iFlightPlanner by AOPA

Premium features hidden behind higher subscription tiers, or some things that just aren’t well made or optimized for the general aviation pilot. That’s where one of your membership perks, iFlightPlanner for AOPA, comes in.

It has all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a modern flight planner—you can get a weather briefing, file a flight plan, and plan a VFR or IFR routing. You can keep and maintain aircraft information for the next time you plan. It also helps close the gap with features your EFB apps might not have (or charge you extra).

Flying out of Frederick Municipal Airport (FDK) in Maryland, I was exposed to mountain flying for the first time, having learned to fly in the Midwest. iFlightPlanner’s route cross-section has been a major help. It gives you the option to choose a corridor width, and it’ll show you the highest terrain in that corridor along your route. You can also configure the top of climb and top of descent and it will show you a standard descent to your destination and if terrain might affect that descent.

The nav log in iFlightPlanner is clean and easy to read. The one-page “flight document” it makes from your route includes that nav log, route information, airport information, FBO information, and more. If I’m flying to a new area or airport, I enjoy having a one-page that briefs my trip. Worst case, it collects dust behind my tablet on my kneeboard. Best case, it’s a serious aid to help relieve task saturation if I start to get lost in the EFB.

In aviation, we always talk about getting the “full picture.” Be it the weather, the terrain, or the route, iFlightPlanner displays things differently than they might appear on an app or your tablet or phone. I find weather briefings more customizable and easier to read. In conjunction with an EFB in flight, a good flight plan from a different source can help you make sure you’re getting a full picture, every time.

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aopa.org/flightplanner