By Dave Hirschman
ForeFlight has created a new flight planning tool for individuals and corporate flight departments that simplifies complex calculations and suggests optimal routes and best available fuel prices. ForeFlight’s Performance Plus flight planning software provides fast and accurate performance and route calculations for high-performance piston, turboprop, and jet aircraft.
“Many of the new capabilities are made possible by our large library of aircraft performance data and our state-of-the-art AviationCloud flight planning engine,” said Tyson Weihs, ForeFlight co-founder and CEO. “Pilots will be amazed with how fast they can create, brief, and file complex flight plans from an iPhone, iPad, or browser. Individual and business customers are going to have more accurate flight planning calculations, save time, and save a lot of money.”
ForeFlight created a sophisticated global flight planning and route optimization network, as well as an extensive and detailed library of aircraft performance profiles. The company promises accurate performance planning for a wide range of aircraft flying at different weights, altitudes, and speeds. Customers can create aircraft profiles quickly, customize them, and automatically load them into their accounts. Optimum routes and altitudes are continuously updated based on forecast winds and temperatures. Pilots can make last-minute fuel and passenger load adjustments and contingency plans with “a few taps” on their electronic devices. The new software also works with JetFuelX, a web-based service that helps find and compare discount jet fuel to determine where clients can get the best rates.
ForeFlight Performance Plus subscriptions sell for $300 a year for individuals, and multi-user Business Performance Plus subscriptions start at $300 per license.
Price: $300 per year
Contact: www.foreflight.com
Headlines that affect you
Recent news from the aviation world
Stratolaunch rolls out of its hangar
The Stratolaunch aircraft, a project backed by Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen, rolled out of the hangar for the first time May 31. The massive, one-of-a-kind aircraft is designed to carry satellite payloads of up to 550,000 pounds to about 30,000 feet, where they can be launched into low Earth orbit. The Stratolaunch is the world’s largest aircraft by wingspan, measuring 385 feet from wing tip to wing tip—longer than a football field. It’s the largest all-composite aircraft ever built. The aircraft stretches 238 feet from nose to tail, and the top of the tail stands 50 feet above the ground. It weighs about 500,000 pounds and is powered by six turbofan engines. —Robb Report
Pirep process has room for improvement, NTSB study finds
Aircraft operators and air traffic management stakeholders can make U.S. airspace safer by improving weather reporting protocol and being more diligent about ensuring the right people get clear, consistent data in a timely manner, an NTSB study on pilot weather reports (pireps) found. The report, “Improving Pilot Weather Report Submission and Dissemination to Benefit Safety in the National Airspace System,” was prompted by findings in 16 NTSB investigations from 2012 to 2015 that spotlighted areas of concern. —AIN Online
NASA’s Wallops Island unveils its newest drone runway
In Accomack County, Virginia, there was a special ribbon cutting for the newest airfield at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. It’s a 3,000-foot-long, 75-foot-wide runway known as the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Airfield. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe says the runway is dedicated to drones. “My dream is to have a drone in every home,” McAuliffe said. “That is the future and that’s how everything is going.” —WMDT.com
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