ForeFlight adds runway length filter and profile corridor to the map

ForeFlight’s latest update is again a minor one but adds some important safety features that all pilots will appreciate. First, there is a new aeronautical map filter to only show airports with runways above a certain length. Then you’ll find a new Profile Corridor feature, which highlights the tallest obstacle or natural terrain along each leg of your route.

Here’s a quick summary of what’s new based on subscription type, with full details included below on how to use the Basic and Pro Plus features:

Basic – Airport runway length filter, logbook instructor tools enhancements

Pro Plus – Profile corridor overlay

Performance Plus – Runway analysis support for Challenger 350/3500 and Falcon 2000LXS/S, weight and balance envelope curtailment

Military – Bird hazard risks, user waypoint range rings

Airport Runway Length Filter

You’ve likely had access to runway filters in the installed avionics in your airplane for many years, where the moving map only depicts airports that have a runway equal to or greater than a user-defined length. This can come in handy during an emergency or diversion when you need to quickly choose a suitable airport for landing based on your airplane’s specific landing requirements.

You can now do the same thing with the airports displayed on the Aeronautical Map layer in ForeFlight. Tap the map settings button at the top of the screen, select Airports, and then choose a minimum runway length in the Airport Filters settings.

Profile Corridor

This next feature is available for Pro Plus users and allows pilots to better identify potential hazards along each leg of the active route. To view this overlay, enable either the Hazard Advisor from the map layers menu or bring up the Profile view from the FPL window at the top of the screen. You’ll then see a lighter color corridor (8nm by default) depicted along your route, which highlights the highest obstacle and terrain feature within that corridor.

ForeFlight uses either a tower or mountain symbol to identify these hazards, and the same yellow/red color coding (yell0w = within 1000′, red = within 100′ or above). Tap on any leg to see the elevations of the highest obstacle and terrain along that leg in the Detail View displayed on the right side of the screen:

As previously mentioned, the corridor is only shown by default when the Hazard Advisor layer is enabled, or the profile view window is active. You can change this preference and always show the corridor overlay from the Hazard Settings menu, which is located in two places: in the profile window, and next to the Hazard color legend at the bottom of the screen. This is also the place to change the corridor width, from a range of 1/2 mile to 100 miles.

For long direct legs with plenty of terrain clearance, you’ll see just two symbols depicted along the entire route. One represents the tallest terrain feature and the other the tallest obstacle, with the MSL height listed.

Logbook Update for Instructors

ForeFlight’s digital logbook includes everything that both a student pilot and instructor need during flight training to satisfy endorsement and record-keeping requirements. This last update is a small but important one, adding the FAA regulation referenced in each endorsement to the prefilled endorsement text in the app. There’s also a search filter at the top to help find past endorsements.