Improve your FlyQ

AOPA has introduced a new member to the FlyQ family. FlyQ EFB is a full-featured application that builds on the popular FlyQ iPhone and Android flight planning software.

Now with moving maps, approach plates, and many other unique and useful features, FlyQ EFB is a must-try for aviation tablet users. The application builds on the initial FlyQ application (now called FlyQ Pocket) that was optimized for smartphones and gives users an experience that is perfectly suited to the iPad. The application works on iPad 2 or newer.

Navigation is done through five tabs on the bottom of the screen—airports, weather, plans, maps, and procedures. That navigation bar and a bar at the top featuring a search box, lock button to avoid inadvertent button pushes, screen brightness adjustment, download manager, and settings menu are consistent throughout the application.

Users of the original FlyQ application (which remains a free resource for all members) will recognize the airports page. Navigation is the same, with nearby airports listed by default, but favorites and recently used airports available by quickly selecting a tab. The airport list gives information that’s quick to browse, including frequencies, weather condition, runway length, and more. Click on one and you’re taken to the airport page with everything you’d expect, including a list of instrument procedures for those who have purchased the VFR and IFR subscription level.

The weather tab is also brought over from FlyQ, with nearby radar, plain language or raw METARs and TAFs, winds aloft, and an area weather briefing shown by default. From here users can look at weather graphics, or use a crosswind calculation tool.

Seattle Avionics, which developed the application in partnership with AOPA, is a leader in electronic flight planning, and it comes through on FlyQ EFB. The plans tab is an easy-to-use flight planning engine that will auto-generate a plan with full route guidance based on airways, direct, and more. Once the plan is complete, the user can read a weather briefing (no need to request one separately), or file a flight plan by pressing a single button.

Unique among full-featured iPad applications is the ability to plan a flight from any FlyQ device and grab it from any other platform. So you can plan your flight on the computer with FlyQ Flight Planner, and then access it from FlyQ EFB. That works back and forth through computer, iPad, or smartphone.

Whether or not the plan is filed, it shows up on the maps tab. This is a full-screen display with sectionals (VFR package), and low altitude or high altitude IFR charts (VFR and IFR package) that show the aircraft’s current location as it moves over the map. Radar, satellite, METARs and TAFs, winds aloft, TFRs, and the flight plan can all be overlaid on the charts. There’s also a status box that shows the GPS status and the age of the displayed weather.

Finally, the procedures tab displays instrument approach charts, which can be selected either through scrolling through the airport’s full range of options, or going to the airports tab and selecting the desired plate. Georeferenced airport diagrams are included for both the VFR and IFR package, which is a huge safety benefit. Georeferenced instrument approaches are available in the IFR package. Another nice feature is that expired plates are clearly labeled as such with a red bar at the top, making it quick and easy to discern what’s current and what’s not.

There are many features that make FlyQ EFB even more user friendly, including the ability to view split-screen. A simple touch of the button in the top menu bar will split the screen in half, giving the user dozens of different viewing combinations. Synthetic vision in 3-D and highway-in-the-sky boxes are also standard in both packages.

There’s also a virtual primary flight display that will operate with an input from the Levil Flight Technology mini attitude and heading reference system (AHRS), which is sold directly from Levil. Finally, while weather and traffic are not available on the initial release, the software is built in such a way that it will work with any weather input that will reciprocate. Those partnerships should be coming soon.

Pricing

AOPA members receive a 30-percent discount on the standard pricing by purchasing the application directly from AOPA’s website. When purchased from here, the yearly VFR package is $69.99, and the VFR and IFR package is $119.99. If purchased directly through the Apple Store, the yearly VFR package is $99.99, and the VFR and IFR package is $174.99.

FlyQ EFB gift subscriptions available

Looking for something for a pilot on your wish list? Gift subscriptions of FlyQ EFB are available online. Just log in to the AOPA website, go to the FlyQ EFB landing page and click on the “Ready to Buy” button on the left to claim your exclusive member rate. Check the box next to “Is this a gift?” on the purchase page, and enter the email address of the recipient in addition to your information. After the purchase is complete, you’ll receive a separate gift acknowledgment email that you can print and present to the recipient.