Air Charts stops production

iflyforfun

iflyforfun

Pre-takeoff checklist
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iflyforfun
Just read on AVweb that Air Charts is stopping production of their spiral bound map books. I am really going to miss them, what an excellent product. No matter what, I always had a current and legal set of charts. Easy enough to use even for LONG cross countries as I would tag and number each page. Another great product gone due to increased use of electronics such as FF and declining aviation activity.

Then again, I'm a bit of a Luddite and I don't know how many others used. So, you every try Air Charts, like it or not, why did you stop using?
 
I had a subscription for a few years and liked it over the unwieldy folding variety but still longed for the day when digital charts were an option. It is much easier to find your position on a chart when there is a little plane centered on a moving map background. In my opinion Air charts provided a good product but technology rendered that product obsolete.

A long time Anywhere map user, I upgraded my subscription with Control Vision when they offered digital sectionals. Low enroutes, plates, etc. came later and were very welcome. I flew for a while with complete paper charts as backup, but eventually made the full transition to digital.
 
I subscribed for a number of years and loved them....most economical way to carry current charts I could find. But ForeFlight took that to a whole new level of functionality for less cost and less work on my part.

Sad to see them go, but not completely surprised by it.
 
Used them exclusively for over a decade until I got my first foreflight subscription. The howie keefe books were great for their time, but there's no need for paper anymore.
 
Used them for a decade, but..... I now use Foreflight. Another business model voided by the digital age. Certainly not the first.
 
I started buying them five or six years ago because there were no fully-stocked chart dealers in the local area. They solved the problem of getting current charts for a long trip on short notice.

With the advent of Foreflight, the Air Charts books were relegated to the seat back pocket as a hard-copy backup to the electronics. I thought they were a reasonable investment for that purpose and would have kept buying them.
 
Guess we'll need to find another solution for VFR charts. :dunno:

Maybe we were their only big customer left.
 
Too bad - good product, something to have "just in case." I never once had the batteries on a Howie Keefe go dead.
 
Bummer. They were one of those "DUH! Why didn't I think of that?" ideas when they first came out. Sad to see them go, but times are a'changin'.
 
One word: FOREFLIGHT.

I stopped subscribing to their books when online copies became practical.
 
Another form Air Chart user. Still keep an old copy in the plane, just in case (I need to start a fire). Liked 'em at the time, but have gone digital.
 
EdFred said:
Available for Android....oh wait.
Click to expand...

Well insert your favorite digital chart program that does run on the droids. I've got one but it's still running Eclair and I don't carry it around much.
 
iflyforfun said:
Just read on AVweb that Air Charts is stopping production of their spiral bound map books. I am really going to miss them, what an excellent product. No matter what, I always had a current and legal set of charts. Easy enough to use even for LONG cross countries as I would tag and number each page. Another great product gone due to increased use of electronics such as FF and declining aviation activity.

Then again, I'm a bit of a Luddite and I don't know how many others used. So, you every try Air Charts, like it or not, why did you stop using?
Click to expand...
I used AirCharts for many years (started with them around 1987) and never really liked them all that much. But the alternatives were far worse so I stuck with them until electronic charts became feasible. Initially I went with Jepp charts on a MFD with a tablet PC for backup and when Foreflight came out I dumped the $1000/yr Jepp in favor of FF's $150/yr and haven't looked back.
 
LDJones said:
ForeFlight, Garmin Pilot, WingX....lots of options!
Click to expand...
They all require iPads or tablets and we don't have them yet. They keep saying it's coming but I'll believe it when I see it.
 
I first saw Air Charts when I flew the Mooney out for Tony's graduation party, and he introduced me to them in the 421. I've used them for probably 4 years, and find them easy enough to use.

I was planning on buying an iPad and buying ForeFlight, I guess now I need to do that.
 
Everskyward said:
They all require iPads or tablets and we don't have them yet. They keep saying it's coming but I'll believe it when I see it.
Click to expand...

Have them calculate the annual fuel costs for transporting 50 lbs of charts in every jet on every flight. I bet they cover the technology costs in a fraction of a year!
 
LDJones said:
Have them calculate the annual fuel costs for transporting 50 lbs of charts in every jet on every flight. I bet they cover the technology costs in a fraction of a year!
Click to expand...
50 pounds is nothing, though. I don't think you can even calculate the extra fuel burn. The cost of the paper subscription is another thing, however.
 
LDJones said:
Have them calculate the annual fuel costs for transporting 50 lbs of charts in every jet on every flight. I bet they cover the technology costs in a fraction of a year!
Click to expand...

The airlines like to talk about how much fuel it saves to lose that 50 lbs. Because of how much fuel they burn, they come up with these theoretical numbers in the millions for a major airline (like $1-2 million). I wonder if they can actually measure it given other variables that they have, and my guess is probably not. I'm pretty certain that Mari would never notice in the Twin Cessna, I know I wouldn't.
 
There is a 50 pound difference between myself and most of the other pilots, heck in some cases it's more like 100 pounds. I guess that means we need to only hire small pilots for fuel efficiency. :D
 
Everskyward said:
There is a 50 pound difference between myself and most of the other pilots, heck in some cases it's more like 100 pounds. I guess that means we need to only hire small pilots for fuel efficiency. :D
Click to expand...

Are you including carry-on weights in those comparison??! :D
 
I have an iPad that gets used for little other than inflight use. For all practical purposes it's a dedicated EFB.
 
flyingron said:
I have an iPad that gets used for little other than inflight use. For all practical purposes it's a dedicated EFB.
Click to expand...
same here, mine has all of 2 apps installed, foreflight and the one for the remote gps
 
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