10 Popular Apps Used by Pilots and Aviation Geeks

By James Dorian

Pilots are using less and less paper as time goes by. With so many portable gadgets and apps, there’s no use to rely on outdated methods of receiving and noting information. There are hundreds of apps that could be useful for pilots, but they cannot install and use all of them on their devices. They need a smart selection of essential apps, which would improve their productivity and lifestyle. 

Top 10 Apps for Pilots and Aviation Geeks

1.Google Meet

Let’s start with an essential app for a pilot’s lifestyle. Meet app by Google is an absolutely free way to schedule and attend premium video meetings. It’s similar to Zoom, but you don’t need to download it. You can access the service through your computer. 

Why is it essential for aviators? They consistently travel through time zones, so it’s important for them to have a free, yet effective method of communication. It’s good for professional meetings, but for staying in touch with their family as well. Meet is a universal communication tool that works in any situation. 

2.RadarScope

It’s clear that aviators rely on sophisticated radars for their work. But for aviation geeks and pilots who aren’t currently flying, RadarScope is an excellent application. It costs $9.99 in the App Store and Google Play Store. It’s a professional-grade weather radar with warnings for snow squall, flash flood, severe thunderstorm, tornado, and more.

3.Air Navigation Pro

This app is intended to be a pilot assistant. It offers real-time GPS navigation, which enables recreational pilots to track their flights and access a worldwide database of waypoints and airspaces. 

4.Garmin Pilot

Garmin came out with its own app for pilots, which is available for iPhone and iPad. It’s a flight planning and navigation app, which enables them to keep accurate logbooks and avoid storms. Garmin Pilot has plenty of features: optional traffic/weather, electronic flight bag capabilities, global flight plan filing, 3D vision, interactive mapping, and more. 

The reviews on this app are stellar. Pilots say that it offers full-featured navigation, which turns a simple app into an impressive cockpit companion. 

5.CloudAhoy

CloudAhoy is a specialized flight debriefing app. Pilots use it to record their flights with the internal GPS receiver of their tablets. CloudAhoy collects important GPS signals and organizes the compiled information (instrument approaches, maneuver analysis, flight tracks, and more). After that, they can retrieve the data to access it at home.

6.FlightLink

Those who rely on Lightspeed headset can use this companion app to record the entire communication that goes on in their cockpit. They can save and replay the recordings, according to their needs. This is an essential application for flight training, but it’s useful for experienced pilots as well. 

7.ForeFlight9

This is a rather expensive app, with plans of $99.99, $199.99, and $299.99 per year. But it offers huge value for the money. It’s a flight planning app for commercial, civilian, and even military pilots. They use it to get forecasts and current details about the weather, routing, and everything else they need to prepare for a flight. 

The most advanced plan includes upgraded time and fuel calculations, aircraft performance profiles, optimized autorouting, fuel load planning and limit checks, and much more.  

8.SocialFlight

It’s no secret that a pilot’s social life isn’t ideal. They hang out with their staff and spend some time at home with friends, but most of the time they feel deprived of social events. This app can help them make their trips more exciting. It offers an interactive app with aviation events, shows, local breakfast places, fly-ins, and more. 

It’s like a social media application for pilots. They can make friends, arrange meet-ups, upload photos, and more.  

9.FlashPass

The US Customs require an eAPIS passenger manifest when crossing the border. With this app, pilots can save time through an alternative filing method. FlashPass has features like passenger and aircraft profiles, passport scanning, and more. It’s easy to use, and it saves a lot of time for pilots flying internationally. 

10.LiveATC

This is an amazing app that lets you listen to live air traffic control across the globe. The audio is delayed forty seconds, but it’s still very helpful for pilots in training. They can analyze the communication to understand the right way of delivering information to the tower. 

Do You Have the Right Apps?

Whether you’re a pilot in training, an experienced pilot, or an aviation geek, you’ll benefit from the apps listed above. Some of them are expensive, but remember: you don’t need them all. You can choose the essential applications for your toolkit, and start exploring them today.                                                                     

This article is a guest post of James Dorian, who is a technical copywriter. He is a tech geek who knows a lot about modern apps that will make your work more productive. James reads tons of online blogs on technology, business, and ways to become a real pro in our modern world of innovations.