iPad Apps For Pilots

Before doing anything, take a look at the old paper logbook that you log flights in by hand before or after every flight. It’s 2011, surely there is a better way to do this. Look no further than LogTen Pro Pilot Logbook, this app is the ultimate solution for any pilot looking to replace their traditional logbook. When adding a flight, you can add a humongous amount of information including preset databases of airports and plane types. Over time, you can also create your own databases of things such as Crew Names, Aircraft IDs, and Certificates, which allows for you to write less in and instead select from your list of previous entries. LogTen Pro gives you view options of all of your flights in set time periods, such as in the last week or month, and allows you to export the data to Google Earth as well. The app also supports summaries of a variety of topics and can log detailed information about your trips. Although expensive, this app pays for itself with all of the time you save over using a regular paper logbook, plus the convenience and organization of this app really makes it an absolute must-have to any pilot out there.

Another essential app for planning out your flight is ForeFlight. One of our readers, a pilot, told us he bought an iPad specifically to use this app. It is the premiere flight planning and and flight support app for pilots. Access an airport and facility directory; plates and charts; weather; touch planning, direct to, moving map; support for airways/SIDS/STARS; Flight plan filing; fuel prices, and more. Also, it's universal, so you can use this app on any of your iDevices.

After hopefully ditching the ancient logbook, the first thing that a pilot wants to do before take off is check the weather conditions at the destination. AeroWeather Pro gives you access to information such as runway conditions, wind speed, visibility and tons of other data that would be useful to have when flying. With this app you can be prepared for any troublesome weather that comes your way. There is a lite version available too.

Now that you know the weather conditions of your destination, you may want to know a bit about the runway your going to take off from. Spin-a-Wind will tell you the headwind, tailwind, and crosswind of a runway, along with some other aviation information that would be very useful to have during takeoff.

So after getting all of these aviation weather statistics, it may be a good idea just to get the weather information that even non-pilots can understand. NavClock is a professional looking weather app that displays the current temperature, wind conditions, humidity levels and even the times when sunrise and sunset will occur. For all general weather info, this app is the one to go to.

Air Navigation Pro will help you get to your destination as easily and quickly as possible. It essentially emulates the instruments found in the cockpit, including a map view, airspace information, a compass, groundspeed, and an altimeter. With these tools to help, wherever you are going, you should have no problems getting there using Air Navigation Pro.

So while in the air, it may be useful to have even more tools at your disposal, in case of an unforeseen event. This handy little app has many utilities that every pilot should have, including mach speed, distance flown, pressure altitude, and required rate of descent. For $10 this app is worth all of the convenience that it can give to any type of pilot.

Ok, so you have most of the tools you need, but there is one things missing, NOTAM’s! As every pilot knows, a NOTAM utility is very important to have in order to get up to date notifications about the state of flying. NOTAM’s HD is a very straightforward app that presents notifications in a clear format making it a necessary tool to anyone who takes to the skies.

It is always better to be safe than sorry. Sure, you may have all of the tools you need to have a safe trip, but when things go wrong it can be easy to panic and forget the steps to fix the problem. FAA Flying Handbook is the handbook from the FAA site that contains a lot of information about flying in general and emergency procedures. For only a few dollars, this app brings a lot of peace of mind.

After flying, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to brush up on a few piloting skills that does not include playing on a flight simulator. It turns out that many pilots do not always know how to communicate properly with control towers. The purpose of this app is to teach everything that you need to know about this type of communication. With video tutorials as your guide, you will be a pro shortly after using this app, and a control tower will never have to ask you to clarify again.

After a long day of flying, what can be better than plopping in bed with a magazine about your favorite activity? Aerospace Magazine has been a top magazine for anyone interested in aircrafts for years and is now available on the iPad. This magazine is very information-rich, and is decently priced as well. Although it’s not a must-have app, this magazine is definitely something that a lot pilots will enjoy.