When it comes to EFB apps for general aviation on the iPad ForeFlight seems to be the top of the heap in terms of users. One of the primary reasons why people say they prefer ForeFlight is the ability to overlay instrument approach plates over the sectional and enroute charts providing a great deal of situational awareness for instrument pilots when setting up and shooting an approach. Garmin Pilot has been steadily catching up to ForeFlight in terms of features, and with their latest pre-Oshkosh release they’ve now knocked that advantage off the ever-shortening list.
In Garmin Pilot, accessing this newest feature is easy and intuitive. Simply tap the airport in question on the moving map, select the airport from the ring menu, and then the “PROC” page to be presented with the list of available approaches. This works not only for the airport selected as the destination for the active flight plan but also for any other airport on the map.
Another welcome addition is the ability to easily edit the current flight plan from the moving map page. Previously you would have to navigate to the “flight plan” page to edit or add a flight plan onto the moving map display. A previous update had added the ability to easily plan and file flight plans right from this page, which is great, but it still can be a bit of a pain when ATC gives you a full route clearance while climbing out of an untowered airport. With the latest update pilots can alter the flight plan quickly and easily by simply tapping the bar along the top of the moving map with the same functionality as the “flight plan” page. If I was a betting man I’d expect the “flight plan” page to go the way of the Dodo here shortly.
When it comes to the “Garmin Pilot vs. ForeFlight” debate I’m firmly in the Garmin Pilot camp. There have definitely been some deficiencies, but GP has been continuously making up ground and even pushing ahead in some places. This is another great step for iPad users, but there’s no indication when this same feature set will translate over to the Android platform.