Improved Planning Features

May 27, 2017   

 

OLD VIDEO: This video was made before the "More" tab was redesigned from a single page to a pull-out menu, but all of the capabilities you access from "More" are the same as they were before. Visit the ForeFlight Mobile Pilot's Guide.

ForeFlight now offers an enhanced flight planning workflow thanks to improvements to aircraft, the Maps view flight plan editor, and the File & Brief view, which is now called “Flights”.

This video is for ForeFlight customers with subscription plans other than Performance Plus, including the original plans and the Basic Plus and Pro Plus plans. If you have the Performance Plus plan, or want to see what is different with that plan, check out our Performance video series.

Customize the Aeronautical Map

OLD VIDEO: This video was made before the "More" tab was redesigned from a single page to a pull-out menu, but all of the capabilities you access from "More" are the same as they were before. Visit the ForeFlight Mobile Pilot's Guide.

ForeFlight's data-driven Aeronautical Maps allow you to customize which map elements you show or hide. You can also choose between Light, Dark, and Classic map themes and toggle terrain features on and off. With the Aeronautical layer selected you can add or remove airspace, view high or low airways, and adjust label text size. Try mixing and matching the new map settings to find the combination that works best for you.

Color Inversion
Color Inversion is an innovative setting for reducing glare from bright charts at night.
Enabling Terrain
Having trouble finding the Terrain layer in ForeFlight 8? It just moved next door to the Map Settings menu. You can also recreate the World Map from the Map Settings menu by turning on Place Labels.
Basemap and Terrain Improvements

The ForeFlight map engine has a significantly upgraded basemap, which now renders more quickly, smoothly, and with sharper depiction of features such as major roads, railways, national parks, and state and national boundaries. There’s also a new “Shaded Terrain” option, which uses grayscale shading to depict terrain, providing the same level of detail as the colored terrain option with less visual distraction.

In the Map Settings menu, choose from multiple presentations: Colored, Shaded, or None.

High Resolution Basemap

ForeFlight’s High Resolution Basemap depicts ground features and cultural elements in much greater detail for improved inflight reference.

The default basemap provides a basic depiction of major roads and urban areas, while the High Resolution Basemap dramatically increases the level of detail, exposing minor roads and individual railway lines, increasing the resolution of coastlines and urban areas, and highlighting national parks and forests in green. The High Resolution Basemap also adds terrain peak markers with altitudes so you can easily identify the highest points in an area. You can disable these within Terrain settings in the Map Settings menu.

Organized Track Systems

Organized Track depictions in ForeFlight provide a valuable reference for pilots who utilize these track systems. Organized Tracks are available on mobile and the web with ForeFlight’s Performance Plus and Business Performance subscription plans.

ForeFlight displays three different track systems: The North Atlantic Organized Track System, the Pacific Organized Track System, and the Australian Organized Track Structure. Individual tracks are color-coded based on direction: East-bound tracks are purple and West-bound tracks are green. Zoom in to the start of each track to see labels for the track’s name and direction. Each waypoint in the track is also labeled.

Learn more about ForeFlight's Performance plans here.

Scheduled Flight Search

ForeFlight now allows you to search for aircraft tail numbers, call signs, and flight numbers on the Maps view to see recently filed flight plans.

Internet Traffic via FlightAware

Stream live global aircraft traffic directly in ForeFlight with the Internet Traffic feature. In partnership with FlightAware, ForeFlight allows you to view airborne traffic around the globe, and ground traffic at thousands of airports worldwide, to help you gauge airport activity like active arrivals and runways, see how ATC vectors traffic around weather, or assist with planespotting on the ground. Internet Traffic is included in all ForeFlight subscription plans.

Global Airspace Details

ForeFlight provides advanced global airspace details for FIRs, UIRs, and other airspace types, with important information about frequencies, cruise altitudes, and operational notes.

Tap-hold anywhere on the map to open the Add to Route window. The names and altitude ranges of any airspace at that location appears in the Airspace section. Tap on each name to highlight the airspace on the map. Tap the Details button to view more in-depth information about the airspace.

Automatic Airspace Highlighting

Airspace Highlighting in ForeFlight helps declutter the map and keeps you aware of the airspace affecting your route.

