iPad Apps for Turbine Pilots

Pop your head into any airline or corporate flight deck and you’ll likely find the pilots actively using an iPad to display charts and aviation data. Not only has the iPad replaced the 50-pound chart cases that many professional pilots had to lug around, but it is also simplifying routine performance planning and the time-consuming task of updating charts and manuals.

Here we’ve assembled a list of apps that will be useful to turbine pilots, grouped by category:

APG’s performance planning app provides complete runway analysis features for jet operators.

Aircraft Performance Calculator & Flight Manual Apps

• Airbus FlySmart Apps – this collection of apps from Navblue help compute takeoff and landing performance calculations, electronic document management and weight and balance for Airbus airplanes. (Includes free demo, requires a separate account for full features)
• APG iPreFlight Genesis – provides flight planning, runway analysis and preflight planning for turbine airplane operations in one convenient app. (Requires subscription)
• ASAP STAR Performance Planning – the Automated Systems in Aircraft Performance app provides instantaneous, accurate, and reliable takeoff/landing performance (runway analysis) and weight & balance data designed for turbine airplanes. (Requires subscription)
• Boeing Interactive QRH – provides electronic access to all normal and non-normal checklists, performance tables, and maneuvers for Boeing airplanes.
• Boeing Onboard Performance Tool – provides pilots of Boeing aircraft with takeoff and landing calculations and weight & balance information. (Requires configuration files and databases, available separately from Boeing)
• Bombardier Flight Deck 3 – provides pilots of Bombardier aircraft with digital flight manuals and includes automatic revision updates. (Requires an account through Bombardier.
• Dassault Aviation Apps – access a full suite of support and performance planning apps for the Dassault Falcon line of jet airplanes.
• Eclipse Quick Reference App (QRA) – turns the Eclipse flight manual into an interactive app that computes performance, weight and balance and includes the full electronic flight manual and checklist for Eclipse airplanes.
• Embraer ePerfBook – provides performance calculations for Embraer commercial jet aircraft.
• Embraer eQRH – this electronic checklist app replaces the paper Quick Reference Handbook (QRH) for Embraer airplanes.
• Gulfstream Apps – a collection of apps to help organize and maintain pilot’s manuals, compute performance, weight and balance and more for pilots of Gulfstream airplanes. (Requires subscription from Gulfstream).
• myPhenom Flight Calculator – a complete EFB for Phenom 100 & 300 aircraft, including performance calculations, weight & balance, checklists, AFM, POH and QRH manuals. (Requires membership to Phenom Jet Association)
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  Pilatus’ PC-12 calculator app makes easy work out of loading and performance planning.

  Pilatus PC-12 Calculator – This weight & balance and performance calculator 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.

• Pilatus PC-12 eQRH – This PC-12 Electronic Quick Reference Handbook (eQRH) is a pilot assistance tool for the quick and easy review of emergency procedures and other important recommendations.
• TBM Performance – computes all the useful performance numbers for flight planning for Daher (Socata) TBM aircraft models. It includes calculations for takeoff, landing, climb, cruise, descent, instrument procedures as well as emergencies.
• TBM ProFlite – this is a weight & balance and performance iPhone/iPad app for TBM model aircraft. A performance section gives takeoff and landing distances based on current or manually entered weather conditions.
• Textron Aviation Cesnav – Cesnav combines three calculators (Previously known as CLCalc, CPCalc, and EOM) into one app, offering performance and loading calculators or the Cessna Citation family of airplanes. (Requires CESNAV account)
• Textron Aviation 1View – this app combines all technical publications for Beechcraft, Cessna, and Hawker airplanes. (Requires CESNAV account)
• Vision ProFlite (Cirrus Jet) – universal weight & balance and performance app for the Cirrus SF50 VisionJet G1 and G2 model aircraft.

