ForeFlight for student pilots

[Joe Williamson]

I just got ForeFlight and have been going through it inputting the plane profile and weight and balance etc. But are there any tips or settings you would recommend for a student pilot?

 

[midlifeflyer]

I think that's something to discuss with your instructor. I say that because I can envision different instructors incorporating EFBs into training at different times and in different ways.

 

[FancyG]

Settings > Extended Centerlines helped me visualize setting up pattern entries.

 

[danhagan]

From Geezer Geek Pilot right here (Youtube explanation available "Foreflight Quick Tip: Where's the Airport?):

After you graduate and are taking long XC trips: FPL - Procedures - Traffic Pattern

Tip is for hard to see runways, that usually lack paint ... DON'T use in a high traffic environment!

 

[Salty]

I’m still of the opinion that it’s best to train without the gps. Even though they rarely fail, they do occasionally. I’d want to have it as part of my flying dna to be able to navigate without one. That’s hard to do if you use them even sporadically in training.

Jmo

 

[Pinecone]

I agree. I would teach students without GPS and without EFB.

Then integrate them later.

 

[rhkennerly]

There is a lot of good advice here already. Learning to fly and learning to navigate are two completely different things. Don't confuse them. However, there is nothing wrong with plotting a tiny 5 mile cross country in Foreflight before every lesson. Then send it to Flights and get a full weather briefing before you takeoff: METAR, TAFs, Winds Aloft, Weather Synopsis, NOTAMS, SIGMETS. Think of it as the ground portion of your flight training. You'll be better prepared for your lesson and a better pilot in the end.

Regardless of whether you're using Foreflight or learning paper and plotter navigation, I'd recommend you standardize your method to avoid conversion errors. (The written test will always have conversion error distractors in problems (such as mixed statue miles per hour and nautical mile distances or rate questions), so it's best to be disciplined from the beginning).

(found in foreflight>settings>units)

1. airspeed knots (unless your particular plane and POH is so old it only has Statute miles)
2. nautical miles
3. altitude feet
3. pressure inHg (inches of mercury)
4. US Gal
5. temp in Centigrade

(Centigrade because weather briefs & ATIS use C and because several rules of thumb rely on centigrade:
--Fog: 2 degrees C between ambient and dew point suggest fog;
--Lapse Rate: 2 degree C decrease in temp per every 1k ft.; and
--the lastest Koch Chart for Density Altitude only shows C--Standard Day is 15C at 29.92 and sea level).

You don't have to know the equivalent between F and C, just that 27 C is hot, damn hot, Zero C is freezing & 15C is part of Standard Day (actually, 59 F)

Reduce the clutter:

ignore airspace and traffic over 10k,
turn off airways, navaids and waypoints

But turn on all Airspace, except maybe Class E, to keep you out of trouble.
set the opacity for TFRs, PJA, SUA & MOA, NOTAMs and Controlled to about 50% (same for weather radar, if you turn it on).

Turn on all Cultural Elements & place labels

Oh, and get the Sporty's E6B app. I worship my prayer wheel. But I've switched to Sporty's E-E6B.

 

[WDD]

M2C - Yes, learning to use FFlight, Garmin Pilot, IFly, or whatever is an important part of your pilot education.

Tricks? Besides watching You Tube videos, just jump in and play around with it.

For a new student, it is a must have IMHO for weather at your home airport and where you'll be training, TFR's, radio frequencies, runway patterns, runway lengths, etc. When you get your IFR it will be even more helpful.

Besides the things you do before you get in the cockpit, using it as a moving map for situational awareness of where you AND other traffic are (via ADSB) is also very helpful as a student.

 

[Joe Williamson]

Thanks everyone this is all very helpful.

 

[Pinecone]

You don't have to know the equivalent between F and C, just that 27 C is hot, damn hot,

27C is MILD.

37C is 98.6F (body temp).

I have been somewhere where the temps hit 50C, that is DAMN hot.

And one trip, I went from +35C (HOT) to -30C (DAMN cold) in about 14 hours.

 

[ahmad]

Student pilot here too. I have my sports pilot lic but working on my ppl. I too just got the foreflight and the ipad mini. I am an android guy all the way but foreflight is available on apple products only. I was super annoyed that I now had to play with and learn apple stuff. Tried the garmin pilot app and found it to be not very user friendly. Surprisingly, the foreflight has been super awesome and easy to use. I just got it a few days ago so I have lots to learn and figure out but it seems pretty straight forward. What I am trying to figure out is how the ADSB traffic would work. I am assuming I would need to get sentry to get the traffic data?!?
The world we live in is truly amazing. For what it is worth I also have the app called Avare. It is free and does give navigational data but not always reliable at higher altitude or when cell service is not available. I use it as a triple back up in case everything fails.

 

[WDD]

You link the FFlight into your ADSB IN from the plane’s transponder either by blue tooth or WIFi signal. If the transponder does not have ADSB IN then yes you’ll need a Stratus, Sentry, or some other ADDB Out product.

Edit - fixed my dyslexia

 

[guest user]

What I am trying to figure out is how the ADSB traffic would work. I am assuming I would need to get sentry to get the traffic data?!?

