Garmin Pilot vs Foreflight Final Review for 2020

In this video I cover why I’ve decided to go back to Foreflight and what in Garmin Pilot caused the decision.

[@jasonnemjo5981]

Thank you so much for the dedication and time you put into testing both platforms and sharing with us your results. This stuff costs a lot of money and more importantly, takes hours and hours to learn how to use. Thank you!

[@rtoms1969]

Great review. Thanks for taking the time to do the legwork for the rest of us. If I wasn't so entrenched in the Android ecosystem, I'd follow your lead and switch to Foreflight.

[@gregbrown9173]

Glen, Great job in the comparison. Well done

[@wayneosman8971]

Loved your video, yet Foreflight is made only for iPad at a significant cost. Garmin definitely suffers, as does Avare, iFly GPS and others. When basic is needed, use basic. When entering logged pilot time, I use Garmin, not that any others are better or worse, just for the added help choosing concise and meaningful words entered into my log book. I would use Foreflight instantly, when it becomes available for use on Androids, until then I'll wait.

[@GA-in4mw]

Your video helped me to select ForeFlight and use it forever, thanks.

[@BigWheelHawaii]

What a Great Video,,, This Man Has An Undying Devotion To Aviation,,,

[@UnlikelyHero]

Flag on the play... improper use of commas instead of periods to create an ellipsis.

[@markg4459]

Very useful. Thanks for the thorough review.

[@flycory]

Thanks for the comparison!

[@blindsight_music_]

9:22 I know it’s a bit late but the reason is because before you’re cleared for the approach, the default assumption is that you head direct to the airport.. then, when you’re cleared, you activate the approach and it takes you to your iaf.. bit confusing but it’s commonplace in all garmin units.. this is the reason it didn’t take you to your iaf, and took you to the airport first.

[@hughstratten112]

Dear All Garmin Pilot is world wide, with Foreflight don't leave the states because it will work but has not data base in the rest of the world! Garmin Pilot has world wide data base.

[@paulg666]

I have foreflight and all the mapping and important functions work in PNG, which is as far removed from the US as you could get.

[@leonard.l2671]

Awesome review!

[@richardperry21]

Nice job on comparison Sir

[@akrammy9251]

Great informations Thanks a punch

[@landonsock6408]

Good stuff Glenn. The main reason I have stuck it out with Garmin Pilot is the DataBase Concierge for my GTN750, do you know if downloads can be fed through Foreflight? Thanks for posting

[@Marauder92V]

So far, the database concierge function is only available on GP. I agree with Glenn on some of the peculiarities of GP. I did what Glenn did and ran GP and FF together for 2 years. I think it depends on how your brain is wired whether you favor FF over GP or GP over FF. For me, FF’s little icons drive me nuts. I find GP’s menu looking the same as the GTN makes it more intuitive for me. BTW Glenn, the GTN navigator does the same thing when you load an approach. Your destination airport stays your active waypoint until you activate the approach. What I do on GP is I delete the destination airport once I load the approach on GP. Yeah, it’s another peculiar GPism

[@waynehutchens1268]

I am evaluating these two programs as well so I am no expert on them. However, I do have other Garmin avionics in my plane so I am somewhat familiar with the way Garmin depicts a flight plan and in particular an approach. One of your concerns was that the app does not show your route to the IAF (YATES) but instead directs you to the airport (KOPN). Once in the “Navigation” mode you can choose to “activate” the approach and your route will change to the IAF previously chosen. This is consistent with the Garmin panel mounted avionics which allow you to “load” an expected approach before you are cleared for it and to “activate” it once you are cleared for it. Also, I suspect that in the “navigation” mode only the current leg of that route is magenta. So even though the entire approach is depicted as a white line, each leg (initial approach fix outbound, procedure turn, final course inbound, etc) will turn magenta as you are come to it. Another issue you had with the Garmin Pilot app is the dark background on the map. This can be changed. Select layers, select VFR map, select the blue “i” in the blue circle to the right of “VFR”. Turn off “topography” and select one of 3 different callers of the background. Much easier to read in the cockpit! I do have an issue with the interdependence of the Garmin Pilot app on FltPlan.com (recently acquired by Garmin). There is a FREE app (fltplan Go) that does many of the things we need an EFB to do. Free as in free, no subscription required. There is a premium service for the jet pilots out there but not required for the core features. The free version even has georeferenced charts and plates as well as approach plates on the charts, features for which Garmin charges $80 a year more and ForeFlight $100 more! I wonder if fltplan Go will disappear now that Garmin owns it?

