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iPad Mini obsolescence re Foreflight, Garmin Pilot, FltPlan Go

Ham

Member
Just received a note from Foreflight that their new updates will require iOS 13. My aging iPad Mini 2 is operates on 12.4.7 and will become increasingly unable to take advantage of Foreflight improvements. It's unlikely I'll be able to afford a new iPad in the near future.

Should I consider Garmin Pilot, or am I likely to run into the same problem?

What about FltPlan Go?
 
If you're happy with the features you have right now just don't upgrade FF.

That's why I use WingX and FltPlanGo. They're both free so with the subscription money I save from not having to pay FF I can pay for a new iPad every few years, if I need to, and have a newer iPad and still save money.
 
FlyQ works fine on older hardware. This is precisely the reason why I quit using ForeFlight a few years back. Haven't missed it one bit.
 
just me

My other pilot has an ipad mini2 running Garmin Pilot. It has been updated to iOS 12.4.5.

It seems the Ipad software version and the Iphone software version have never been the same number, but the features are the same. My iphone is at 13.x.x and my ipad mini is at 12.4.x

i see the ipad mini has an update waiting for me to install.

Are you saying you can no longer update the Mini?
 
iPad mini 2 here; runs WingX fine. I think WingX uses more compression/less memory than Foreflight so it ?fits? in older, low memory tablets better.
 
The iPad Mini 2 didn't get IOS-13 or any other update since last summer.

Hopefully WingX and others keep supporting IOS-12 because they stopped supporting IOS-11 and that made me lose my iPad Mini which was running fine. I could have kept running WingX on IOS-11 but it would have been missing lots of good updates.
 
Just received a note from Foreflight that their new updates will require iOS 13. My aging iPad Mini 2 is operates on 12.4.7 and will become increasingly unable to take advantage of Foreflight improvements. It's unlikely I'll be able to afford a new iPad in the near future.

Should I consider Garmin Pilot, or am I likely to run into the same problem?

What about FltPlan Go?

By any chance, do you have a copy of that note? I asked around at ForeFlight, and have not found anyone who is aware of the app being limited to iOS 13+.
 
ipad mini

There is no iOS 13 version for the iPad mini. the iPad mini uses a different numbering system for the revisions.
The latest iOS for the ipad mini should work. i think it is 12.4.7
 
Last edited:
Link below from the ForeFlight website. Note that some features require iOS 13, as the OP indicated.

"What version of ForeFlight will work with my iOS?":


I received some clarification on this topic.

In the near future, yes, iOS 13 will be required to run new FF versions.

Noteworthy is, it won't be just "some features" that will require iOS 13, but rather new versions of the FF app that contain the new features. In other words, once the version is released that requires iOS 13, the FF version prior to that change taking place will be the latest that your device can run.

Also noteworthy is that while this means you will be limited in version of FF that you can run, the data (charts, AFDS, etc.) that comes into FF will be available for much longer. So, if you're happy with the features that you have now, you do not need to worry about not being able to use your current version of FF for a long time still.
 
Cheapest thing about flying

The cheapest thing about flying is the pilot.

I started RV flying back in September 1997. Back then EFB was either out of reach cost wise for the general aviation RV aircraft or did not exist.

Because I was flying just about anywhere with only a day or two advance planning, I had a subscription to WAC maps for the lower 48-states. I also used "the little brown book" published by Airguide for info on airports and had a subscription for the three volumes that covered the lower 48-states. Before Airguide went out of business, they increased the number of books needed and raised the price.

Fast forward to iPad and ForeFlight. Although I worked in the aerospace industry and used a lot of new technology, I was always reluctant to adopt the latest technology. After seeing and flying with a friend with the iPad 1 and ForeFlight, I started to do a little research on COST. The cost of ForeFlight for one year was a lot less than than what I paid for current WAC maps and the "little brown book" flight guides. Over three years, I paid less for a new iPad and ForeFlight subscription for 3 years than I did for the WAC subscription. When you add in the cost of local area IFR charts and plates, ForeFlight and iPad cost over two years was less than paper.

iPad 2 was released. I purchased one and a ForeFlight subscription. The cost of a new iPad and ForeFlight with IFR charts and plates was less than what I was paying for paper in 24-months. In other words, a new iPad every two years with a ForeFlight subscription was less money than the paper it replaced was every two years.

The cost of a new iPad every two years plus an EFB with all the info needed is in my aircraft budget as it is a lower cost than the paper it replaces. It is one of the things that I have in the basic cost of flying like medical, ELT maintenance, Pitot / Static Transponder test, insurance, and condition inspection. 91.103 requirements are easy to meet with a recently produced iPad or Android Tablet and most of the EFB programs that are on the market. An added benefit of ForeFlight (many of the others have it also) will be fuel prices. This helps keep flying costs down so that I do not plan a stop at an airport that has $1 / gallon higher priced fuel. 5 or 10 cent difference per gallon is only $2 or $3 delta on fill up cost but $1 / gallon higher price can be $20 or $30 higher fuel bill.

For me, a new iPad every 2-years is part of the cost of owning an airplane and flying. Yes I may get 3-years out of an iPad but I will get a new one when I start having iPad battery or other issues. New iPad every two years with two years of EFB subscription is less money than current VFR charts for the entire US over a two year period plus I have IFR plates / charts for the entire country with fuel prices.

I have tried most of the other EFB programs out there including a Samsung Android Tablet. I like ForeFlight and iPad the best. As long as Boeing does not raise the price of ForeFlight, I will stick with it. WHEN Boeing raises the price of ForeFlight above that of Garmin Pilot and FlyQ, I will most likely switch to FlyQ but will look at Garmin Pilot again before finalizing my choice.
 
I have tried most of the other EFB programs out there including a Samsung Android Tablet. I like ForeFlight and iPad the best. As long as Boeing does not raise the price of ForeFlight, I will stick with it. WHEN Boeing raises the price of ForeFlight above that of Garmin Pilot and FlyQ, I will most likely switch to FlyQ but will look at Garmin Pilot again before finalizing my choice.

Take a look at WingX, too.

Yep, I hear you. I started IFR training in 1983, and Jepp charts (no one I knew used the government plates-they were truly horrible!) were expensive in dollars and time (every two weeks, I was stuffing new plates into the 7 ring binders). I don?t know how they stay in the chart business with the EFB?s these days. Shoot, WingX gives me (as a cfii) all the charts for free!
 
The cost of a new iPad and ForeFlight with IFR charts and plates was less than what I was paying for paper in 24-months. In other words, a new iPad every two years with a ForeFlight subscription was less money than the paper it replaced was every two years.
Using FltPlanGo, that payback comes in even faster... the only cost is the tablet itself.
 
Unfortunately, technology has evolved into a "you have to pay to keep up or you'll be left behind" ... it just needs to be factored into your flying budget to buy a new iPad every few years.

There's no technical reason why an iPad stuck at an old iPadOS wouldn't work indefinitely, it's just that the software development ecosystem for these companies faces the same problem you do - if they don't stay up to date, they get left behind.

Same goes for our EFIS and Navigators, at some point, the developers will loose the ability to effectively keep them updated. They've done a great job so far, some of this tech has lasted for 15 years with updates, which is amazing to me. The resources to do this are immense, they don't make computers today that existed 15 years ago (ask Doug, he's going through this right now).

While not a conspiracy as some will say, there's a whole chain of events driving this.

Software, for better or worse, is now designed to pull everybody forward along with it.
 
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