New Application Designed For iPad From The Ground Up

ForeFlight unveiled an upgrade to ForeFlight Mobile 3 on Saturday, as well as a slight name change. If you've been wondering if ForeFlight Mobile 3 would work on Apple’s iPad, the short answer is "yes," under the name ForeFlight HD. ForeFlight says the HD label means ForeFlight Mobile 3 runs extremely well on the new Apple iPad.  True to ForeFlight style, the company has designed ForeFlight Mobile 3 HD from the ground up for iPad, with every screen crafted specifically to support this remarkable new device.

If you already have ForeFlight Mobile 3, all of the new iPad features come as an update to your existing ForeFlight Mobile 3 app.  Simply download the latest version (v3.2.2) on your phone via the ‘Updates’ tab in the App Store.  This automatically upgrades your current version from ForeFlight Mobile 3 to ForeFlight Mobile 3 HD.  On your iPhone, the app will run exactly like before. But launch it on an iPad, and you’ll see ForeFlight Mobile in full HD!

For existing ForeFlight Mobile 3 subscribers, the upgrade is free.  You can run ForeFlight Mobile 3 on one iPhone and one iPad without needing to buy any additional license or subscription.

For new customers to ForeFlight Mobile 3, the app is a free download from the iTunes App Store and includes the first month of your subscription.  This download runs on both your iPhone and iPad.  You can purchase a subscription extension inside the app: $24.99 for 3 months or $74.99/year. Customers upgrading from any version of ForeFlight Mobile 2 pay only $49.99 for the first year of their subscription.

The app allows users to download airport data for 27,000 airports; NACO plates for the entire US; airport data from UVTripPlanner, the FAA, and the AOPA; plus get HD NEXRAD, satellite and other weather maps and more.

Since redesigning for iPad was a huge task, ForeFlight first focused on features that take advantage of the big display: plates, maps, weather, downloads, and airport data. Some features aren’t yet available when running ForeFlight Mobile 3 HD on the iPad, including:

• Routes screen.
• Flight plan filing and briefing.
• Animation for radar and satellite.
• Aircraft management.

ForeFlight says they are working to add those in a future update.  All functionality is still available when running ForeFlight Mobile 3 HD on the iPhone.

ForeFlight Mobile 3 HD best used for viewing airport information, terminal procedures, charts, and weather. Since the WiFi-only version of the iPad has no GPS receiver (and the 3G iPad’s GPS only works when not in “airplane” mode), the company recommends against using the iPad as a replacement for avionics or for navigation.

FMI: www.foreflight.com