[@andrewmack4830]

Good explanation re the way Garmin handles "loading" the approach and "activating" the approach. It is sensible to have Garmin Pilot consistent with the avionics in the aircraft

[@scottsutton2874]

As a subscriber to both EFB’s, I plan on retaining my Garmin Pilot subscription at least until ForeFlight adds the ability to enter manual (unpublished) holds. Also, with Garmin Pilot I have found their recent addition of adding the missed approach (MAP) extremely valuable, especially for approaches when the entire MAP is not fully depicted on the approach plate (ex. ILS 14R @ BFI). So with ForeFlight one should really be taking the extra time during preflight planning to draw the the MAP holding pattern on the base map / chart where as Garmin Pilot automatically depicts complete guidance for the entire MAP. As for GDL-51 or 52 (the only two portable Garmin receivers that currently accept XM Wx) I’ve never had any reception problems when using with or without an external antenna. While you make many good points on ways both apps could be improved, overall I think you’re being a little too harsh on the software team at Garmin - as this two unique IFR features they offer I view as extremely important. And the Garmin Pilot software now much more closely mirrors their panel mounted units (GTN & NXi) which allows consistency for pilots flying with Garmin certified GPS boxes.

[@rfriesen1644]

Glenn, always look forward to your videos. I'm a ForeFlight user and appreciate their fantastic support. Don't like lots of "new" extra features only available if you subscribe to the highest paid plan.

[@patrickfain9318]

The android version of Garmin pilot has a "Maps" button if you pull up the FBO and it will open up the FBO in the android Maps driving navigation app. Obviously iOS doesn't have the Maps button and the other issues you pointed out is really concerning. Looks like I need to check out Foreflight

[@airmanparker]

Hello from a Flight Simmer (Xplane 11 and MSFS 2020) about 5 miles from KCNI. I was brought here because I just tried out the PFD feature on my Android Galaxy Tab 7 Plus 10 in and synced it over to my local Lan to my desktop. Seems to work well since thier is no good Avionics solution for Android on flight simulators. Have you tried a 30 day trail since you posted the video 10 months ago? Curious if they fixed any of the issues yet. Great video, thank you.

[@nizexlizzy]

I assume you're talking about Garmin Pilot. I have a subscription to it and foreflight and no, Garmin Pilot is still pretty buggy. As for on Android I have no idea as I haven't tested it there. It seems to always be even further behind though so would be surprised if things worked better there.

[@ridethe90sjetskirental82]

Hey Glenn question for you. I'm a new pilot (100 hours or so) and flight a 172 mostly.. and just VFR.. if you were in my shoes would you use forflight or garmin based on vfr flying and price cost..?

[@paulandvictoriabach1318]

I hope both GP and FF watch this video. THNX!

[@blindsight_music_]

Also 10:20, I think many find it useful to prepare for missed, so if it were to happen they don’t need to go clicking around on their ipad to get the situational awareness

[@jaredwiercinski3261]

Thank you!

[@rockandrollfish]

Have you considered IFly? I’ve had ForeFlight and Garmin Pilot subscriptions and I find IFly the easiest to use in the cockpit; especially for IFR.

[@nizexlizzy]

I have tried it and found it to be totally lacking for IFR type functions. Maybe they’ve fixed that but I last reviewed it not that long ago so seriously doubt it has improved that much. If it has I’d be happy to review it.