Available as part of ForeFlight’s data-driven Aeronautical map layer (available with ForeFlight "Plus" subscription plans), Airspace Highlighting changes the contrast of airspace boundaries based on whether your route intersects the airspace at your planned altitude. Airspace that you won’t pass through is dimmed, and airspace that you will pass through or pass near is highlighted.

Controlled Airspace Alerts

Fly more confidently around controlled airspace with multi-stage visual and audio alerts that proactively warn you of approaching airspace with Controlled Airspace Alerts.

Like TFR Alerts, Controlled Airspace Alerts are enabled by default for all ForeFlight users. To toggle or configure these and other alerts, scroll to the bottom of the Map Settings menu to find the Alerts menu, which is also available in the main Settings view, and scroll to the Airspace & NOTAMs section.

Hide Airspace by Altitude

You can declutter ForeFlight’s Aeronautical Map by hiding any airspace above a selected altitude, making it easier to focus on airspace closer to you. Combined with other airspace features like Auto Highlight and selectable airspace types, customizing the map to show only the most relevant airspace is easier than ever.

Aeronautical Maps Enhancements
ForeFlight 8.2 brings the first big update to the global data-driven Aeronautical Maps since their introduction with airspace altitudes, ARTCC frequency stamps, Mode C rings, Class E surface areas, TRSAs, SATRs, and US ADIZ. Aeronautical Maps are available as part of ForeFlight's Basic Plus, Pro Plus, and Business Pro subscription plans, and as an add-on to other plans. Visit foreflight.com/pricing to see what other features are offered on these plans and to upgrade.
Smart Airway Labels
In ForeFlight's Aeronautical Maps, Smart Airway Labels provide at-a-glance information about airways in your route. When your route includes one or more airways, labels appear along each airway segment. As you zoom in the labels expand to show more information, including the airway’s name, MEA, MOCA, if the segment has one, and the magnetic bearing. You can disable airway labels by tapping map settings and turning off Route Labels. Smart Airway Labels are just one more way to get useful information from ForeFlight without having to dig for it.
Global Procedure Advisor

All ForeFlight customers can now access international departures, arrivals, and approaches using Procedure Advisor, expanding the scope of ForeFlight’s global planning capabilities.

These global flight planning features are further enhanced by adding Jeppesen’s industry-leading charts to your ForeFlight account. Check out our other videos on purchasing Jeppesen charts through ForeFlight and linking an existing Jeppesen account to learn more.

Weather Layer Time Slider

ForeFlight’s radar and satellite layers now use an interactive time slider tool that provides more control when viewing and animating weather timestamps.

Icing, Turbulence, and Surface Analysis Layers

ForeFlight’s weather capabilities now include five new layers for icing, turbulence, and surface analysis forecasts, available on Pro Plus, Performance Plus, and Business Performance plans. The Icing and Turbulence layers each have a US and global option, and the Surface Analysis layer provides a global view of isobars and associated pressure readings, and a more detailed view of pressure centers, fronts, troughs, and other features for North America. All five of the new layers are also available on ForeFlight’s web application.

Distance Rings

OLD VIDEO: This video was made before the "More" tab was redesigned from a single page to a pull-out menu, but all of the capabilities you access from "More" are the same as they were before. Visit the ForeFlight Mobile Pilot's Guide.

Keep an eye on how far you are from nearby airports, obstacles, and landmarks using distance rings. You can set the rings to automatically grow and shrink as you change zoom level, or set them to display flight times rather than distances. This simple tool is a must-have for maximizing inflight situational awareness.

TFR Alerts
TFR Alerts enhance your inflight situational awareness by warning you of nearby TFRs, whether or not the TFR layer is selected. If ForeFlight detects that you will enter or pass near a TFR within the next five minutes, it will give you a visual and auditory alert. Alerts are also triggered if you enter a TFR, or fly above or below a TFR at a nearby altitude. You can adjust settings related to TFR alerts by tapping More, then Settings, then scroll down to Alerts.
New In-Flight Alerts
ForeFlight offers new alerts to keep you aware on the ground and in the sky. The Runway Proximity Advisor now provides the length of runway remaining as you taxi on to a runway. Two new in-flight alerts also improve situational awareness in the air - the Sink Rate alerts lets you know when your downward vertical speed becomes excessive, and the 500' AGL alert provides a simple callout when you descend past 500' AGL.
Weather Frequency Callout
Checking your destination airport’s weather is an important step in any pre-landing checklist. Like a helpful co-pilot, ForeFlight automatically displays the weather frequency as you near the airport.
Device Disconnect Alert

Devices that provide wireless inflight data like GPS and weather to your iPad can sometimes disconnect, whether due to a dead battery, connection issues, or human error. Whatever the reason for the loss of signal, the Device Disconnect Alert allows you to quickly take steps to restore the connection or switch to an alternative data source.