Aircraft Support

• Bombardier SmartFix – diagnostic and troubleshooting app from Bombardier airplanes.
• Bombardier Proximity – includes contact information and locations of our CRCs, support personnel, Regional Support Offices (RSOs), Bombardier Service Centres and Authorized Service Facilities
• Gulfstream 24-Hour Support – contains contact and service information for Gulfstream airplane owners.
• Know My PT6 – this informative app developed by Pratt and Whitney provides a complete PT6 turboprop engine handbook including design features, how it works, engine controls, operation, maintenance and customer services sections.
• Pilatus Customer Service– The Pilatus Aircraft Ltd Customer Support App provides information and support functionalities for Pilatus PC-24, PC-12 and PC-6 aircraft customers, including a service center directory.
• Rolls Royce Engine Support – provides owners and operators of Rolls-Royce-powered business jets with support information and pilot guides.
• Textron Aviation Service – provides immediate mobile access to the Cessna, Beechcraft and Hawker worldwide networks of support personnel and service stations.
• Williams Engines Product Support – The Product Support App helps owners and operators of Williams International engines navigate to useful information including Authorized Service Center locations, maintenance scheduler and instructional video library.

Flight Planning, Weather and Trip Support

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  The Jeppessen FliteDeck Pro X app provides worldwide trip planning and charts for corporate and airline operators.

  AC-U-KWIK World Edition – contains information on 8,000+ airports across the globe, 3,400+ FBOs and  extensive listings of Handlers, fuel suppliers, charter operators, ground transportation, maintenance and catering companies.

• ARINC FOS (Flight Operation Systems) – Designed for users of Rockwell Collins ARINCDirect Flight Services, this app provides scheduling, flight logs, maintenance visibility, document management, international trip planning and worldwide airport directory.
• AvioFuel – designed for light jets and turboprops, this app allows you to quickly determine fuel loading based on specific aircraft profiles.
• FlashPass eAPIS – helps pilots file the required eAPIS passenger manifests when crossing the U.S. border.
• Flight Safety – FlightSafety’s mobile app provides you convenient access to information about scheduled training events, detailed schedule information, and access to recent training history and documents
• Fltplan Go – allows fltplan.com users to retrieve and store weather briefings and navlogs for offline use in the air, and provides full flight planning and moving map features.
• Honeywell GoDirect Flight Bag Pro – this all-in-one app is part of Honeywell’s GoDirect Flight Services, and provides flight planning, weather, airport and procedure directory and scheduling features.
• LogTen Pro – provides pilots of all levels with a full customizable iPad logbook, including an international airport database and currency tracking.
• Jeppesen FliteDeck Pro X – this is the latest offering for the commercial airline market and represents the coming together of Jeppesen and ForeFlight technologies to deliver Jepp charts, interactive maps, preflight data and more. (Requires subscription from Jeppesen)
• JetInsight Crew – This app allows flight crews to view manuals/documents, manage trips, and log flights and expenses without internet access, and sync these to JetInsight when next connected to the internet.
• Sporty’s E6B – provides 23 aviation calculations, including planned mach number, percent MAC, specific range, descent planning and jet fuel conversions.
• Universal uvGO – allows pilots and flight departments who currently use Universal Trip Support Services to plan, build, and manage flights worldwide. (Requires Universal user’s account)
• WSI PilotBrief Optima – provides access to WSI’s premium PilotBrief Optima detailed weather service directly on an iPad. (Requires WSI PilotBrief Optima subscription)

Of course, the popular navigation apps like ForeFlight Mobile, Garmin Pilot, WingX and FlyQ work great in turbine aircraft also. ForeFlight recently added Runway Analysis support for several small and midsize jet airplanes, which provies advanced performance planning for takeoff, initial climb and landing.  Many pilots have also found the document management features included with ForeFlight Mobile and Garmin Pilot to be particularly useful in organizing flight manuals and paperwork. There are also a variety of apps from many of the popular FBOs in the U.S. that you can quickly access by searching in the app store.

There’s one last item for turbine iPad pilots to be familiar with. Pilots flying “for-hire” under part 121 or 135 are required to follow the guidance of AC 120-76D when using an iPad as a paper chart replacement. To help you understand the details of this AC we suggest reading our iPad Legal Briefing here. And if you’re looking for assistance in getting FAA approval to use an iPad as the sole source of aviation data in the cockpit, check out Sporty’s Easy Approval for iPad service.