FlyQ EFB Logo

FAQ


I heard that AOPA is dropping FlyQ? What does that mean?

Seattle Avionics owns and has always owned all rights to FlyQ EFB and FlyQ Pocket as we created them. When we decided to make iPhone and iPad apps, we looked for a launch partner. At the same time, it so happens that AOPA was looking to expand into the EFB market so we joined forces. We designed, developed, and own the apps; they marketed them. We thought three years would be about right to get the apps launched properly so signed a three year conttract. That three year period is almost over so we're getting full control of our apps back.

We're super excited to be able to take the apps in new directions in terms of both the apps themselves and the marketing. AOPA is a great organization and we've appreciated their help in launching it but AOPA is also burdened by internal and external political issues, management changes, and other things that made it hard for them to focus on FlyQ EFB. We, on the other hand, have been making award-winning aviation apps for 12 years and it's absolutely full-steam ahead for FlyQ EFB and Pocket. FlyQ EFB is the #1 rated iPad EFB app on the market (4.5 out of 5 stars) and FlyQ Pocket has about 100,000 users. We have major plans for new features for both apps in the very near future. You can see a small example of this with the new FlyQ EFB 1.4 version we're about to release.

Watch a preview of what's new in version 1.4

Do I need an Internet connection for it to work?

Nope. While some things require a connection to the Internet (downloading wx, advanced flight planning, filing a flight plan, download data, etc.), FlyQ EFB is designed primarily as an inflight tool so doesn't need the Internet for much. Unlike the iPhone/Android versions of FlyQ Pocket, FlyQ EFB can even plan flights without an Internet connection (albeit missing a few features). Of course, once weather, airport data, and maps are downloaded, they are available even when there is no Internet connection.

Can I fly in Track Up mode or just North Up?

Take your pick! Tap the Compass button on the map to switch between Track Up and North Up. Or use your fingers to manually rotate the map.

How much does it cost?

FlyQ EFB itself is free.

However, like most aviation apps, you need a subscription to continue using it beyond a 30 day free subscription.

12 Month VFR Subscription $69.99. If you're a VFR pilot, dont pay for IFR data you don't need! Our 12 month VFR subscription gives you everything a VFR pilot needs for all 50 US states. This includes Sectionals, Seattle Avionics digital airport/navaid ChartData™, Seattle Avionics geo-referenced airport diagrams, fuel prices, visual approach procedures, weather, flight planning and more.

12 Month IFR + VFR Subscription $119.99. If you're an IFR pilot, our 12 month IFR + VFR subscription gives you everything you need for safe and legal IFR and VFR flights. This subscription includes everything in the VFR package plus Seattle Avionics geo-referenced approach plates, IFR Low Altitude charts, and IFR High Altitude charts.

Does FlyQ EFB support ADS-B?

Absolutely! FlyQ EFB supports free ADS-B weather and traffic from the Dual XGPS170 ADS-B + WAAS GPS device, both Sagetech Clarity devices, and both iLevil devices. Additional receivers will be added later.

How Do I Connect my ADS-B Receiver?

Using ADS-B within FlyQ EFB couldn't be simpler.

Dual XGPS 170

The first time you use the receiver you have to connect it to your iPad through a process called Bluetooth "pairing." This is done just once.

Sagetech Clarity

The Sagetech Clairty devices use Wi-Fi to communicate with the iPad so no Bluetooth pairing is required but your iPad does have to be connected to the Wi-Fi network that the devices create.

iLevil

The iLevil devices use Wi-Fi to communicate with the iPad so no Bluetooth pairing is required but your iPad does have to be connected to the Wi-Fi network that the devices create.

Synthetic vision? AHRS?

Built-in, no additional subscription required. On the map, tap the 3D cube button. Be sure to use the Data Manager to download terrain data ahead of time. Add the Sagetech Clarity SV or a Levil device (including the iLevil) for true synthetic vision including yaw, pitch, and roll.

Terrain and Obstacle Warning?

You bet. On the map, tap the Layers button and turn Hazards on. Dangerous terrain and obstacles become red if they're at or above your altitude (actually within 100 ft) and become yellow if you're within 1,000 ft. of them. You also get extremely clear, specific warnings for obstacles dangerously in your expected flight path.

Obstacle and terrain warnings work in both 2D and 3D mode.

What does the 'Send to Aspen' button do?

Aspen Avionics makes the Evolution glass panel system. They have a device called the Connected Panel that is essentially a WiFi base station in the aircraft that allows iPads to communicate with the onboard avionics such as a Garmin 430/530 via the Connected Panel. The 'Send to Aspen' button sends the current flight plan to the Connected Panel where a pilot can then choose to copy it to their 430/530.