Map Touch Action
This video walks you through how to use our Map Touch Action feature. View US VFR Sectional and IFR Enroute chart legend panels directly on the Maps view. Map Touch allows you to rotate through each overlapping chart in turn based on where you tap the chart.
Improved Planning Features

OLD VIDEO: This video was made before the "More" tab was redesigned from a single page to a pull-out menu, but all of the capabilities you access from "More" are the same as they were before. Visit the ForeFlight Mobile Pilot's Guide.

ForeFlight now offers an enhanced flight planning workflow thanks to improvements to aircraft, the Maps view flight plan editor, and the File & Brief view, which is now called “Flights”.

This video is for ForeFlight customers with subscription plans other than Performance Plus, including the original plans and the Basic Plus and Pro Plus plans. If you have the Performance Plus plan, or want to see what is different with that plan, check out our Performance video series.

Procedure Preview
With ForeFlight 7.0, planning gets even better with a more advanced Procedure Advisor and a dramatically improved navigation database that enables visual preview of SIDs, STARs, approaches, and pattern entries. Downloads are significantly faster and use less disk space. FBO locations are also mapped on Taxi Charts for better surface navigation.
Marked Positions

Drop detailed markers along your route and view or share them after the flight using ForeFlight’s Marked Positions feature. Perfect for noting points of interest, conducting search and rescue operations, or plotting your position on oceanic flights, Marked Positions provides a highly-flexible solution for many use-cases. Marked Positions is available with ForeFlight Performance Plus plans.

Map Annotations

Take notes on the fly and mark up charts using ForeFlight’s Map Annotations feature.

Maps Sidebar

Tap to learn about airspace, map elements, and more using the Maps view’s information Sidebar, which lets you dig into details while still interacting with the map.

Tap on most map elements or tap-hold anywhere on the map to open the sidebar. A pulsing green circle indicates the marker or location you tapped, and selecting airspace within the sidebar will highlight it green on the map as well. Tap on other map elements with the sidebar open to load their information into it. Tapping on airways or legs in your route line will highlight those segments with a green outline rather than a circle.

User Map Layers

Visit foreflight.com/map-shapes for additional information about this feature and to download sample KML files.

Import Custom User Charts

In addition to user waypoints and user map layers, ForeFlight now allows you to import User Charts that you can manage and display on the map.

The User Charts feature supports MBTiles, an open source file format developed by MapBox that allows for efficient compression and distribution of large charts. The feature does not yet support vector charts, which can also use the .mbtiles extension. A great tool for creating your own MBtiles is MapTiler, which is free to download and allows you to quickly georeference and export raster charts.

Synthetic Vision
Synthetic Vision takes our hazard awareness platform to the next level with a three-dimensional representation of terrain and obstacle hazards, airport markers, runways, and water features. Check out this highlight video narrated by mapping team member and lead developer for Synthetic Vision, Malcolm Toon. To learn more or purchase visit http://foreflight.com/synthetic-vision/
Global Aeronautical Maps
ForeFlight’s Aeronautical Maps are data-driven, customizable, and powered by an entirely new map engine, purpose-built by ForeFlight’s graphics engineers to deliver a dynamic experience on the ground and in the air.
Color IR Satellite
The Color infrared Satellite layer is an alternative to the original satellite layer (now called Enhanced Satellite) that extends ForeFlight’s weather planning capabilities.
Flight Planning Enhancements

You can now preview all route options visually on an interactive map with Route Advisor. Simply tap through the list to highlight each route on the map, then tap “Select Route” to add it to your flight plan. An interactive Route Preview map in the Flights view provides a quick visual reference of your route, showing the departure and destination airports overlaid on a simple basemap with radar.

