Pilot’s aviation app directory – 2023 Edition

19 min read

iPad Pilot News has helped pilots discover over 100 quality aviation apps since the invention of the iPad in 2010. Here we’ve assembled a basic directory to help you locate and download them in the App Store. This certainly doesn’t represent every aviation app ever created, but it highlights some of the most useful and most popular ones.

AC-U-Kwik World Edition Provides precise and up-to-date information about airports, FBOs, handlers and other data services for the aviation industry.

AeroWeather Get current and precise worldwide METARs and TAFs delivered to your devices. Offers Apple Watch app.

Air Navigation Pro This flight planning and GPS navigation app is designed for VFR pilots and offers international support, including charts for the US, Europe, South America and more.

Airborne Weather Radar Become an expert on airborne weather radar using this course’s interactive training modules to learn about thunderstorm theory, principles of radar, scanning techniques and much more.

Airbus FlySmart Airbus offers a collection of apps for pilots to assist with performance planning, maintenance and other operational guidance when flying these airplanes.

Altimeter+ Calculates the altitude of your current location via GPS, or from the built-in barometer included on newer iPhones and iPads. Offers Apple Watch app.

AltitudeAlert This handy app delivers the functionality of an altitude preselect and alerting system in the form of a convenient iPad and iPhone app. Best of all it’ll quickly get your attention should you inadvertently deviate from an ATC assigned altitude.

AOPA This app provides instant and free access to AOPA’s latest general aviation news, videos, podcasts and events. It also provides TFR alerts in the form of push notification.

AOPA Go This app is a benefit to AOPA members and delivers three flight planning tools–AOPA Airports Directory, AOPA Flight Planner and AOPA Weather.

AOPA Magazine Delivers AOPA’s monthly magazines to AOPA members, including AOPA Pilot and AOPA Flight Training.

ASA Prepware ASA is a leading provider of knowledge test prep resources and eBooks for pilots working on a variety of certificates and ratings.

Aviation W&B This is the ultimate weight and balance calculator, using a friendly customizable interface that includes over 240 predefined airplane templates.

Avidyne IFD540/IFD440 Trainer Pilots flying with Avidyne’s newest GPS/NAV/COM will find this software simulator to be an excellent resource to learn how to use the system right from an iPad.

AvioFuel Primarily designed for turboprop and jet aircraft, AvioFuel makes it easy for pilots to calculate how much fuel to add during refueling operations.

Avtech proFLIGHT This app is a high-quality weather tool for the professional flight crew. proFLIGHT uses the actual flight route and time combined with the Met Office’s Global 10KM Weather model to produce a tailored weather forecast based on the most up to date information.

B4UFly Drone Designed for model aircraft and drone pilots, this app from the FAA will help you determine if the airspace around you is safe and legal for operating a remotely piloted aircraft based on nearby flight restrictions.

Bad Elf GPS utility This utility app allows owners of Bad Elf GPS accessories to check the health of the Bad Elf hardware, view the GPS data being received, transfer and view trip logs and install firmware updates. Offers Apple Watch app.

Bahamas and Caribbean Pilots Guide This is a must-have app for pilots planning a trip to the islands, providing detailed airport information, customs & immigration info, resorts and services, frequencies, fuel availability and much more.

Boeing Onboard Performance Tool Allows Boeing flight crews to calculate takeoff analysis, landing analysis and weight and balance information, correcting for pressure variation, runway conditions, engine bleeds and MEL items.

Bombardier Aerospace This collection of apps provides eLearning, operating procedures and maintenance utilities for operators of Bombardier jet airplanes.

Bose Connect Get quick access to the key features on Bose aviation headsets, like the auto-off timer, volume control and battery readings. And it’s the easiest way to manage multiple Bluetooth connections.

Bush Pilot Flight Simulator Take to the skies and adventure through the wilderness, backwoods and rough terrain in 21 different airplanes in this thrilling flight simulator game.

Cirrus Approach Access all your Cirrus airframe and avionics training courses in one easy-to-use mobile platform.

CloudAhoy Using your iPad and a GPS source, Cloudahoy logs every parameter of your flight and provides comprehensive debriefing services: VFR and IFR, with 2D and 3D flight tracks, profiles, wind, maneuver analysis, instrument approaches and more.

Cloud Topper This is the digital replacement to your old sight level. Using your device’s camera, gyroscope and accelerometer, it’ll help you determine if your current flight path and altitude will clear clouds up ahead.

