FallsFromChopper Posted October 27, 2009 Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 I just sold out and bought an Iphone. Anyone have any tips for the best apps for pilot weather, radar, etc? Thanks NK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotorrodent Posted October 27, 2009 Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 I just sold out and bought an Iphone. Anyone have any tips for the best apps for pilot weather, radar, etc? Thanks NK Try these out. They are all excellent. Magic Hour- Great for determining best time for nite flying with full moonFlightPlan - Excellent for everything you need in RW and FW flying. Has everything from weather, W&B etc, will translate metar and tafs into plain language. Complete E6BAOPA Airports - Pull up airport/approach diagrams for almost any airportAeroWeather - Quick snapshot of multiple Airport WeatherAccuWeather - Weather for any airport including real time weather radar Don't forget that you can do DUATS mobile on the browser. These will all provide you with a good start Cheers Rotorrodent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inferno Posted October 27, 2009 Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 AeroWeather - METAR and TAF beamed directly to your phone.... SkyCharts - Incredible app. $9.99 gives you every sectional in the continental US. Includes IAP and AF/D entries by clicking on the airport on the chart. Plus you can download and store the charts, so you can use the app w/o a cell signal. Also comes with GPS functionality, so you can see yourself on the chart and plot a course to an airport, etc... Well worth the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edspilot Posted October 27, 2009 Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 There are more flying stuff for the iPhone can you have time to go through! The only three I use are: AeroWeatherAOPA AirportsRadar Good Luck, your have been addicted to flying, now your addicted to the iPhone.... edspilot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pogue Posted October 27, 2009 Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 I like Pilot Wiz Pro - among other things it will do lateral W&B as well as longitudinal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay Posted October 28, 2009 Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 If you have the money to invest, Foreflight is an awesome app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FallsFromChopper Posted October 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 Thanks for all the tips.....more gadgets to play with! NK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MN Heli Flyer Posted October 28, 2009 Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 I use two main apps and a web site that works like an app. I have other apps but I seldom use them. Accuweather- Mainly for the radarAirWX- This one I use for aviation weather planning. The features I like are the surface analysis forcast, metars, FTs. It also has AFD infor on airports maps and much more. Another gone reference is not an application but a web site you can access on iphone. It is called aviation.mobi/. This one will give you many things others will give you and also has winds aloft, notams, and sunrise sunset. AirWX is $6.99Accuweather is freeaviation.mobi is free because it is a web site. You can book mark it like an app and have favorite airports on the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goromadgo Posted October 28, 2009 Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 FlightPlan is a great app, very helpful support site too. I bought the app pretty early on and it had no way to do longitudinal CG so I brought it up on the forum, a little bit later he came out with an update for it! Various test taking prep apps, just search FAA and you'll find them if you need them. I used them for Inst, Comm and now FOI. AOPA Airports is great, think you have to be an AOPA member...but if you're not already you need to be! I had an Aviation Abbreviation app, but after jailbreaking my phone I couldn't find it in the app store to replace it. Found a new one that costs $.99 but haven't really messed with it yet. The old one was handy for figuring out strange abbreviations and tricky METAR/TAF abbreviations. Also does Airport lookup for/by its identifier. Also make sure to bookmark i.wund.com. That is weatherunderground's iPhone site. Great for checking the wx before driving to the airport! Clay - Is ForeFlight worth the cash? I keep eying it, but the $75 price tag scares me away every time. What does it do over the other apps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statler Posted October 28, 2009 Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 Hey boys and girls, lets not forget the best resource ever. I know the phone apps are handy and fun but if you want to use the best resource available. Flight Service. They will give you all the information you need and it will be documented that you called. It is the best source for TFRs and if you need a printed copy then use a computer with one of the approved sites for weather. I have a iphone and love it! I have several application that I use to decide if the weather is going to be good enough to fly, then I use the professionals. p.s. I have never found a reason to buy an expensive app for weather. There are too many out there at a low cost that will help me decide if I will plan to fly. Then for the actual planning I turn things over to the professionals. My 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelliBoy Posted October 28, 2009 Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 Ive never heard anyone ever call Flight Service 'the best resource ever.' FS briefers do nothing but read text these days, have little to no knowledge of geographic phenomena, and arent 'weather professionals' if there is such a thing. I prefer 'professional guessers.' A FS briefer cant legally tell you anything you cant get from any source that gives you NOAA/FAA weather products, be it a cell phone or a wx computer. I can give myself a 'standard briefing' in a fraction of the time FS takes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOATFIXERGUY Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 I also like the AOPA app. Great for airport info. Another good app is GoodReader. It's great for reading very large .pdf files, i.e. Approach Plates and A/FD which you can get from the FAA or a third party vendor like pdfplates.com (still free). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statler Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 (edited) Ive never heard anyone ever call Flight Service 'the best resource ever.' FS briefers do nothing but read text these days, have little to no knowledge of geographic phenomena, and arent 'weather professionals' if there is such a thing. I prefer 'professional guessers.' A FS briefer cant legally tell you anything you cant get from any source that gives you NOAA/FAA weather products, be it a cell phone or a wx computer. I can give myself a 'standard briefing' in a fraction of the time FS takes. Oh my!! We are paying for a service why not use it? It wasn't that many years ago flight service was the only option available for approved weather briefings. They have never been required to forecast weather. However, at one point they had stations all over the US and were familiar with the region they were in. I agree with HelliBoy on that one. As Helicopter pilots you may be in a remote area with no internet and no cell service. Then you may need to use a service that you should be familiar with before hand but didn't because you prefered to interpret the weather yourself. It is my opinion that pilots and especially students should use flight service for more than just filing a flight plan on a cross country. Learning to take weather briefing from the phone will help you also when you need to get one from the air!! Try it!! Edited October 29, 2009 by statler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelliBoy Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 Oh my!! We are paying for a service why not use it? Well I'm going to be paying for Gomer's kids health insurance soon and I dont use that either..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palmfish Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 Pardon my ignorance, but are these apps a one-time purchase or do you need to pay a monthly subscription for the services (charts, WX, etc.)? If they are one-time purchase, how do you receive updated charts/approach plates, etc.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inferno Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 Charts and aeroweather are 1 time purchases. In charts, it informs you when an update is available, and you download it. WX updates automatically when you start it, and hit the refresh button. To update the app to a newer version, the App Store knows your purchases and doesn't charge you to download the new version of the app...Pardon my ignorance, but are these apps a one-time purchase or do you need to pay a monthly subscription for the services (charts, WX, etc.)? If they are one-time purchase, how do you receive updated charts/approach plates, etc.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MN Heli Flyer Posted October 30, 2009 Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 Pardon my ignorance, but are these apps a one-time purchase or do you need to pay a monthly subscription for the services (charts, WX, etc.)? If they are one-time purchase, how do you receive updated charts/approach plates, etc.? Every app I have purchase has only been a one time fee. You can get the FAR app, AIM app, which I am hoping will up date the newest version when that comes out. I think there is no replacement for the book but it is nice to have a handy reference. I have apps update occasionally but have never followed closely enough to know if the charts are updated on a timely basis. Again good reference but no substitute for the real thing. Fly safe!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statler Posted October 30, 2009 Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 Well I'm going to be paying for Gomer's kids health insurance soon and I dont use that either..... That is another thread on here. I don't want to take from the original topic as I believe to respect the post we must not banter with each other. Some of us have been paying for other peoples insurance and living expenses for a long time now (Welfare). That topic has no place in a helicopter forum unless you are looking for someone to argue with. So lets stay on topic now. Iphones are great!! I own one even though I did not like the hipe and hoopla that went with it. It has many useful apps that we can use for flight planning. They should never be used as a sol reference for weather. And I believe if you look you will find that on the disclaimer for the apps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palmfish Posted October 30, 2009 Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 It sounds like it would make a handy "moving map GPS" for use in a rental C172 - you know, the one with 1960's Collins radios and a LORAN unit stamped "INOP" on the front... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MN Heli Flyer Posted October 30, 2009 Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 It sounds like it would make a handy "moving map GPS" for use in a rental C172 - you know, the one with 1960's Collins radios and a LORAN unit stamped "INOP" on the front... It has a good GPS for use in your car, but I do not have very good luck with it in the air. The program is web based and I think that is why it doesn't work very well in the air. If you land at an unfamiliar area there is an app called "Where To?" This program uses the GPS to find places of interest near you. It is handy for finding restaurants, hotels, and other businesses. I use it often and it also gives you the number, address, and will give you directions. I recommend this app and at $2.99 it is worth the cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacknife Posted October 31, 2009 Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 I have installed in order of most use: AeroWeatherAOPA AirportsLiveATC (spinoff of the website, great to hear what's going on around the tower on the drive in)TFRs (quick view of TFR's) Some day when I grow up I will get the Log 10 Pro app, and perhaps the Foreflight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beckwith Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 ...arent 'weather professionals' if there is such a thing. I prefer 'professional guessers.'... As an aspiring meteorologist I can tell you that we are moving away from guessing in favor of hedging. you see by giving you ridiculously wide value ranges we can be almost 0-100% accurate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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