Plates on the map?

Check. Select an approach procedure then tap the small 'map' icon above the plate and the procedure (and any other plate you select later) will appear on the map. You can use the Brightness button on the app's top toolbar to adjust the opacity of the procedure.

X-Plane support?

FlyQ EFB supports X-Plane version 10.2 or higher. To set it up:

  1. Ensure you're using the latest version of X-Plane (10.2 or greater required).
  2. Make sure your iPad and the computer running X-Plane are on the same Wi-Fi network.
  3. You'll need to tell X-Plane what the IP address of your iPad is. To do that:
  4. Launch X-Plane on your computer.
  5. Select Settings then click Net connections and iPhone/iPad.
  6. Check the box for Send AHRS and ADS-B data to Xavion.
  7. Enter your iPad's IP address in the text field next to Send AHRS and ADS-B data to Xavion. The field probably has a value like 192.168.0.1 by default That value will not generally work and needs to be replaced by the actual IP address of your iPad. Leave the 48002 value unchanged.
  8. Click the X in the corner of the Net Connections window to return to X-Plane.
  9. Open FlyQ EFB.
  10. Tap the Settings button and swipe the list up so you can see the Devices section.
  11. Turn X-Plane Mode on. It may take a few moments for FlyQ to recognize the change.

Extended runway center lines?

Automatic. Select an airport via any mechanism (type the ident, select from the Nearst list, double-tap on the map the select an airport, etc.) to see it in the Airports tab. The extended runways with right-pattern indicators (orange arrows) will appear for that airport. You do not need to create a flight plan to see extended runways but you do need to select the airport.

What's all the blue on the NexRad radar? There is no precipitation now?

It means "cold", it does not mean there is any precipitation. Unfortunately, our radar provider also supplies this data to TV stations and, apparently, TV vewiers like it. We're working with them to remove it.

Can I show a map and an approach plate at the same time? Two maps?

Yes and yes. Tap the Split button located at the upper left of the screen to toggle between single-screen to split-screen modes in either Portrait or Landscape orientations.

Can I rubber-band flight plans?

Absolutely! Just press and hold over an existing point to move it or press and hold near the flight plan line to insert a new point between two existing points.

Can I measure distances?

We make that super-simple. Just double-tap anywhere on the map and the "Nearest" pop-up you'll see shows the distance and bearing from your current position to everything near your double-tap. No two-finger gimics.

How do I see information, such as frequencies, about airspace?

Just double-tap the map. Part of the "Nearest" pop-up graphically shows you what the airspace looks like under your tap. A small aircraft icon even makes it simple to know if you're over, under, or within each class of airspace. Tap the Airspace graphic for more details, such as frequencies.

The approach plate have an expired date on them but I downloaded the current set. What's up?

If you're checking for valid dates of the plate by looking at the side of the plate, you're being misled. The FAA prints two dates on the side of each plate. Although they look like expiration dates, they are not. They simply represent the print cycle of when that plate was last printed by the FAA. That is, even if a plate doesn't change for two years, every 28 days, it will have a new set of dates on the side. FlyQ ignores these dates and uses a database that the FAA publishes to download only the plates that really have changed or been added. Thus, even when all your plates are current, you may see 'old' dates on the side. You have to keep in mind that, unlike IFR enroute charts or Sectionals, there is no planned expiration date for a plate -- they just update it when necessary. Thus, it's not possible for them to print an expire date on the plate since they have no idea when it might expire.

Plates do have revision info on them in the lower left corner, however. This revision info remains constant even when the date on the side changes (unless the plate really was changed, of course) but it's hard to decode as it sometimes involves what's called a Julian date. Moreover, unless you know for sure what the "current" revision info is, it doesn't help you much as there is nothing to compare it to. We all just have to rely on the FAA accurately marking plates when changed. The good news is that we've been doing this for 10 years and we've NEVER seen them make a mistake about this.

Finally, in the ChartData Manager, you can tell FlyQ EFB to download ALL plates, even the ones that have not changed. We do not recommend this, however, as it dramatically increases the download time.

How can I clear the flight plan?

While you can't clear a flight plan, per se, you can remove it from the map by tapping the Layers button on the map and deselecting the Flight Plan selection. Of course, any existing flight plan is also replaced by opening or creating a new one or using Direct To.

Will my Dual XGPS 150 or 160 work? How about a Garmin GLO or Bad Elf? I don't see a switch in Settings for any of these.

