been upgraded and the navigator said they rarely pulled out the few charts they had anymore.