Coflyt This app allows aircraft owners to stay organized and track all engine/airframe times, inspections and maintenance using a well-designed interface.

dBrief Pilot Logbook Need a simple iPad logbook without all the bells and whistles that can bog you down? This app makes it easy to quickly log flights, track currency and keep a record of total pilot time.

Deep Weather This supplemental resource provides direct access to the NWS Forecast Discussion, providing additional insight from regional meterologists on weather patterns and forecast trends.

Dual GPS Status Tools This collection of apps from the manufacturer of GPS and ADS-B receivers will help you monitor status and troubleshoot each respective device.

Eclipse Quick Reference An interactive version of the Eclipse light jet Quick Reference Handbook, this app includes checklists, weight and balance utility, fuel planning, performance calculator, emergency procedures and flight manuals.

Embraer Aircraft ServicesA complete line of apps to assist operators of Embraer aircraft with support and services, performance and flight planning.

FAR/AIM This is a must-have app for all pilots’ iPads. It includes information from Titles 14 and 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations pertinent to pilots, flight instructors and flight crew, along with the full Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM). Updated regularly.

FlashPass eAPIS Pilots flying internationally across any US border must submit passenger manifests to US Customs. This app makes it a breeze to complete all the necessary forms right from your iPad.

FlightAware Flight Tracker This app allows you to track real-time flight status and tracking map of any commercial flight worldwide, and can also track general aviation flights in the US and Canada.

FlightRadar24 Turn your iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch into an air traffic radar and see planes around the world move in real-time on a detailed map. Or point your device at a plane in the sky to see where it’s going. Offers Apple Watch app.

Flight Currency Ready to fly? Are you current? This app lets you know at a glance if you are legal to fly as pilot in command by keeping track of your flight review, medical status and recent flight experience.

FltPlan Go Designed as a companion app for users of the popular fltplan.com flight planning website, this app delivers full EFB functionality including in-flight navigation tools and weather.

FltTrack This free app from FltPlan.com allows you to quickly and easily track GA airplanes. It displays their location on the map, ETA, departure/destination airports, airplane model and filed route.

FLYER Magazine Flyer is the UK’s most-read general aviation title, covering everything from piston twins to very light jets, along with vintage aircraft and cutting-edge prototypes.

Flying Magazine Since 1927 Flying has been the magazine to inform, educate and entertain pilots with aviation news, trends and regulations, aircraft reports, pilot techniques, vibrant photography and the latest avionics developments.

Flyover Country Ever wonder about the details of the terrain you’re flying over on cross-country flights? This app uses GPS and its extensive database to provide you with information about topography, points of interest and other geoscience data.

FlyQ EFB This full-featured EFB app includes all the basics like preflight planning and moving map navigation, along with advanced features like ADS-B weather/traffic, synthetic vision, terrain avoidance and night mode.

FlyQ Insight Use your iPhone or iPad’s camera to help identify and locate nearby airports with this augmented reality app. Hold your device up to the window and it’ll present a virtual marker on the ground to help you spot and fly towards nearby airports.

ForeFlight ForeFlight is the most-widely used flight planning and EFB app for iPad and iPhone. Designed for both individual pilots and professional flight crews, ForeFlight allows you to plan and file flight plans, access preflight and in-flight weather, download and view charts and maps, manage flight publications, log flight time and much more.

ForeFlight Passenger This companion app to ForeFlight allows others on board your airplane to monitor the flight progress on an interactive moving map and view real-time updates on ETA.

Garmin G1000 Simulator Practice interacting with the Garmin G1000 PFD as found in single-engine Cessna aircraft right on your iPad.

Garmin GTN Trainer The Garmin GTN 650/750 trainer allows you to experience the pilot interface of these panel-mount touchscreen navigators and provides an on-the-ground environment to learn the basic operation of the system.

Garmin Pilot Includes flight planning, charts, interactive maps, weather briefing resources and navigation capabilities in a full-featured EFB app. The app’s intuitive interface mirrors those on the newest Garmin touchscreen avionics.

Garmin G500/G600 TXi Trainer This free app simulates Garmin’s G500 touchscreen PFD/MFD/Engine display. It includes a worldwide airport database and simulator controls that allow you to “fly” the system and practice procedures to or from any airport in the world.

Garmin VIRB Many pilots are flying with the Garmin VIRB action camera, and this app allows you to control the camera wirelessly and use your iPhone or iPad as a large viewfinder.