There are also enhancements to the flight planning workflow in the Flights view: the airport fields at the top have smart search functionality to help you find the right airports, and the Add Next Flight button makes it faster and easier to plan multi-leg flights by carrying forward departure, aircraft details, payload, fuel policy, and more. You can also export your flight plan in the official ICAO format and print, email, share via AirDrop, or save a copy in ForeFlight Documents.

Improved Planning Features

OLD VIDEO: This video was made before the "More" tab was redesigned from a single page to a pull-out menu, but all of the capabilities you access from "More" are the same as they were before. Visit the ForeFlight Mobile Pilot's Guide.

ForeFlight now offers an enhanced flight planning workflow thanks to improvements to aircraft, the Maps view flight plan editor, and the File & Brief view, which is now called “Flights”.

This video is for ForeFlight customers with subscription plans other than Performance Plus, including the original plans and the Basic Plus and Pro Plus plans. If you have the Performance Plus plan, or want to see what is different with that plan, check out our Performance video series.

Files in Flights

ForeFlight allows you to associate files, documents, and photos with flight plans using the Files in Flights feature, helping you keep important flight resources organized and easily accessible. Files in Flights is included in ForeFlight Performance plans.

Flight Sharing

Flight Sharing in ForeFlight allows you to easily share your planned and filed flights with fellow pilots, co-pilots, or crew members for improved collaboration and more efficient flight planning. Flight Sharing is available for all ForeFlight subscription plans.

Filing ICAO Flight Plans

This video walks you through filing a flight plan in ForeFlight using the ICAO flight plan format, including setting up the necessary fields in your aircraft profiles and using the ICAO flight plan form.

File with a Call Sign
ForeFlight now allows you to add a call sign to flight plans. Enter a call sign contraction and number in the field to file the flight under that call sign; your N number will be included in the flight plan’s remarks so ATC can still access it. If you don’t enter any call sign the flight will be filed under your N number. Learn more about filing with ForeFlight at https://foreflight.com/filing.
Select an FBO on the Flights View

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.

Aviation Weather Tips Every Pilot Should Know
Every day pilots use various weather reports and forecasts to make many routine operational decisions. Knowing how to use this guidance within its limitations is paramount. While pilots are taught the basics, many important details are left out of their primary training. This program will discuss some common mistakes pilots make and provide a few tips on how to properly utilize this weather guidance in their day-to-day preflight planning regiment.
Getting Started with ForeFlight (January 2024)

Join ForeFlight support staff to learn everything you need to get spun up and off the ground with ForeFlight. They will demonstrate the essentials of critical workflows like using the map, setting up your aircraft, the multiple approaches to route planning, as well as tips and tricks to maximize your use of ForeFlight in no time.

Configure Chart and Data Downloads

Setting up your downloads in ForeFlight is easier than ever with new separate menus for Chart/Data selections and Region selections.

ForeFlight for Student Pilots

Join Kendall Stovall and Alex McMillan, both ForeFlight experts and active CFIs, as they explain what every student pilot needs to know about ForeFlight. They will walk you through setting up an aircraft and weight & balance, finding and uploading documents, and other features needed to plan your first flight. Kendall and Alex will also point out helpful features to help users on any subscription plan get the most out of ForeFlight.

New Customer Webinar: Basics of Flight Plan Filing (August 2022)
Join the dynamic duo of Rob MacLeod and Tim Stahl from ForeFlight's FlightOps Team to learn the essentials of filing flight plans and have your questions answered. The two will walk through the entire filing process, from basic aircraft setup to route planning, filling out the flight plan form, and amending, canceling, opening, and closing flight plans. Although this webinar will focus on filing in the U.S., pilots from other countries will still find much of the material helpful to their own flying.
Enhanced and Integrated Weight & Balance

ForeFlight’s Enhanced Weight & Balance capability is now available for all customers, allowing you to more easily create, edit, and plan with your W&B profiles. The new W&B contains features like Standard Weights and Saved Loads to save you time when inputting load information. Migrate legacy W&B profiles or easily set up new ones using our pre-built templates for hundreds of aircraft.

Additionally, with ForeFlight Performance Plus you can integrate your Weight & Balance profiles with Flights, simplifying your preflight workflow and producing more accurate time and fuel calculations.

