Foreflight is now Boeing

I bet that Santa's reindeer will vanish from Foreflight METARs and TAFs next December. We'll no longer see this:

ForeFlight-reindeer-games-METAR.jpg
 
Since most of the equipment in the aircraft I fly is Garmin, does it make sense to switch over Garmin Pilot from FF? I.e., better integration with Garmin devices, similar operation and displays?

It's been a great run with FF for the last several years, but I see no advantages to going with Boeing, despite the attempts by some brave and perky soul from FF on Facebook to do damage control.
 
You guys who may be interested in entertaining other options be sure to check out the free trial of iFly. It's feature complete across Android, iOS and even Windows. iFly GPS features
 
It sure seems that a vast majority of current FF customers are seriously considering jumping ship. I wonder how much revenue FF pulls in annually?
 
Wonder what Boeing paid?
 
Lachlan said:
It sure seems that a vast majority of current FF customers are seriously considering jumping ship. I wonder how much revenue FF pulls in annually?
Click to expand...
I'll admit that I am thinking about it. But I'm not going to do anything until I see any evidence that the dire predictions are coming true.

I hope this doesn't get me banned, but I think it is like all those people (from both parties) that said they were leaving the country if their candidate didn't get elected President in the past few elections. Very few of them actually left.
 
Last edited:
Challenged said:
You guys who may be interested in entertaining other options be sure to check out the free trial of iFly. It's feature complete across Android, iOS and even Windows. iFly GPS features
Click to expand...

For many of us, the only real choices are FF or Garmin Pilot because we have a FlightStream 210/510 in our airplanes and those are the only apps it works with. One of the top reasons I plan flight with FF is that I can file IFR in the app, and push one button to have the cleared route copied from the iPad into my panel-mounted GTN750.
 
Lachlan said:
It sure seems that a vast majority of current FF customers are seriously considering jumping ship. I wonder how much revenue FF pulls in annually?
Click to expand...

I must admit that my first thought hearing the acquisition news was to jump ship. Now I am taking a wait and see approach before making the switch. I cant see how Boeing would have any interest in general aviation. This leads me to believe that they are capturing the EFB market for the airline/transport/military category side. ForeFlight started in general aviation but in recent years developed products aimed at military and jet markets. That what I suspect Boeing is after. I don't blame Boeing, they make airliners and military planes. That's their market. So we shall see what happens. I can move to Garmin pilot pretty easy. I have a Garmin panel so that makes the most sense. But I have always liked the Foreflight product. If that stays the same or improves for me, then I have no issue with stay with a Boeing company. But if they raise prices or force some unwanted changes, I wont hesitate to try different options.
 
Challenged said:
Seattle Avionics (FlyQ) didn't waste any time in pouncing on this news: "As you may have heard, Boeing just purchased ForeFlight. You may remember that Boeing also purchased Jepp about 20 years ago. That had the expected effect of stopping Jepp's innovation, increasing prices, and shifting their focus away from General Aviation. Will this happen to ForeFlight? Only time will tell for certain but the past is a very good predictor of the future...I would suggest that this is a great time to switch from ForeFight to FlyQ"
Click to expand...

While I don't have any insider information, does anyone really believe that Steve P and the folks over at Seattle Avionics wouldn't do the same if they were offered it from a much larger company?

mcdewey said:
Since most of the equipment in the aircraft I fly is Garmin, does it make sense to switch over Garmin Pilot from FF? I.e., better integration with Garmin devices, similar operation and displays?

It's been a great run with FF for the last several years, but I see no advantages to going with Boeing, despite the attempts by some brave and perky soul from FF on Facebook to do damage control.
Click to expand...

That is what I am most likely going to do. FF has been fine, and I have tried Garmin Pilot in the past. What kept me coming back to Foreflight over and over was simple things like the ability to see the ceilings across the whole region with a simple number overlay rather than just VFR/IFR colors. They may be able to do that now, but not in combination with other layers on at the same time. Foreflight allowed you to overlay far more things at once and the decluttering was excellent.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Yes, but again, there's no reason to toss it yet, nor freak out like people are doing. Change is constant, and ForeFlight could have gone down the tubes without Boeing as well.

