Here’s a list of my 8 favourite applications that have helped me greatly during my flight training. To anybody thinking of becoming commercial pilot or who wants to fly for fun. I highly recommend checking them out if you haven’t already done so.
Apps on my iPad mini
Skydemon – The app that that I simply would not like to fly without. It does almost everything for you as a VFR pilot. From planning routes, preparing Pilot Logs (PLOGS), viewing NOTAMS, AIPS, METAR/TAFS. It saves so much time and gives you lots of peace of mind especially when flying through busy airspace.
PA28 Perf – Mostly relevant to Piper aircraft, but worth downloading for free. Helps you see all the required performance calculations. There’s also a free hold planner useful for IFR training flights. The developer also has equivalent apps for other types of aircraft, however I haven’t tried them out.
Aerops – I used Aerops to conveniently pay aerodrome fees online. I wish all the aerodromes I visited accepted payment via this app.
Windy – Useful for pre-flight weather planning. The day before a flight, I checked the forecast cloud base, precipitation and wind to make a guess whether the flight was a go or a no go.
UnitsPlus – Convenient way to convert units like volume and mass. Especially handy during flight planning, when converting between gallons and litres, pounds and kilos.
AviationExam – To pass the ATPL exams, AviationExam was extremely useful. It has amazing ebooks for all the ATPL subjects, and I’ve explained here how I extensively used this app to pass my ATPL exams.
Notability – Excellent for making notes whilst studying on the go.
Flylog.io – The best electronic logbook app I found, perfect for UK and EASA pilots. I primarily use a physical logbook and only discovered this app well into my training. It helped me verify and correct my logbook totals. I found it very useful when applying to airlines, as it automatically totals your time, like Multi-Engine IFR time, hours in the last 3 months, and the amount of landings you’ve done.
Bonus – PC Only App (Software)
RANTXL – I used this software a LOT to prepare for my Instrument Rating. It’s more of a procedures trainer rather than a flight simulator. There are so many valuable tips and tricks in the tutorials, and with practice you quickly understand how to read instruments when flying under IFR.
Be it digital or analogue displays, you can choose what you like and get familiar with instrument flying well before sitting in the aircraft for your first instrument flight. The latest version comes with many up to date instrument approach plates for almost all the airports with instrument approaches in the UK.
I wish someone recommended this to me earlier, as it would’ve sped up my learning. Considering an hour in a twin-engine aircraft costs around £600 an hour, even if this app saves you 10 minutes of extra flight time, the £80 investment would’ve paid for itself.
I hope these app recommendations were of value to you. If you have any better app recommendations. Email me! I’m always open to learning about new tools to help me become a better pilot.