Improved Planning Features

OLD VIDEO: This video was made before the "More" tab was redesigned from a single page to a pull-out menu, but all of the capabilities you access from "More" are the same as they were before. Visit the ForeFlight Mobile Pilot's Guide.

ForeFlight now offers an enhanced flight planning workflow thanks to improvements to aircraft, the Maps view flight plan editor, and the File & Brief view, which is now called “Flights”.

This video is for ForeFlight customers with subscription plans other than Performance Plus, including the original plans and the Basic Plus and Pro Plus plans. If you have the Performance Plus plan, or want to see what is different with that plan, check out our Performance video series.

Customize the Aeronautical Map

OLD VIDEO: This video was made before the "More" tab was redesigned from a single page to a pull-out menu, but all of the capabilities you access from "More" are the same as they were before. Visit the ForeFlight Mobile Pilot's Guide.

ForeFlight's data-driven Aeronautical Maps allow you to customize which map elements you show or hide. You can also choose between Light, Dark, and Classic map themes and toggle terrain features on and off. With the Aeronautical layer selected you can add or remove airspace, view high or low airways, and adjust label text size. Try mixing and matching the new map settings to find the combination that works best for you.

Enabling Terrain
Having trouble finding the Terrain layer in ForeFlight 8? It just moved next door to the Map Settings menu. You can also recreate the World Map from the Map Settings menu by turning on Place Labels.
Using the Airports View

OLD VIDEO: This video was made before the "Airports" tab was redesigned, but all of the capabilities you access from "More" are the same as they were before. Visit the ForeFlight Mobile Pilot's Guide.

The Airports view is your all-in-one source for any kind of information about airports. From current and forecast weather to runways, procedures, and FBOs, the Airports view is one of the most important places in ForeFlight when it comes to flight planning.

Helpful Web Features
ForeFlight on the web includes helpful features that enable fast flight planning from your desktop browser.
iPad Setup Tips

This video covers some basic iPad settings we recommend to get the best experience from ForeFlight Mobile.

Distance Rings

OLD VIDEO: This video was made before the "More" tab was redesigned from a single page to a pull-out menu, but all of the capabilities you access from "More" are the same as they were before. Visit the ForeFlight Mobile Pilot's Guide.

Keep an eye on how far you are from nearby airports, obstacles, and landmarks using distance rings. You can set the rings to automatically grow and shrink as you change zoom level, or set them to display flight times rather than distances. This simple tool is a must-have for maximizing inflight situational awareness.

Aircraft Manager for Multi-Pilot Accounts

Multi-pilot account administrators can manage and distribute company aircraft profiles to all the pilots on an account, allowing for easier aircraft management and reduced setup time for large accounts.

Shared aircraft appear in the Aircraft list for all pilots on the account, along with a tag showing the email address of the administrator who published the aircraft. Pilots can view the details of shared aircraft and use them for flight planning, but all details of the aircraft are locked from editing by the pilots, including the performance profiles.

If the account administrator makes any changes to a shared aircraft, a “Publish Changes” button will appear in the bottom-right, allowing them to instantly distribute the changes to every pilot on the account. Clicking “Unpublish” will revoke access to the aircraft for all users other than the administrator, and they will no longer be able to see or use the aircraft for flight planning.

Day/Night Auto Transition

Customizing ForeFlight’s look and feel is easier with the new App Theme selector, and the Auto Day/Night setting helps your eyes adjust to changing light levels.

You can find the new App Theme selector at the top of More - Settings. Use the 3-button selector to switch between the Day theme, the Night theme, and the Auto Day/Night setting, which automatically transitions between the Day and Night themes at sunrise and sunset, based on your device’s local time.

Dark App Theme

ForeFlight now allows you to apply a dark theme to the entire app. Go to More - Settings and tap App Theme at the top, then tap Dark. This darkens the background colors on most pages while maintaining highlight colors and prominent white text, so important information is easily visible.

Improved Planning Features

OLD VIDEO: This video was made before the "More" tab was redesigned from a single page to a pull-out menu, but all of the capabilities you access from "More" are the same as they were before. Visit the ForeFlight Mobile Pilot's Guide.

ForeFlight now offers an enhanced flight planning workflow thanks to improvements to aircraft, the Maps view flight plan editor, and the File & Brief view, which is now called “Flights”.

