ForeFlight has added two new safety features in its latest release: weight-and-balance functions enhanced by stored profiles and visualization, and hazard advisories useful for preflight planning as well as in flight.
The new weight and balance tool lets users enter standard weights and saved loads, and it graphically depicts each airplane’s loaded weight and the position of its center of gravity. The new features were enabled March 22, when ForeFlight also increased subscription rates.
ForeFlight tested the new weight and balance feature for months with corporate flight departments, and the new release makes it available to individuals through an updated array of subscription tiers starting at a Basic Plus subscription that costs $120 annually.
“All customers will benefit from this new feature,” said Sam Taylor, a ForeFlight content marketing manager in Houston. “It’s better in pretty much every way than the one it replaces.”
ForeFlight customers with a premium Pro Plus subscription ($240 per year) will also be able to use cloud-based documents to integrate weight and balance calculations directly into their flight plans without duplicating steps. Customers also gain access to the Hazard Advisor at this price point.
“Pilots are accustomed to using our Hazard Advisor in flight,” Taylor said. “Now, it’s a powerful new tool for pre-flight planning as well.”
The highest subscription tier, Performance Plus ($360 per year), adds additional features including detailed aircraft performance profiles, 3D airport views, optimized autorouting, pre-departure clearance and D-ATIS, and FBO fuel orders and fuel releases, among others.