Frankly, if I were an Android person, this would be exciting to me. Boeing has the resources to triple the size of the development team to enable an Android version, and they have good reason to not be beholden to Apple. If you wanted an Android version, I would think that the chances now are WAY better than they were before...
Click to expand...

I'm considering switching to ForeFlight but I hate most all Apple products. If they put together an Android version and make t compatible with Stratus equipment, I'm on it.
 
DesertNomad said:
For many of us, the only real choices are FF or Garmin Pilot because we have a FlightStream 210/510 in our airplanes and those are the only apps it works with. One of the top reasons I plan flight with FF is that I can file IFR in the app, and push one button to have the cleared route copied from the iPad into my panel-mounted GTN750.
Click to expand...

Absolutely a valid point and completely understand this. I believe Avidyne support is in the works for iFly, but I would doubt Garmin is going to offer up that ability to any outside competitors. Currently iFly itself is the most advanced piece of equipment in my airplane, so I don't have these particular panel-mount compatibility concerns at present.
 
chartbundle said:
I have never once gone through a purchase where the new corporate overlords didn't make things much much worse.
Click to expand...

Like I said, I went through two of them... as I noted with the second one... having a mantra that change is good... well.... here it is 15 years later and we're still kicking... yes, I have been recruited by to competition but I have decided to stay put.

I do agree that sometimes having a big corporate overlord can create problems, but seeing the glass as being half full, there isn't a problem that can't be fixed or find a work-a-round..
 
Last edited:
So last night I got back on AirNav, 1800WXBrieff, etc... Also did some web searching and there is a ton of free stuff out there available to us.. I know that Fore flight does everything in one convenient package and it is pretty slick... but free.... well it is for me! :D
 
Challenged said:
Absolutely a valid point and completely understand this. I believe Avidyne support is in the works for iFly, but I would doubt Garmin is going to offer up that ability to any outside competitors. Currently iFly itself is the most advanced piece of equipment in my airplane, so I don't have these particular panel-mount compatibility concerns at present.
Click to expand...
Yup -- Avidyne is very easy to work with and has well documented interfaces. Expect to see an integration in the near future.

We strive to be an open product and interface/integrate with the avionics that are in our customer's cockpit.

dave
VP Business Development
iFly GPS
 
Scrabo said:
http://aerovie.com/ Isn’t bad, it’s FF lite
Click to expand...
Thx for the link. I wasn't familiar with this app. It does quite a bit, non proprietary connections, interfaces with Avidyne IFDs and Apple Watch. It appears it has all the weather bells and whistles as well as all charts and plates for 69 bucks..Not bad.

I wish I had Foresight before I bought Foreflight :)
 
Last edited:
Dstclair said:
Yup -- Avidyne is very easy to work with and has well documented interfaces. Expect to see an integration in the near future.

We strive to be an open product and interface/integrate with the avionics that are in our customer's cockpit.

dave
VP Business Development
iFly GPS
Click to expand...

Hi Dave,

Quick question, does the iFly APP support external units like Bad Elf, Stratus 2s, etc....?
 
Ventucky Red said:
Hi Dave,

Quick question, does the iFly APP support external units like Bad Elf, Stratus 2s, etc....?
Click to expand...

We support most ADS-B/AHRS/GPS devices, including the Bad Elf. We do not support the Stratus 2s since FF has it locked. We do support the Stratus 3, though, since it is an 'open' product.
 
I'm sure that Sumeru Equity Partners made out well too and likely pressured the FF team to sell out.
 
But why did Boeing buy it?

1. It sees nice sales growth over time and will keep it generally the same
2. They want something of their own for their planes and didn't want to start from scratch
3. They want to create a new product and take out the largest competitor they could
4. FF features were to close to an end and the FF peeps wanted out
5. They want/need something that is Part XXX friendly and this was their easiest play
6. Other???
 