GPS support is built into the iPad so no special switches are required in FlyQ EFB. Just connect the GPS to your iPad and it should just work. Note that you can only use a fairly small number of GPS units as Apple must certify them. The ones mentioned above all work with the iPad but other units, such as a Global Sat, do not work.

How do I delete flight plans?

From the list of flight plans, tap the Edit button at the top of the screen then tap the - button next to the flight plan you wish to delete and confirm by tapping the Delete button.

Alternately, once you open the flight plan (that is, see the NavLog), tap the button that looks like a box with an arrow coming out of it (Apple calls this an Action button). Delete is the first choice but you can also use this to print or email the flight plan.

My aircraft isn't in the list

Sorry about that. If you send an email to Seattle Avionics Technical Support with the manufacturer, model, and FAA/ICAO TYPE identifier (like a Cessna 172 is TYPE C172), we'll try to add it for the next release.

In the meantime you can select Experimental as the Manufacturer then pick High, Medium, or Low Performance as the Model. Not ideal but it gives ATC what they need.

I have a Seattle Avionics Voyager account. Do I need to buy anything else?

Thanks for being a Seattle Avionics customer; We really appreciate it.

FlyQ EFB was created by Seattle Avionics. However, it is sold by AOPA not Seattle Avionics so a Voyager account is not generally transferable to FlyQ EFB. However, the two organizations have agreed to let Voyager Lifetime customers have a free FlyQ EFB subscription for at least one year. Given that the FAA is likely to soon begin charging a substantial fee per user, we cannot offer free subscriptions for a longer period. Please contact Seattle Avionics Customer Service for more information.

Why don't you support the original iPad?

We're very sorry about not being able to support these older devices; They simply don't have the memory or processing power to handle the advanced features that FlyQ EFB supports such as split screen and synthetic vision. In fact, even Apple has stopped releasing software for the original iPad as the last two operating systems (6.x and 7.x) requires an iPad 2 or later and most of the powerful Apple apps will not work on the original iPad.

Keeping backwards compatibility with older devices, while it may seem like always a good thing to do, comes at a cost to users of the newer devices. Specifically, there are certain useful features of the newer devices that we would not be able to use. This means useful features not being available or, in some cases, considerably more development time in getting the same feature to work on the older devices. That implicitly means time not spent adding new features that apply to many people or not fixing bugs.

We're very sorry we had to make this decision and hope you understand our thinking.

Are there any known bugs in the app?

Some minor ones, yes, and we're working to correct them quickly. We've fixed several since the initial release of FlyQ EFB. If you think you found a problem, have a question, or have a suggestion, please let us know by sending email to FlyQEFBSupport@seattleavionics.com.

How about countries other than the United States?

We're sorry but FlyQ EFB is really just for flying within the United States; it has no data for other countries.

I'm having DUAT / DUATS login issues

There are two DUATS providers: DTC DUAT and CSC DUATS (confusing, we know). The two providers use different account numbers. Be sure to enter the right login info for the provider you select. If you're not sure which you have now, DTC DUAT numbers usually begin with a 0 while CSC DUATS numbers usually begin with a 1.

If you think you have a DTC DUAT account but can't remember your password, you can reset the password to something you'll remember (DTC DUAT does not have a mechanism to retrieve a lost password). To reset your password, go to the Settings tab and tap Pilot Profiles, DUAT. Tap your name then confirm that you've entered your FAA Certificate # and the new 6 character password you'd like to use. Although you may already have an account, use the New button in the DUAT ID area to change your password to what you just entered on the Pilot information screen.

I have other questions. Who do I contact?

Call or email AOPA Monday through Friday 8:30 ? 6:00 Eastern Time.
Phone: 800/USA-AOPA (872-2672)
E-mail: FlyQEFBSupport@SeattleAvionics.com

Who makes FlyQ EFB?

AOPA FlyQ EFB was created by Seattle Avionics and marketed by AOPA.

Founded in 2002, Seattle Avionics develops cutting-edge aviation software, ChartData™ aviation data, and the popular SkyPad complete EFB solution. The company?s Voyager Flight Software System for Windows is a consistent winner of Aviation Consumer?s award for Best Flight Planner. Seattle Avionics provides state-of-the-art US and European aviation ChartData to many major aviation companies including Aspen Avionics, Honeywell (Bendix/King), and all the leading iPad applications. The company is working on a range of aviation software and data products designed to make general aviation flying easier, safer, more fun, and more affordable. Please see www.seattleavionics.com for more information.


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