Getting Around on the Ground Runway incursions remain a hot topic at today’s busy airports, and this app will prepare you for safe ground operations by teaching airport markings, signage, lighting, hazards, safety tips and procedures that will keep you aware and knowledgeable during airport surface movements.

GPS Coordinate Converter This simple app is an advanced, yet simple to use mobile application designed for converting geographic coordinate formats and for measuring distance and bearing between coordinates.

Gulfstream Aircraft apps This suite of apps from Gulfstream Aerospace provides performance, weight and balance, cabin control, communications and support services for their line of high-performance jets.

Gyronimo Aircraft Training Gyronimo is a leading developer of apps for specific models of GA airplanes and helicopters to assist with performance planning and weight and balance calculations.

Holding Pattern Computer This advanced holding pattern computer calculates course, wind correction angels, headings, and required timing, given the assigned holding fix, your speed and estimated wind direction and speed. It’ll then show the appropriate entry procedure and guide you throughout the hold.

Honeywell GoDirect Flight Preview Brief instrument approaches like never before with this preflight app from Honeywell. It allows you to view the instrument approach flight path for US airports, side-by-side with the chart, to see the nearby terrain in a 3D pilot’s eye view.

Honeywell Weather Information Service Provides real-time weather and trend information in the cockpit, as well as enhanced communication including current weather, historical weather patterns and the forecast to give pilots a better picture of the weather environment while en route.

iFly GPS Created by the developers of the handheld iFly GPS receivers, this full EFB app delivers the full suite of products pilots are looking for in the airplane: flight planning, digital charts, ADS-B weather, active alerting system for airspace and traffic, and much more.

Instructair This CFI database app from NAFI helps students search for flight instructors in the local area based on their qualifications and aircraft specialties.

Instrument Pilot Study Buddy Test Prep Prepare for the Instrument Rating FAA written test by creating custom study sessions, and then practice simulated FAA tests to know you’re ready for the real thing.

Instrument Rating Test Prep Video Course Sporty’s award-winning instrument rating course offers over 13 hours of engaging HD video training, written test prep, maneuvers training, Airman Certification Standards and flight syllabus. Upon successful completion, the course also provides pilots with an endorsement take the official FAA knowledge test.

Jazz Weight and Balance This fully-customizable app makes computing weight and balance a breeze, with a well-designed interface and lots of advanced features.

Jeppesen Flight Deck Pro X Jepp’s latest offering for the commercial airline market provides digital charts, moving map navigation, weather, D-ATIS and company-specific charts and documents.

Jeppesen Mobile Flight Deck VFR Provides affordable access to Jeppesen VFR charts for the US and Europe and includes features like route planning, weather, airspace warnings and automatic flight time logging.

King Schools Companion Allows you to take video lessons from your King online ground school and test prep courses on the go.

Lightspeed FlightLink Works seamlessly with all new Lightspeed headsets to record and playback incoming and outgoing communications. It also allows owners of the Zulu PFX headset to set a variety of personal audio and operational preferences.

LiveATC Live near an airport and want to listen in on the pilots and control tower? This app taps into the LiveATC.net audio feeds to listen in on aviation radio communications around the world.

LogTen Pro X This advanced logbook allows pilots to track flight time, currency, endorsements, duty time, rest time, flight reviews and much more.

Mastering Stick and Rudder Designed to improve your stick and rudder skills, this interactive training app contains over six hours of 3D graphics and interactions full of helpful guidance and practical tips.

Miracheck This checklist app is unique in that it will speak the checklist items to you and allow you to respond and mark items as complete by talking back to it.

MyRadar There are times when all you need is a fast-loading radar picture, and MyRadar is the perfect app for that. It provides high-resolution animated radar and loads immediately. Offers Apple Watch app.

myPhenom Flight Calculator Developed by the Phenom Jet Association, this app allows Phenom 100 and 300 operators to calculate weight and balance, takeoff, cruise and landing performance data.

Navigation and Advanced Avionics Training This interactive course covers essential navigation techniques, including how to use VORs, HSIs and bearing pointers, GPS and advanced FMS systems.

NRST: Descent Rate and Airport Finder Designed for pilots of any size aircraft, this app provides location-based information to guide you to the nearest airport should an unplanned deviation become necessary. Offers Apple Watch app.

Pilatus PC-12 Digital Airplane Flight Manual The PC-12 AFM is a pilot assistance tool for verification of the weight and balance of the Pilatus PC-12 and the calculation of take-off, cruise and landing performance.