[@rockandrollfish]

Glenn Hancock A few of things that are missing from IFly is the previously approved routing and flight plan notifications from ATC, like ForeFlight has. Otherwise, it’s very easy to enter a flight plan in IFLY including SIDS, STARS, and Approach Procedures. IFly also has HITS (highway in the sky) which is great for situational awareness on an approach. Like ForeFlight, IFly interfaces with Xplane which is great for practicing approach procedures and learning the app. I admit that IFly doesn’t look quite as “glossy or refined” as FF, but I’ve come to like the simplicity. The buttons and text are very easy to read in a busy cockpit. I have wondered why FF doesn’t have HITS...

[@MYGM350]

Foreflight is more for airlines, some basics are very complicate like setting a new waypoint during a flight in VFR helicopter, small numbers and only some ways for settings, sometime we need to store tens in 2 minutes, Garmin is easy and fast, and better is AIR NAVIGATION.

[@timmartin6410]

As iFlyEFB matures, it continues to get better and better and it runs on even the least expensive Android tablet.

[@RMAG]

Just one comment on not having the flight plan airports on the airports page: while this is true, and you showed that you can click on an airport on the map, then click “fullscreen”, the most direct way to do what you are thinking is from the flight plan itself. If you open your flight plan and it is on NavLog you can just click on an airport in your flight plan and it opens the same pop up as clicking it on the map and then you click “fullscreen”.

[@nizexlizzy]

Yeah, I know but again, a bunch of steps when I could just click airports and have them there. Thanks,

[@RMAG]

Personally, I agree. I think it would be a good feature.

[@VictoryAviation]

Why don’t any of these apps take traffic patterns into consideration? When you take off, you don’t travel to your destination directly from the center of the airport. Same when you land in VFR. The line just goes to the middle of the runway. How does any developer think this is accurate?

[@Valantir]

Because when you are IFR gps direct, unless on a sid this is how you must fly it. “Direct a to b” unless atc says “turn direct (destination)”

[@samejhcok1859]

does garmin pilot show traffic in area?

[@jason-the-great52]

What was that error on foreflight that popped up?

[@leffep]

I have been running both for a while now and Garmin Pilot crashes a lot for me during flight. Ever experienced that?

[@nizexlizzy]

Yes and Foreflight never crashes, well until recently. For the last 6 months I’ve noticed a number of total hang ups in Foreflight too and some crashes. So can’t say only Garmin is guilty of that any more.

[@leffep]

@@nizexlizzy Foreflight steady for me, this far :) Garmin seems to crash mostly when alerts show up.

[@domaguayo7819]

How about FlyQ?

[@KeefDrow]

Thank you for all this effort! I don't want to buy a crApple product... but I'd rather not deal with Garmin's approach.

[@rabbi_dragon_slayer]

hmmmm the great debate of getting gas cheap at $2.90 at OPN or flying to 5A9 just to get gas for the weed number - it'll get you higher, right? So it pays for itself?

[@Cblizy]

Garmin probably has to get around patents. That takes time.

[@citysoundfm]

FlyQ! Beats Foreflight on value and beats garmin on everything.

[@nizexlizzy]

Perhaps if you only fly vfr

[@citysoundfm]

@@nizexlizzy They do awesome IFR also. You have to upgrade for the extra content.

[@rweakley]

12:22 maybe because you have the airport as a waypoint prior to the procedure? Try removing that and just using the approach as your destination? I'm a little out of practice, but hope to fly recreationally in a couple years after grad school. Retired from the Marines right when COVID blew up and the airlines stopped hiring...

[@chupacabra1765]

Look at all those cheap fuel prices. I wonder how many changes GP since the last 2 years.

[@MAGApepe]

i heard FF is the only legal charts for Canada

[@Valantir]

I hear this a lot also, seems to be perpetuated by flight instructors (who were told by their instructors etc) passing it on to students. It MAY have been at one point (just like “ipads are the only approved device” ) but this is wholly untrue. Just something that “everyone knows” thats wrong

[@1glopz]

So if you fail to plan you know the rest

[@renelombard8290]

It seems like you are disgruntled its called technology I suggest you better get with the program to stay a current safe pilot

[@paulwright7239]

a good indication if his judgement is the Faux News videos he has been watching at 2:55

[@local80g]

Foreflight has terrible customer service also which is why I am switching

[@flexairz]

Do not agree with you. They are quick to reply and always help.