What you're looking for is something to feed the information to ForeFlight. Your transponder may do it, your GPS unit may do it, but each plane will probably be configured differently, so you'd have to look around to find the source and how to connect to it.

In my case, I decided I wanted a consistent solution, so I ended up buying a Stratus 3, which provides all the information foreflight needs. GPS, AHRS, and ADSB in. I put it up on the instrument panel on the little rubber mat provided, link my iPad to it, and done. Never had an issue with battery and it allows me to review the data saved on the Stratus if I want to at a later date. Yes, FF saves the data too, but I've had a time or two where I had to fire the Stratus back up after the flight for it to sync to FF.

Another option I looked at was building a StratuX (a raspberry pi clone of the Stratus) but the price between a used Stratus and a StratuX kit was so close that I decided to just buy the commercial product.

 

[Pugs]

What I am trying to figure out is how the ADSB traffic would work. I am assuming I would need to get sentry to get the traffic data?!?

In the plane, yes, you'll need some traffic receiver but at home just select Traffic on the pulldown with an internet connection and you will see what traffic will look like (if that's what you meant)

 

[WDD]

Another option I looked at was building a StratuX (a raspberry pi clone of the Stratus) but the price between a used Stratus and a StratuX kit was so close that I decided to just buy the commercial product.

I have a Stratux that a club member generously gave me as he no longer used it. Very grateful. I would not recommend buying a Stratux however, vs just taking the pain of buying a Stratus 3 (which uses the open code making it usable by almost all apps, including of course F Flight).

When the price was much lower, it made some sense. Now as Pugs pointed out the cost delta isn't that much, go with the rock solid Stratus 3.

 

[Gary Ward]

I got my I pad and FF a couple weeks before my PPL checkride. The FAA DPE spent almost an hour out of a 90 minute oral quiz teaching me about FF and setting up my weight and balance on FF for the plane I was going to fly for the checkride. He was big fan of FF and it reduced how many questions he hit me with during my oral! lol

 

[guest user]

win-win

 

[LesGawlik]

FF is an amazing product. I just recently emailed them to request a feature, that the total from the W&B be transferred automagically from the W&B screen to the T/O and Landing calculation pages. I received a phone call from Tech Support saying that the feature was already there, and this is how you modify your set up to take advantage of it. I have received a number of other tech tips and pointers in a matter of a few minutes to an occasional hour. Truly remarkable level of support.

 

[WDD]

I got my I pad and FF a couple weeks before my PPL checkride. The FAA DPE spent almost an hour out of a 90 minute oral quiz teaching me about FF and setting up my weight and balance on FF for the plane I was going to fly for the checkride. He was big fan of FF and it reduced how many questions he hit me with during my oral! lol

Assuming you passed..... CONGRATS!

FF is an amazing product. I just recently emailed them to request a feature, that the total from the W&B be transferred automagically from the W&B screen to the T/O and Landing calculation pages. I received a phone call from Tech Support saying that the feature was already there, and this is how you modify your set up to take advantage of it. I have received a number of other tech tips and pointers in a matter of a few minutes to an occasional hour. Truly remarkable level of support.

I love F Flight - except that it only works on Apple products. These old eyes would really appreciate a brighter tablet for those sunny days. And something that doesn't overheat.
(A true first world problem! LOL)

 

[Gary Ward]

Assuming you passed..... CONGRATS!
I did and thanks in 2016.



I love F Flight - except that it only works on Apple products. These old eyes would really appreciate a brighter tablet for those sunny days. And something that doesn't overheat.
(A true first world problem! LOL)

 

[ahmad]

Op watch this webinar on YouTube. Pretty much covers everything you need to know.

p.s after watching that I upgraded to performance plus subscription.

 

[Pinecone]

You link the FFlight into your ADSB out from the plane’s transponder either by blue tooth or WIFi signal. If the transponder does not have ADSB IN, then yes you’ll need a Stratus, Sentry, or some other ADDB IN product.

FTFY

ADSB IN. ADSB Out is what your transponder does (or an ADSB out device).

ADSB IN is what gives you traffic and weather and other info.

 

[WDD]

FTFY

ADSB IN. ADSB Out is what your transponder does (or an ADSB out device).

ADSB IN is what gives you traffic and weather and other info.

Thanks - I knew better….

 

[Tyler Pope]

I'm also a student pilot that just signed up for FFlight. My CFI said there's no downside at my stage in training.

I can really appreciate how much time and increased safety it offers.

 

[robin ardoin]

I'm also a student pilot that just signed up for FFlight. My CFI said there's no downside at my stage in training.

I can really appreciate how much time and increased safety it offers.

Use the included log book in addition to your paper book.

 

[Tyler Pope]

I plan to. Thanks.

 

[midlifeflyer]

I love F Flight - except that it only works on Apple products. These old eyes would really appreciate a brighter tablet for those sunny days. And something that doesn't overheat.
(A true first world problem! LOL)

Interestingly, brighter means more likely to overheat.

Fortunately, these old eyes haven't had a not-bright-enough problem yet, but I do use the accessibility zoom to enlarge things once in a while. So far, no overheats in almost a dozen years.

 

[Profileclimb]

The EFB is the first thing the DPE fails before you get to the airplane, its wise to become proficient with paper until you get your license as paper isn’t going away and will always be on every FAA test.