I’m a newbie to simming and flying, beginning to dabble with IFR flying etc. I’m looking for a good and realistic app/program for airport charts, flight patterns, approaches and more.
I’ve seen people talk about NaviGraph and LittleNavMap, among others, but I’m not sure which one is better, and why. Anyone got any recommendations?
PS: Does anyone know of SimPlates X Ultra and if it’s any good? Seen it on the PlayStore and Youtube, and it looked ok on the box, but it has no written reviews, so I was a bit skeptical about it.
I use ForeFlight only because I am a real world pilot. Full subscription to ForeFlight is expensive but if you want something as real as it gets and connects to MSFS (simconnect stutters included) then that is my recommendation. I am biased though. There are other EFB’s out there and there are free ones as well.
I would go for Navagraph, has a very good way of showing all of your sids and stars at once so it very easy to see which one to choose. Check it out on YouTube. Also at some point it should work with in sim some how.
You will get a huge response to this which reflects the choice and preference variations.
I use Navigraph and it does all I need. It will also integrate into the navdata of MSFS which is a plus. All navdata from a single (Jeppesen) source.
When PMDG arrives here, Navigraph integrates with their built in EFB.
If you are only using MSFS, don’t invest in payware charts and moving maps at the moment. There are lots of features missing and inaccurate in MSFS, which will prevent you to fully exploit those charts. Taxiway namings are off, some VOR/ILS frequencies are off, we are missing quite a lot of approaches, arrivals and departures, no airways, etc…
IMO until MSFS is properly patched for IFR procedures, use freeware moving maps, like Little Nav Map, and manually download charts. Most of the charts are available for public, in various websites. Just google ICAO.pdf
Checked ForeFlights website out and ■■■■! It looks real impressive! Price was a bit much to begin with though, but will definitely keep it in mind for the future
Since you are new I would use Skyvector and Fltplan , both are free and after that if you want the real thing I would go with one of the paid services. The paid services are an almost must have if you ever plan on flying on one of the Virtual Air Traffic Simulation Networks, such as Vatsim , IVAO or pilots edge.
All I want is to be able to see where on the globe I am, and how much time there is between now and my expected arrival time. I would like to see this on my iPad. What do you recommend for this? I got Fltplan but I can’t figure out how to see this info.
LittelNavMap for sure the best product IMO. Been using it daily for 2 years on Prepare flights. Its free, well documented, designer gives great support. Only problem its a bit overwhelming in the beginning because of its many features. And it also supports X-plane, PMDG, FSX and a host of others. Its a Swiss knife for navigation
For flight simming Navigraph is quickly becoming a great EFB. They have announced the addition of VFR charts recently, they are working on MSFS navdata injection and although not as hefty or complete as Foreflight(expensive, real world tool) which also allows the dispatching side of things to be dealt with in app its great when combined with say, for example, simbrief.com.
skyvector.com covers charts only for US, as FAA charts (vfr/ifr) are available to everybody and for free That is how skyvector interactive maps are build basically, kinda like MSFS streaming of photo scenery this streams faa free vfr/ifr sectionals so it looks like one big map. Example US airport with charts: SMX - Santa Maria Pub/Capt G Allan Hancock Field Airport | SkyVector
It is also free and covers vfr/ifr charts for all major eurocontrol states airports among other useful resources. Technically EAD is just a european countries AIP database, all in one place, with search engine and all stuff.
You just need to register, but it is totally free and takes few clicks.
As I was searching the web, I just found exactly what I had in mind. But so far, only for FSX.
Someone made a tool to create Airport charts with diagrams based on the data that is in the Flight Simulator. You can download all his charts for 10.000 airports here:
