Quiz: Flying IFR with ForeFlight
1 min read
The iPad and ForeFlight take a lot of the guesswork out of flying IFR, thanks to smart flight planning tools and digital instrument chart organization features. Our latest quiz will test your knowledge of where to find key preflight and inflight data in ForeFlight needed for IFR flying.
Where can you find the GPS RAIM status for a planned IFR flight?
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Where can you find the takeoff weather minimums for an airport?
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Where can you find details on the approach lighting for an airport?
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What does the Icing (US) layer depict on the Maps screen?
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Where can you find suggested IFR alternate airports when planning a flight?
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What’s a quick way to view the height of the current freezing level in the U.S.?
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Where can you view IFR routes recently issued to other aircraft between two airports?
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If ATC clears you to intercept a leg between two waypoints, how do you activate that leg from the Maps screen?
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When viewing an approach chart in the Plates section of the app, how can you determine if there is a change to one of the minimum altitudes or visibility requirements?
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After loading a full approach procedure on the Maps screen, ATC advises that you should now expect vectors to intercept the final approach course. How can you quickly update your flight plan from the Maps screen?
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ForeFlight IFR
You got out of 10 right!
Active CFII for over 50 years, over 13,000 hrs.
I am not a big fan of ipads in the cockpit unless there is absolutely no other form of navigation. First they are generally large and most general aviation cockpits are small so no matter where you mount them they generally block out something. If it is in your lap your moving your head to see it and not flying the plane can possibly induce pio or vertigo and it sometimes takes two hand to use it. I am a huge fan of installed equipment. Your only moving your eyes and one hand is always in contact with the plane. However, that being said, the one thing I am in favor of the ipad for the approach plate as it is current and there is the little airplane which makes it spectacular for situation awareness. i.e..a quick look for the intercept angle, next fix altitude or DH / MDA, while never loosing physical contact with the plane. To me an ipad has its place in the cockpit but should never be the main source of navigation information.
At 50yrs and 13k/hrs you have absolutely earned the right to your opinion. I however respectfully disagree.
At 600hrs and an owner of a modern DA40NG I have barely flown anything “steam gauge” nor am I likely to.
In rebuttal to your points: iPads fit just fine, they simple extend the work surface of a duel garmin nxi layout. Looking at my iPad on its mount is absolutely no different than using the mfd to my right. In fact it’s closer!
There is an incredible amount of information easily available on ForeFlight. Far more intuitive and available than within the G1000. I simply don’t know why you would choose to leave that on the ground in lieu of relying on a single point of failure within an already obsolete product (the G1000).
I have flown IFR (every flight clear or not) up and down the east coast in some of the countries busiest airspace (KTEB/KHEF etc). I very much doubt I would be able to do that at 600 hrs if I were still fiddling with g1000s clunky interface or god forbid still juggling paper!!!???
Honestly I read alot of these articles written by very experienced pilots that talk about the gargantuan difficulties of IFR flight in busy airspace and I often wonder why the hell they find it so difficult. If you are leaving such powerful resources such as ForeFlight on the ground, it’s little wonder.
Fly safe, respectfully
Steve
Agreed on all points. It’s almost irresponsible to fly without ForeFlight on an iPad in the cockpit these days. Learn it completely and use it accordingly, preferably with a Sentry plus as back up. It’s a complete game-changer.
I fly a G3000 CJ3+ for work. Every time I show the panel to a pilot, they generally say “yeah, ForeFlight does that too”. I would absolutely have ForeFlight in my own small GA plane.
Some things will never change. The law of primary is a double-edged sword.
There are ways to support both sides here. Having something in the panel and putting an iPad where it’s not blocking and being used as a 2nd MFD is great. And yes, you do have to be familiar with the iPad and ForeFlight so you don’t get overwhelmed. You also have to take in to account the type of plane you are flying, and its speeds etc. Respectfully, flying in a DA40 in and out of TEB and HEF is a lot easier than in faster airplanes too. I hope Steve, that when you decide to upgrade to something faster you will have more understanding of what the “experienced” pilots are talking about. Your amount of hours are right there in that danger zone… There are a lot more things to think about than just panel mounted or ForeFlight.
I have used Foreflight since it first came out and some sort of GPS unit until Stratus came on the scene,
I carry two iPad minis and two Stratus a 2S and a 3. I carry it all in a double-sided gun case on side holds the iPads and stratus the other side holds a handle held backup radio and all the charging cords. I can’t tell you how handy my own charts have been. I do contract pilot services and from a Falcon 900 50 20 or a Westwind, citation or MU2 most of the planes either have no charts on board or out of date. I also have it on my phone It is extremely useful to file a flight knowing that when that green check mark shows the FlightPlan is in the system ready to pick up. I have been in the aircraft and had them time out and push the send and within 20 seconds I have my clearance. Being able to overlay the approach chart onto the moving map really helps with situation awareness and the mini fits on the yoke between the grips on the yoke. Or on the top of the instrument panel by the wet compass.
I have US, Canada, Mexico the Caribbean subscriptions………..I never leave home without them.
I forgot to add that I sometimes give the second iPad to the passengers as a Quasi airshow so they can see where we are and time to destination
This quiz was a nice way to highlight some very cool features of ForeFlight. It’s hard to keep up with all the awesome information available to pilots in the cockpit. I am a 24000+ hour CFII and retired professional pilot. Part of my instructing is devoted to demonstrating the myriad features and resources embedded in ForeFlight. New pilots are amazed by stories of how things were done before GPS, iPads, and especially ForeFlight. There is always something new to learn, and this quiz helped me do that.