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iFlightPlanner learned through a recent AVweb piece that the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee released a report saying that there must be more congressional oversight on the handling and implementation of AeroNav's proposed digital chart fees.

The Committee does not rule out the possibility of pilots needing to pay for access to this data, but it clearly states that AeroNav is to make a better business case for the fees and provide an opportunity for public comment.  The FAA hosted a closed meeting on December 13, 2012 to discuss the proposed changes with suppliers of digital products, but no information regarding final pricing or a time-table for its implementation has been made available.

We have our fingers on the pulse of this situation and have developed a solid working relationship with AeroNav.  Whether you plan your flights using the iFlightPlanner Flight Wizard™, access charts at iFlightPlanner.com/AviationCharts, or fly with iFlightPlanner for iPad, we are committed to providing you with the finest digital charting experience available anywhere.

The iFlightPlanner Crew
PLAN. FLY. LOG.™

We are pleased to announce that iFlightPlanner.com, the core of iFlightPlanner's integrated flight planning solution, has been upgraded to v3.0!  Countless tweaks and numerous upgrades have been seamlessly added as part of this release to make your online experience with iFlightPlanner better than ever!

NEW! iFlightPlanner Premium Features

- Use latitude/longitude coordinates and custom waypoints as a departure or destination
- Export navigation logs to .GPX or Garmin .FPL files
- Identify custom waypoints by name in navigation logs
- Print passenger briefing sheets with flight information
- Store an unlimited number of aircraft profiles
- Log aircraft maintenance events and other details
- Create single or recurring aircraft tasks with email reminders
- Import and export digital pilot logbooks

» Click here to upgrade to iFlightPlanner Premium

NEW! iFlightPlanner Free Features

- Compare multiple altitudes for time & fuel efficiency
- Plan FAA Preferred & Coded Departure Routes
- File ICAO domestic & international flight plans
- File to/from the Washington D.C. SFRA
- Filter alternate airports by distance and minimum runway length
- Save preferred aircraft with favorite routes
- Create new flights from routes previously flown
- Reverse routes & add additional legs with layovers

In addition all the flight planning features, we've added the ability for you to customize your planning experience by adding or removing steps from the Flight Wizard™.

Join the iFlightPlanner Premium members who are already taking full advantage of iFlightPlanner.com and iFlightPlanner for iPad presented by Sennheiser by upgrading now for as little as $9.95 per month!

The iFlightPlanner Crew
PLAN. FLY. LOG.™

Occasionally we'll come across a new product that stirs enough activity around the office that we're compelled to share it with the iFlightPlanner community.  It doesn't happen often, but in the case of The Golf Pilot and the golf-loving staff at iFlightPlanner, it happened.

You may or may not know that one of iFlightPlanner's co-founders, Andy Matthews, is a professional golfer who currently holds status on the Nationwide Tour and earlier this year qualified for the Puerto Rico Open, his 7th start on the PGA TOUR.

Golf and flying go hand in hand for many pilots, especially those at iFlightPlanner, and it is that connection that spurred Logan Sorensen and his father onto the idea for The Golf Pilot.  The Golf Pilot is a free application designed for Android and Apple mobile devices that helps you locate pilot-friendly golf courses nationwide.  In addition to providing precise airport and weather information for each course, you can easily book tee times and even arrange courtesy ground transportation all from your smartphone or tablet.

Check out The Golf Pilot, it will help you find a pilot-friendly course 'fore' your next round of golf!

The iFlightPlanner Crew
PLAN. FLY. LOG.™

Behind the scenes, iFlightPlanner for iPad presented by Sennheiser keeps track of a significant amount of detailed weather data.  When you tap the "Update Wx" button on the iFlightPlanner for iPad Account screen, the most recent METARs, TAFs, AIRMETs, SIGMETs and TFRs for the entire U.S. and bordering airports are downloaded from iFlightPlanner.com and stored on the iPad for off-line use.

The METARs and TAFs are used to show the current weather for your favorite airports and for airports you view within the A/FD.  The METARs are also used to determine the color-coded route corridor weather when you load a flight on the Flights tab and TFRs are depicted on the map of your flight to help you visualize any restricted airspace to avoid.
 
It has come to our attention that downloading updated weather is a bit slow.  So, as always, we're working on refining the update process and improving performance!  We'll be adding graphical AIRMETs and SIGMETs as well as looking to develop the functionality to update the weather for just your favorites or for an airport you may be viewing within the A/FD.  Let us know what you think!

We hope this gives you a little more insight into the behind-the-scenes action of iFlightPlanner for iPad!

The iFlightPlanner Crew
PLAN. FLY. LOG.™

All iFlightPlanner data, including airports, sectional charts and IFR Low/High charts, were updated this morning for the 4/5/2012 FAA Data Cycle from our official FAA data sources.  As always, whenever you access iFlightPlanner.com, you can be confident that you are using current and accurate data in your flight planning and other aviation tasks.

For iFlightPlanner for iPad, just tap the Downloads tab.  You can tap Check for Updates in the upper right as well to ensure that your app has the most up to date file listing.  iFlightPlanner for iPad will let you know which files need to be updated!