I'm surprised at the number of peeps who instantly mentioned jumping ship. I mean if anheuser busch bought guinness, I'd drink MORE guinness, not less. and I certainly wouldn't start drinking coors light. so I guess what I'm saying is, have a beer and chill, wait to see what happens. u can always jump ship at any time.
 
I would combine 1 and 2 and then add 5. There isn't going to be much growth in FF as it is, but if you take integration with FF into their aircraft, then add in a nominal fee to the airlines, boom, instant growth in sales.
 
eman1200 said:
I'm surprised at the number of peeps who instantly mentioned jumping ship. I mean if anheuser busch bought guinness, I'd drink MORE guinness, not less. and I certainly wouldn't start drinking coors light. so I guess what I'm saying is, have a beer and chill, wait to see what happens. u can always jump ship at any time.
Click to expand...
I read that as "have a beer and chili". it sounds like good advice
 
Dstclair said:
We support most ADS-B/AHRS/GPS devices, including the Bad Elf. We do not support the Stratus 2s since FF has it locked. We do support the Stratus 3, though, since it is an 'open' product.
Click to expand...

OK, I got the free 30 day trial, and already have Bad Elf and the app on my iPad... I like what I am seeing so far... How do I know it is using the Bad Elf and not the iPads internal GPS... I am getting a "Weak GPS Signal on the screen. Foreflight lets us know what is connected under devices... Didn't see anything in the user manual on this..
 
Katamarino said:
Complete rubbish. This might just barely apply to pilots whose most adventurous trip is 40nm for breakfast at the weekend. For anyone who actually flies to go places, the ease of access to information that the new apps/devices give mean a huge improvement to capability and safety.
Click to expand...

Unless you are buying the Jepp chart option with the FF subscription, your argument is empty.
 
Clip4 said:
Unless you are buying the Jepp chart option with the FF subscription, your argument is empty.
Click to expand...

Hmm... who owns Jepp? And soon ForeFlight?

Will be fun to hear all the anti-garmin gang come back with their "this is too expensive" laments once they're even more tightly coupled to a corporate overlord.
 
Lachlan said:
It sure seems that a vast majority of current FF customers are seriously considering jumping ship.
Click to expand...

A handful of people here =/= the vast majority of customers, by any stretch of the imagination.

Dstclair said:
Yup -- Avidyne is very easy to work with and has well documented interfaces. Expect to see an integration in the near future.

We strive to be an open product and interface/integrate with the avionics that are in our customer's cockpit.

dave
VP Business Development
iFly GPS
Click to expand...

So, uh... Are you going to integrate with the Garmin stuff in my panel? ;)

OK, that is a semi-serious question. If so, can you do synthetic vision off my GTX 345 AHRS as well as a moving map/chart on the screen at the same time?
 
Ventucky Red said:
OK, I got the free 30 day trial, and already have Bad Elf and the app on my iPad... I like what I am seeing so far... How do I know it is using the Bad Elf and not the iPads internal GPS... I am getting a "Weak GPS Signal on the screen. Foreflight lets us know what is connected under devices... Didn't see anything in the user manual on this..
Click to expand...
In iOS the position source is outside of the apps control. FF must have checked to see if something was connected to the iPad through the iOS but there is not a way to determine which GPS is actually providing the position since iOS will automatically select the GPS that has the best signal. FF was only reporting that it was available. You might try turning on airplane mode which should disable the internal GPS, and then see if we're receiving the external signal. I'm not entirely sure that this doesn't disable Location Services, though.
 
Ravioli said:
Will be fun to hear all the anti-garmin gang come back with their "this is too expensive" laments once they're even more tightly coupled to a corporate overlord.
Click to expand...

I don't think the "anti-Garmin gang" was using ForeFlight either... They were using things like WingX, FlyQ, etc because they're the cheapest of us cheap bastards. ;)

I'm not a Garmin PIlot user for the most part, other than the Database Concierge, because I like ForeFlight. But, I also have a panel full of Garmin toys that I really like.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top