Tablet Flight Planners

[Daddy O]

I have an ASUS Android tablet for a kneeboard, and have been testing different flight planning apps and they all seem to be missing one thing: Compatability with tec routes.

I'm playing with the Garmin app right now, and though it seems quite comprehensive (and very pretty) there is no interface to import any of the favored routes for flight planning. Does ForeFlight?

[Anthony Santanastaso]

I'm not sure about importing routes off the top of my head, but Foreflight does have the latest TEC routes available.

In Maps, put your departure and arrival airport and press Search. Then, click on the "Routes" button and it will offer you all the available TEC routes. Select one and the route will be drawn on the map.

[Keith Smith]

The only bummer is that, afaik, it doesn't understand which routes are for turboprops/jets and which are for pistons. It'll show both (by name only, ie, BURN31, BURN30). It's utility, then, is relegated to you picking up a clearance, which in real life will either be a full route clearance, or a clearance involving the TEC route ID, and then matching it to the route in foreflight after the fact.

[Daddy O]

The Garmin unit I am testing today does not have any access to tec routes, and has trouble importing the copied text. It understands the airway v186, but you have to give it an entry or exit point (without a map to look at-just a list of checkpoints.) and it does not like radials (230POM). You wind up doing a lotta correction in the graphical edit screen whjich is pretty cool actually. It also has widgets that can show a variety of data about the airports you are passing over (winds aloft, fuel prices, tfr's, etc.) and the widgets are fairly detailed.

I was using the FlightPlanner site the other date, and it accesses the tec routes well, and even allows you to file with PilotEdge right from the web page (and it's tablet friendly). I thought it was a really good idea to promote PE with the web filing option. Kieth, have you thought about going after the tablet apps as well? Get Foreflight to file to DUATS or PilotEdge. Go after garmin and Naviator as well.

Well, the simulator(s) is booting. I am off to test the Garmin app with an app that takes location data from Xplanes and feeds it to my tablet's GPS. See how the Garmin software works at FL20.

[Keith Smith]

Yes, I spoke with the CEO of ForeFlight during a recent radio show and the topic of filing came up. That's the direction ForeFlight is going to go, there's just no sign how quickly they'll do it.

[kullery]

Also note that ForeFlight continues to have issues in determining TEC routes for certain airport pairs. Their logic is misinterpreting situations when airports in the vicinity of KLAX are influenced by the KLAX direction of operation. For example, ForeFlight will offer CSTN46 and CSTN43 for KVAX-KLAX, when there is no valid TEC route for this route. They are mistakenly assigning these routes because these ARE valid routes for KVAX to KBUR, KWHP and KVNY when KLAX is operating to the EAST. The A/FD designates this with the notation “(LAXE)”, but ForeFlight misinterprets this as a valid route for KVAX-KLAX.

In addition to the issue Keith mentioned (identify appropriate route for each aircraft classification), ForeFlight does not distinguish between various routes which are dependent upon KSAN, KSNA and KLAX direction of operation. For example, for KSNA to KSAN ForeFlight will offer CSTN31, CSTN20, CSTN19 and CSTN33 but never tell you that CSTN20 and CSTN33 are only valid when KSAN is operating to the east.

ForeFlight has acknowledged these issues but no firm date for when it will be addressed.

I have tried a number of other flight planning applications and online planning tools and have yet to find one which reliably handles all of the various TEC route exception situations. Even the FAA’s Preferred Routes Database Query tool yields incorrect results for destinations in the vicinity of LAX. This is what led me to develop my own TEC route search on MyFlightRoute.com.

[Daddy O]

Yep, that site of yorn kicks ass. Works on a tablet (the FAA still hasn't fixed that issue on their tec lookup site.)

But at least Foreflight is working with tec routes. They can always patch the issues they are having in that area. None of the other flight apps are incorporating TEC routes into their system at all. However, Foreflight has said they do not intend to create an android version.

Just finished running thru the Garmin software. It worked so well that between the Garmin app and the auto pilot the flight was so easy that I jumped into the right seat of my simulator and started flying another airplane while the main sim slowly woked its way through hardball IFR weather outside of KCMA with total precision. On the downside though, there was no widget to give you airport frequencies---you had to get them from the charts. But the Garmin app does provide SafeTaxi (for $30 a year) and the main app for $50, and moving charts for another $50. It is a nice app, but needs a few more tweaks to earn the price. It did work very well with my Xplane GPS app though.

Also tried Naviator for a while. OK app, $5 a month or $50 a year, but it suffers from a poor navigational scheme when you need charts and frequencies. It crashes with the Xplane-gps app. But if you can't have Foreflight then either of these would be something to test for a month or two. I suspect that the Garmin app will improve quickly. Garmin will exploit the android market left wide-open by ForeFlight and their foolish allegiance to the Ipad. Android will own the morrow.

[cvenable]

I'm biased because I think ForeFlight is the greatest app of all time, but I always start in FF map mode and try various departure/arrival/route combos until I find one that is sufficiently complex and will keep the controllers busy. If a TEC route is available, I pull up Safari on the iPad where I always have key sites like FAA route management, ICAO aircraft codes, and equipment suffixes up and at the ready. I'll punch in the airports on the FAA page and compare the official route info to what FF is showing me. I'll pick the appropriate route, file with PE, and off I go. It's a bit cumbersome, I guess, but I've done it so much now that it doesn't bother me.

[Daddy O]

I have been playing with the Garmin app. It is very pretty, has a lotta practical info in intuituve places, but no tec routes, and clumsy access to the flightplan. Only got to try it online a couple of times, but worked well with the GPS app and Xp10. It runs about fifty bucks a year for all the memberships you need to power the software. Has a neat instrument panel mode with an array of options. Knowing Garmin, it will eventually rival Foreflight. Garmin wants to become the Windows of earth navigation.