Foreflight 101
Monday January 13, 2025
7 p.m.

The capabilities of ForeFlight for iOS were on display at the EAA Chapter 54 monthly meeting in January when members Scott Hanson and Bill Schanks Jr. took it out for a run in front of an impressed audience, including one guest, Tim Swanson, who drove to the Chapter House from the Marshall, Minn. area to learn a little more about the program’s capability.

So called “electronic flight bags” can be used in all phases of flight, Hanson said. “It doesn't replace any of the systems. So just because you have an artificial horizon on your iPad. That doesn't replace the artificial horizon that's in your panel,” he said. “So, you still have to have whatever is required for flying – the T-O-M-A-T-O-Flames. You need all of those. This EFB doesn't replace any of that. It has to be functionally equivalent to the paper copy.  All of your data that's on your iPad, has to be current, valid, and you have to make sure that it doesn't interfere with any of the systems in your plane.”

Hanson indicated he’s never had any problem with ForeFlight interfering with navigation systems or other electronic devices.

What are the options if you want to pursue an EFB in your cockpit?

“First, you’ve got to figure out what device are you going to use?” Hanson said, noting there are a lot more programs out there besides ForeFlight, which isn’t supported on Android devices.

“Now, one thing that you do want to be aware of is If you're using georeferencing, you want GPS,” Schanks said.  “The cellular versions of the iPads ave GPS chips in them. You don't need to get the cell plan. But if you buy a cellular version of that iPad, it has the GPS naturally in it. If you don't, if you decide to get the Wi-Fi version, And you still want to, you know, subdue some geo-referencing, or have your plane shown on the screen, you need to get come up with some kind of external GPS signal whether that's a external GPS which those exist. Using like a stratus which has GPS or connecting to your panel, if your panel has, you know, if you're using the newer Garmin panels, you can get the GPS signal from it. So there's still ways. That you can get a GPS signal using the Wi-Fi only version of of the iPads. And pay the extra hundred dollars, get the cellular version, even if you don't get a cellular plan.”

Schanks also outlined the many different pieces of equipment that can be used for securing an iPad to a chosen spot in your airplane.  A list can be found below.

iPad Models (Apple.com)

  *** Cheaper options on amazon or other sites, esp during the holidays ***

Mounting Choices

iPad Universal Kneeboard Folio C         $159.00

-OR-

iPad Leg Mount                                     $179.00 iPad
Universal Cradle                                    $149.00

                                                               $328.00

Several others not demo’d

Yoke Mounts
See mygoflight.com or other vendors. 

Mygoflight is in one of the hangars at Oshkosh with show deals, and you can see all their o\erings.

Synthetic Vision Addon to Basic Plus              $25/Year

*** See ForeFlight.com for more info and options for each plan ***

ForeFlight currently has three different subscription models.

“The Basic Plus has everything - your flight planning, charts, checklists, you know, basically everything,” Hanson indicated.” When you go up to the Pro Plus, you start getting now geo-reference approach plates so you can see where you are on your IFR approach plate. You can actually take an overlay, the IFR approach point right into the map. So on the sectional you'll be going along in the sectional and then you'll see yourself within the IFR approach plate as well.”

He said there are discounts available; people who are members of AOPA, for example, get a break on subscriptions as do teachers and educators.

Where does all the data come from?

“Keep in mind when you are flying or thinking about these devices, you're getting your data somehow on your iPad,” Hanson said. “It can come from three different locations. So, the first you're going to download stuff right to the iPad and that is your maps and charts. You're on the ground, you're going to be loading everything in. Once you put your route in, you can do what's called ‘packing’ for your flight, which is going to go and look. ‘Hey, do I have all the sectionals for this flight? Do I have all the IFR my plates for that flight? Do I have all the weather that's along that flight? Can I have all the TFR information? Do I have everything for it since I'm connected to the internet on the ground at home or the FBO so you can pack it?’

“Otherwise, you can just say. ‘Oh yeah I need to update all my states or whatever as updates come along.’ So anything that's static data, you really want to pack.

Once you’re in the air, of course, you lose internet access, the solution is connecting devices that interface with the IPad and ForeFlight.  These are available off the shelf, or you can build one yourself as our guest from Marshall did.

After their initial introduction to the app, Schanks and Hanson provided an extensive how-to on using ForeFlight.

Download the pdf file for more.

Demo

Airports Tab

Info about airport
Favorites
Closest airports / Direct to
Show on map

Plates

Airport Diagrams
Approach plates

Documents

Find a document you created, or find on the web. You can add it.
Experimental A/C – Create your own checklists add them

Imagery
Weather images for preflight

Flights

Where to get a briefing / file plan
Sent your flights from maps here

Checklists

Add your aircraft here

Logbook

Have flights auto added. Requires you are connected to a Stratus or other source

Scratch pad

You can make your notes
Templates (CRAFT, ATIS, PIREP, Etc)
Personally, I have a traditional kneeboard and a pen. 

Maps

• Layers
•  Aero
•  Sectional
•  Street
•  Radar
•  Traffic
•  TFRs
• FPL
• o Add a mock flight o Rubber band o Send to favorites
  • Procedures
  • Send to flight / get a briefing o Reverse route
• Synthetic Vision o Screen shots
  • Live Demo with Scott**or**Just show screen shot of real world flight

  Auto Center

  o North up

• • Having iPhone for North up or heading.. so you can see both. One is long range, other is short range.

     

   

• Airport o Default tab (In settings) o Info (Freq’s) o Weather o Runways o Procedures
  • Notams

   

• Instruments (Row at bottom) o Take time to see what’s avail o Portrait mode shows more o My fav
  • Dist to dest, not next.
  • GS
  • GPS Alt
  • Flight time

     

• Emergency
  • Get to nearest airport o Bring it up to get freq’s, Runways
  • Checklist (Be very familiar with foreflight or just use paper ck list)

   

• Issues
• o iPad can overheat. What to do?
• 2^nd device iPhone
• Paper charts
• In panel devices

  o ADS-B stops sending signal

• Having iPad with GPS for SA

Flight Debriefing

Export kml file

(On iPad or on pc using plan.foreflight.com)

Save your .kml file
        -     Show in iPad

• Flysto.net (you need to make a free account) o Import the .kml file from where it was saved Now you are able to debrief your flight

February 2025: An Evening with Al Kupferschmidt
March 2025: Choosing the right avionics for your mission. Presented by Jay Schrankler.
April 2025:   (Open)
May 2025:  Sebastian Heinz, CEO of Zenith Aircraft
June 2025: Annual Chapter picnic and hangar tour
July 2025:  John Mohr-Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame Member
August 2025: Oshkosh postmortem

Previous Programs:

2025:

January:  Using Foreflight

2024

January 2024: 3D printing aviation applications (and Lake Elmo noise complaints)
February 2024: A fireside chat with Marlon Gunderson
March 2024: Mark Schaible, owner and president of Sonex
April 2024: Joe Harris, MAC director of reliever airports
May 2024: Sim pit design with Jeff Dale
June 2024: Annual picnic and hangar tour
August 2024: Your Oshkosh experience and fly-in breakfast debrief
September 2024: Dale Seitzer's Sky Ranger
October 2024: The Ups and Downs of Building an RV
November 2024: Former NASA flight director (and RV8 builder Paul Dye)
December 2024: Annual chapter holiday party