This video is for ForeFlight customers with subscription plans other than Performance Plus, including the original plans and the Basic Plus and Pro Plus plans. If you have the Performance Plus plan, or want to see what is different with that plan, check out our Performance video series.

Multimode Timer

ForeFlight's versatile Multimode Timer is a great way to set inflight reminders for fuel tank switching, time yourself during holds and other procedures, or assist with any other time-based activities during every flight.

Multitasking Support & Major Design Improvements

This "Coming Soon" video was published 2 weeks prior to our May release as a sneak peek of the major changes included it in. These changes are now available in the App Store, along with new Internet Traffic via FlightAware. Visit foreflight.com/12-4 to learn about that and other features included in the release.

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ForeFlight's May 2020 release includes support for Multitasking on iPad, plus a huge collection of design improvements on both iPad and iPhone that establish a fully unified and consistent interface across all devices. 

The result is a more efficient layout, a re-imagined compact More menu, support for re-arranging the Tab order, fullscreen layouts for pages like Checklist and Logbook, and the arrival of virtually all iPad-only features on the iPhone, including the FPL "Bubble Editor" and dedicated Plates and Scratchpad views.

Watch ForeFlight's Lead Product Designer, Ryan McBride, walk through many of these changes and how to use the new Multitasking functionality.

Offline U.S. Address Search

Search for U.S. street addresses without an internet connection with ForeFlight’s Offline Address Search feature. Made to assist with search and rescue, helicopter EMS, and other specialized missions, this feature allows you to find and route to most addresses in U.S. states and territories during a flight. Offline Address Searching is available with ForeFlight Performance plans.

Unified App Search

ForeFlight now provides an expanded search capability that makes it easier and faster to find what you’re looking for, and saves past searches for quick access.

AOPA FBO Fees

ForeFlight displays FBO fees from AOPA’s Airport Directory to help you make more informed flight planning decisions.

Access an FBO’s fees from the FBO detail view by tapping the Fees tab. For each fee ForeFlight shows the type of fee and any notes on the left and the cost on the right. Fees that vary by aircraft type or other factors show a range of costs that you can tap into to see the full breakdown.

Passenger

Passenger is a companion app to ForeFlight Mobile that lets your passengers follow along with the flight so know when they can expect to arrive. Passenger is free to download on the App Store for any recent iOS device, with no account setup required, and all ForeFlight subscribers can share their route with nearby devices running Passenger.

Learn more about Passenger here.

Improved Planning Features

OLD VIDEO: This video was made before the "More" tab was redesigned from a single page to a pull-out menu, but all of the capabilities you access from "More" are the same as they were before. Visit the ForeFlight Mobile Pilot's Guide.

ForeFlight now offers an enhanced flight planning workflow thanks to improvements to aircraft, the Maps view flight plan editor, and the File & Brief view, which is now called “Flights”.

This video is for ForeFlight customers with subscription plans other than Performance Plus, including the original plans and the Basic Plus and Pro Plus plans. If you have the Performance Plus plan, or want to see what is different with that plan, check out our Performance video series.

Flight Planning Enhancements

You can now preview all route options visually on an interactive map with Route Advisor. Simply tap through the list to highlight each route on the map, then tap “Select Route” to add it to your flight plan. An interactive Route Preview map in the Flights view provides a quick visual reference of your route, showing the departure and destination airports overlaid on a simple basemap with radar.

There are also enhancements to the flight planning workflow in the Flights view: the airport fields at the top have smart search functionality to help you find the right airports, and the Add Next Flight button makes it faster and easier to plan multi-leg flights by carrying forward departure, aircraft details, payload, fuel policy, and more. You can also export your flight plan in the official ICAO format and print, email, share via AirDrop, or save a copy in ForeFlight Documents.

Using the Airports View

OLD VIDEO: This video was made before the "Airports" tab was redesigned, but all of the capabilities you access from "More" are the same as they were before. Visit the ForeFlight Mobile Pilot's Guide.

The Airports view is your all-in-one source for any kind of information about airports. From current and forecast weather to runways, procedures, and FBOs, the Airports view is one of the most important places in ForeFlight when it comes to flight planning.