Sporty’s Pilot Training Sporty’s all-in-one flight training app allows you to access their award-winning Learn to Fly Course (Private Pilot), Instrument Rating Course, Flying with ForeFlight Course, Aviation Weather, Flight Review, IPC, VFR and IFR Communications, Garmin G1000 Checkout and Helicopter, Glider, Multiengine and Seaplane transition courses. The platform also offers access to Garmin eLearning courses covering the Garmin TXi, Radar and G5000 systems.

PlaneEnglish This training app offers a variety of scenarios to learn and perfect your aviation communication skills. The app includes 65 airports and hundreds of potential scenarios, so you can practice getting an IFR clearance at a Class D airport, talking to tower at a Class C airport, or making position reports at a non-towered airport.

PlaneFinder AR This 3D version of the popular PlaneFinder flight tracking app takes advantage of Apple’s ARKit technology. This allows you to use your iPhone or iPad to move around any airspace in the world and view live air traffic in a dynamic 3D environment.

Precision Altimeter This iPhone app takes advantage of the pressure altitude sensor in iPhone 6 or newer to display a detailed altimeter instrument and vertical speed indicator. You can also add an external wireless Bluetooth sensor from Texas Instruments for $29 that sends outside air temp and humidity right to the app to display a real-time view of the density altitude.

Private Pilot Learn to Fly Course Sporty’s award-winning pilot training course offers over 20 hours of engaging HD video training, written test prep, maneuvers training, Airman Certification Standards and flight syllabus. Upon successful completion, the course also provides pilots with an endorsement take the official FAA knowledge test.

Private Pilot Study Buddy Test Prep Prepare for the Private Pilot FAA written test by creating custom study sessions, and then practice simulated FAA tests to know you’re ready for the real thing.

QuickClear Quickly generate and submit eAPIS passenger manifests when flying across the U.S. border with this CBP-approved app.

Radio Navigation Simulator This app creates a 2D simulated environment with VORs and NDBs that allows you to play with the avionics and the position of the airplane. It’s fast and easy to simulate flying To or From the station, cross-checking from two VORs, or using DME.

Rockwell Collins HGS Flight Use your iPad for some fun flying with this Heads-up Guidance System from Rockwell Collins, which allows you to simulate flying an approach into Innsbruck, Austria, under a variety of weather conditions.

Rolls Royce MyAeroengine Support Provides owners and operators of Rolls-Royce powered business jets with contact information to assist in the operational availability of their aircraft.

RunwayMap You can view flight videos, reviews and photos from other pilots as well as share your flying experiences. Features at a glance include airport frequencies, webcam images, aviation weather, 3D images, local restaurant reviews and more.

SkewTLogPro This weather app gives you one-touch access to powerful skew-t log-p charts. View charts using your current GPS location, airport ID code or lat/lon. Each skew-t log-p chart provides a visual indication of temperature, dew point, winds aloft, and wind speed at various altitudes.

SkyDemon This full-featured EFB app is one of Europe’s most popular solutions for VFR flight planning and in-flight navigation. Provides digital charts, weather, in-flight navigation tools, terrain awareness and much more.

smartMFD This app from Guardian Avionics provides a user-friendly multi function display powered by Guardian’s smartPlane product line. It’ll also provide CO level alerts and pulse oximter readings when connected to the smartLink 555.

SocialFlight Looking for somewhere to fly on the next blue sky Saturday? SocialFlight has mapped out over 20,000 aviation events, things to do, $100 hamburgers, aircraft fly-ins, pancake breakfasts, conventions and FAA safety seminars.

Spin-a-Wind This app makes it a breeze to calculate headwind/crosswind components, temperature conversions, pressure/density altitude and true airspeed computations, using a pilot-friendly interface.

Sporty’s E6B This app takes all the features from Sporty’s best-selling handheld E6B computer and brings them to your iPhone/iPad, including 22 aviation functions, 18 conversions and a universal weight and balance calculator. Offers Apple Watch app.

StationWeather. This app is dedicated to a clean, graphical view of METARs, TAFs and NOTAMs and is perfect for a quick look at the latest text weather from your iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch.

Stratus Horizon Pro This free app from Appareo unlocks additional features when used in combination with the Stratus ADS-B reciever, including a backup attitude display, ATC radio replay and device management to keep your Stratus firmware up to date.

