Latest Update Also Includes Heli Charts, Distance Rings And Doc Search

The latest update from ForeFlight which has just hit the App Store offers a variety of new features, including NAV CANADA Visual Navigation Charts (VNC) and Visual Terminal Area (VTA) charts; FAA helicopter and Gulf of Mexico VFR/IFR charts; document search; distance rings; and a redesigned FBO view.

Version 5.2, which ForeFlight says is the fifth major update already this year, includes digital Visual Navigation Charts (VNC) and Visual Terminal Area (VTA) charts in ForeFlight Mobile through a partnership with NAVCANADA. The new Canada VNC map layer shows the entire mosaic of VNCs, with VTAs automatically appearing as you zoom into bigger metropolitan areas.  The company said in a recent blog post that these charts can be downloaded to your iPad or iPhone for offline use.  The VNC and VTA charts are geo-referenced and optimized for display on the iPad and have a unique new feature: the ability to dynamically hide or show chart legends and change the stacking of charts to maximize clarity of chart features.
 
The complete set of VNC, VTA, IFR enroute (low and high) charts, and Canadian Air Pilot (CAP) are included with the ForeFlight Canada subscription, $149.99 USD per year.  Pilots can purchase or add Canadian coverage at http://www.foreflight.com/buy-canada.  Pilots who already have an existing ForeFlight Canada subscription can immediately start downloading VNC charts upon upgrading to ForeFlight Mobile 5.2 – the new data is included in the existing Canada plan.

Version 5.2 also brings additional chart coverage to U.S. pilots: FAA Helicopter, Gulf of Mexico VFR, and Gulf of Mexico IFR charts.  Enable these map layers by going to More -> Downloads, tap on “United States” in the top Download Settings, then set Helicopter Charts to ON.  Go back to Maps and the new layers are displayed in the map selector.

The VNC and Helicopter map layers allows users to dynamically hide or show chart margins and change the stacking of charts. These capabilities are made possible by packaging the charts in the Flight Bag Tiles (“FBTiles”) database format, an open database specification invented by ForeFlight for packaging geo-referenced charts for use in mobile, desktop, and web applications. The FBTiles specification is free for app makers, website developers, and national Aeronautical Information Publishers (“AIPs”) to use in order to accelerate digital charting initiatives. The specification will appear on GitHub next week.
 
Currently, Flight Bag Tiles are only available for the Canada VNC, U.S. Helicopter, Heli Gulf VFR, and Heli Gulf IFR map layers.  To enable chart legends for these layers, tap the Map settings gear icon and set Chart Legends to ON.  Simply single-tap on a chart to see its legend.  Only one chart legend can be viewed at a time.

Enabled in Settings, the new Distance Rings feature displays 3 concentric rings around your aircraft’s current location, allowing you to quickly get a sense of distance to nearby features.  Based on either time or distance values, the rings give quick estimates for time enroute or nautical miles to a nearby storm cell, traffic target, shoreline, or anything else shown on the Map. Green arrows on the rings animate smoothly to show your current track along the ground, providing yet another indication of where you’ll be in the future, and when.  There’s even an automatic scale setting that keeps the rings in view as you zoom in and out on the Maps.  From 2nm to 2000, the rings will provide a continuous reference from your aircraft.
 
The Document Engine on the iPad has been completely revamped to make it faster and more feature-filled.  Tap on the new magnifying glass to display the search window then start typing.  The search is extremely speedy, even in multi-hundred page documents like NOTAMs. When creating a new bookmark for a document, users can now give it a name to help you easily locate it later.  Documents also respond to "pinch-to-close" allowing quick access to the documents binder.

The FBO view has been redesigned to present more detailed information about facilities and amenities at local airports.

(Images provided by ForeFlight)

FMI: www.foreflight.com