Helpful Web Features
ForeFlight on the web includes helpful features that enable fast flight planning from your desktop browser.
Pack Charts & Weather on Flights

To further streamline your planning workflow on Flights, you’ll find a quick access button to Pack directly below the Flight Log. Just like the ‘suitcase’ button on the Maps view, tap ‘Pack and it will analyze your route and package up all of the charts, data, NOTAM, and weather information (including Icing and Turbulence for Pro Plus and Performance Plus customers) you’ll need to access offline during your flight.

Customize the Aeronautical Map

OLD VIDEO: This video was made before the "More" tab was redesigned from a single page to a pull-out menu, but all of the capabilities you access from "More" are the same as they were before. Visit the ForeFlight Mobile Pilot's Guide.

ForeFlight's data-driven Aeronautical Maps allow you to customize which map elements you show or hide. You can also choose between Light, Dark, and Classic map themes and toggle terrain features on and off. With the Aeronautical layer selected you can add or remove airspace, view high or low airways, and adjust label text size. Try mixing and matching the new map settings to find the combination that works best for you.

Enabling Terrain
Having trouble finding the Terrain layer in ForeFlight 8? It just moved next door to the Map Settings menu. You can also recreate the World Map from the Map Settings menu by turning on Place Labels.
Basemap and Terrain Improvements

The ForeFlight map engine has a significantly upgraded basemap, which now renders more quickly, smoothly, and with sharper depiction of features such as major roads, railways, national parks, and state and national boundaries. There’s also a new “Shaded Terrain” option, which uses grayscale shading to depict terrain, providing the same level of detail as the colored terrain option with less visual distraction.

In the Map Settings menu, choose from multiple presentations: Colored, Shaded, or None.

Hazard Advisor Altitude Preview

Manually control Hazard Advisor’s altitude before a flight to find a minimum altitude route around terrain, then revert to Auto mode during a flight to lock Hazard Advisor to your actual altitude.
Hazard Advisor is available with Pro Plus subscription plans and above.

Scheduled Flight Search

ForeFlight now allows you to search for aircraft tail numbers, call signs, and flight numbers on the Maps view to see recently filed flight plans.

Dark App Theme

ForeFlight now allows you to apply a dark theme to the entire app. Go to More - Settings and tap App Theme at the top, then tap Dark. This darkens the background colors on most pages while maintaining highlight colors and prominent white text, so important information is easily visible.

Aeronautical Maps Enhancements
ForeFlight 8.2 brings the first big update to the global data-driven Aeronautical Maps since their introduction with airspace altitudes, ARTCC frequency stamps, Mode C rings, Class E surface areas, TRSAs, SATRs, and US ADIZ. Aeronautical Maps are available as part of ForeFlight's Basic Plus, Pro Plus, and Business Pro subscription plans, and as an add-on to other plans. Visit foreflight.com/pricing to see what other features are offered on these plans and to upgrade.
Global Aeronautical Maps
ForeFlight’s Aeronautical Maps are data-driven, customizable, and powered by an entirely new map engine, purpose-built by ForeFlight’s graphics engineers to deliver a dynamic experience on the ground and in the air.
Global Procedure Advisor

All ForeFlight customers can now access international departures, arrivals, and approaches using Procedure Advisor, expanding the scope of ForeFlight’s global planning capabilities.

These global flight planning features are further enhanced by adding Jeppesen’s industry-leading charts to your ForeFlight account. Check out our other videos on purchasing Jeppesen charts through ForeFlight and linking an existing Jeppesen account to learn more.

Specify Approach Minimum

Specify an altitude minimum in Procedure Advisor when adding an IFR approach to your route to display the minimum directly on the map for quick reference during final approach.

The Minimum Altitude field is available with ForeFlight Performance plans.

Alternate Advisor

ForeFlight’s Alternate Advisor simplifies the process of choosing a good alternate airport by providing a list of suggestions to help you narrow your options. Alternate Advisor is available with all ForeFlight subscription plans.

Global Graphical NOTAMs

Previously limited to Europe, Graphical enroute NOTAMs are now supported globally with the new NOTAMs map layer. NOTAMs are color-coded based on type, severity, and active times, with new type-based filters available in Map Settings.