Stratus Insight EFB In addition to serving as a full-featured EFB app with weather, flight planning and in-flight navigation features, this app also allows you to electronically submit PIREPs directly to Flight Service. It also includes the ability to transcribe ATC communications. Offers Apple Watch app.

Textron Aviation 1View Textron Aviation 1View app combines all technical publications for Beechcraft, Cessna, and Hawker with one tool to efficiently manage technical documents associated with the aircraft they operate.

Textron Aviation Cessnav Cesnav combines three calculators (Previously known as CLCalc, CPCalc, and EOM) into one app, offering a unified experience from sharing calculations across the calculators to a combined results screen. Cesnav is available for all current production Citations and the following models: CitationJet, CJ1, CJ1+, CJ2, CJ2+, CJ3, Bravo, Encore, Encore+, Excel, XLS, Sovereign, and X.

Textron Aviation Service Connect with the Textron global network to assist with support for Hawker, Beechcraft, Cessna and McCauley Service Centers and Mobile Service Units.

Ultimate CFI Lesson Plan Guide Includes training course outlines (syllabi) for Private, Sport and Recreational training, along with ground lesson guides to assist CFIs in teaching each lesson. Also, includes the Airman Certification Standards (ACS) for private pilot.

UTM for Flight Designed as a companion app to ForeFlight, this utility converts UTM and ONMNR (Ontario Ministry Of Natural Resources) GPS coordinates to Lat/Lon (Latitude/Longitude) and then permits exporting the converted waypoint directly into ForeFlight user waypoints.

uvGO: Trips, Flight Planning and Aviation Wx From Universal Weather and Aviation, this is designed for business operators to plan, build and manage missions worldwide.

Weather Geek Pro 2 This premium weather app allows you to view the same numerical weather models used by professional meteorologists, including GFS, GEFS, NAEFS, WW3 and ECMWF models.

WeatherSpork Another weather app, but with a unique approach. It integrates a number of observations and forecasts, including Skew-t Log-P diagrams, to offer a more complete picture of the weather. Unique “wheels up departure advisor” helps you pick the right time to take off.

Weekend Flyer This weather app takes a different approach to medium-range forecasts by displaying them on an interactive map with time sliders, perfect for keeping an eye on the conditions for your return trip home when flying out for the weekend.

WingX Pro This capable aviation resource is one of the top EFB apps for iPad and provides pilots with a comprehensive collection of aviation features: preflight planning, weather, in-flight GPS navigation, digital charts, synthetic vision, terrain awareness, ADS-B weather and traffic and much more.

WSI PilotBrief Optima WSI is a leading provider of weather data and used by the majority of airlines. This app delivers HD radar, route planning, in-flight SiriusXM/ADS-B capability and other advanced weather data to GA pilots.

wx24 Pilot Tired of looking at the same text formatting for weather reports or forecasts? wx24 simplifies this process by displaying graphical representations of the same data for quick interpretation by pilots.

X-Plane 10 Flight Simulator This leading flight simulator features a wide variety of aircraft with interactive 3D cockpits and exciting aviation challenges to test your skills in this fun, but realistic, iPad game.

Xavion In flight Xavion constantly calculates engine-failed glide scenarios and provides you with power-off landing guidance based on runway length, width, winds, and nearby weather to get you on the ground safely. This EFB app also offers traditional in-flight navigation features and digital charts.

Zulu Time A simple application to see local and Zulu (GMT) time, along with multiple other time zones, in a single place.

9 replies
  1. Martin Wendnagel
    Martin Wendnagel says:

    What about “Horizon – Your Portable Glass Cockpit” for iOS and Android?

    This is an awesome glass cockpit application with sophisticated features, a 3D synthetic vision and a moving map as well as many other features.

  2. Don Hull
    Don Hull says:

    Weathermeister… I really like Weathermeister and prefer it for all my flight planning. Three levels if subscription are available, BSuc, Premium and Corporate. Easy to use and customizable for your needs. I’ve been a Weathermeister customer for over 10 years.

  3. C Noe
    C Noe says:

    FYI… opposed to the info above Foreflight hasn’t supported a companion Apple Watch app for well over a year now. I wish they would resume that.

  4. aerops
    aerops says:

    aerops app is also missing.
    We would be glad, if you can put our app in this list too. The first app for GA pilots to pay airport fees via smartphone.

  5. Mark Davis
    Mark Davis says:

    Surprised to not see iFlightPlanner on this list. Been using their website and iPad app for years. Their customer support is terrific.

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