Visual Approaches and Traffic Pattern Altitude

Easily add a visual approach or traffic pattern entry to your route with a customizable pattern altitude.

Map Touch Action
This video walks you through how to use our Map Touch Action feature. View US VFR Sectional and IFR Enroute chart legend panels directly on the Maps view. Map Touch allows you to rotate through each overlapping chart in turn based on where you tap the chart.
Weather Layer Time Slider

ForeFlight’s radar and satellite layers now use an interactive time slider tool that provides more control when viewing and animating weather timestamps.

Icing, Turbulence, and Surface Analysis Layers

ForeFlight’s weather capabilities now include five new layers for icing, turbulence, and surface analysis forecasts, available on Pro Plus, Performance Plus, and Business Performance plans. The Icing and Turbulence layers each have a US and global option, and the Surface Analysis layer provides a global view of isobars and associated pressure readings, and a more detailed view of pressure centers, fronts, troughs, and other features for North America. All five of the new layers are also available on ForeFlight’s web application.

User Map Layers

Visit foreflight.com/map-shapes for additional information about this feature and to download sample KML files.

Import Custom User Charts

In addition to user waypoints and user map layers, ForeFlight now allows you to import User Charts that you can manage and display on the map.

The User Charts feature supports MBTiles, an open source file format developed by MapBox that allows for efficient compression and distribution of large charts. The feature does not yet support vector charts, which can also use the .mbtiles extension. A great tool for creating your own MBtiles is MapTiler, which is free to download and allows you to quickly georeference and export raster charts.

Basics of Flight Plan Filing (August 2022)

Join the dynamic duo of Rob MacLeod and Tim Stahl from ForeFlight's FlightOps Team to learn the essentials of filing flight plans and have your questions answered. The two will walk through the entire filing process, from basic aircraft setup to route planning, filling out the flight plan form, and amending, canceling, opening, and closing flight plans. Although this webinar will focus on filing in the U.S., pilots from other countries will still find much of the material helpful to their own flying.

Improved Planning Features

OLD VIDEO: This video was made before the "More" tab was redesigned from a single page to a pull-out menu, but all of the capabilities you access from "More" are the same as they were before. Visit the ForeFlight Mobile Pilot's Guide.

ForeFlight now offers an enhanced flight planning workflow thanks to improvements to aircraft, the Maps view flight plan editor, and the File & Brief view, which is now called “Flights”.

This video is for ForeFlight customers with subscription plans other than Performance Plus, including the original plans and the Basic Plus and Pro Plus plans. If you have the Performance Plus plan, or want to see what is different with that plan, check out our Performance video series.

Flight Planning Enhancements

You can now preview all route options visually on an interactive map with Route Advisor. Simply tap through the list to highlight each route on the map, then tap “Select Route” to add it to your flight plan. An interactive Route Preview map in the Flights view provides a quick visual reference of your route, showing the departure and destination airports overlaid on a simple basemap with radar.

There are also enhancements to the flight planning workflow in the Flights view: the airport fields at the top have smart search functionality to help you find the right airports, and the Add Next Flight button makes it faster and easier to plan multi-leg flights by carrying forward departure, aircraft details, payload, fuel policy, and more. You can also export your flight plan in the official ICAO format and print, email, share via AirDrop, or save a copy in ForeFlight Documents.

Filing ICAO Flight Plans

This video walks you through filing a flight plan in ForeFlight using the ICAO flight plan format, including setting up the necessary fields in your aircraft profiles and using the ICAO flight plan form.

File with a Call Sign
ForeFlight now allows you to add a call sign to flight plans. Enter a call sign contraction and number in the field to file the flight under that call sign; your N number will be included in the flight plan’s remarks so ATC can still access it. If you don’t enter any call sign the flight will be filed under your N number. Learn more about filing with ForeFlight at https://foreflight.com/filing.
Helpful Web Features
ForeFlight on the web includes helpful features that enable fast flight planning from your desktop browser.
Aviation Weather Tips Every Pilot Should Know
Every day pilots use various weather reports and forecasts to make many routine operational decisions. Knowing how to use this guidance within its limitations is paramount. While pilots are taught the basics, many important details are left out of their primary training. This program will discuss some common mistakes pilots make and provide a few tips on how to properly utilize this weather guidance in their day-to-day preflight planning regiment.

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