Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

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Aviation app developer ForeFlight and Boeing’s Jeppesen unit are working together to provide new data for the ForeFlight Mobile app (iOS only) and new functionality for Jeppesen’s FlightDeck Pro mobile app running on iOS and Windows devices.


The genesis of the alliance stemmed from customer requests, according to Jeppesen COO Ken Sain. “I’ve been a ForeFlight customer for some time,” he said. “It really was about customer input. The number one question [from customers] is, ‘When can we get Jeppesen charts on ForeFlight?’” He added that Jeppesen (Booth E46) wants to partner with “leaders like ForeFlight,” because Jeppesen has “a mindset of bringing in the best capabilities inside and outside our walls. This will make lots of happy pilots around the world.”


For both ForeFlight Mobile and Jeppesen FliteDeck Pro customers, the alliance solves two problems.&nbsp;


ForeFlight (Booth B58) is popular with business aviation and even airline and military pilots, but its chart coverage has been limited to the U.S. and Canada. Jeppesen’s coverage is worldwide, but its FliteDeck Pro app isn’t considered by some pilots to be as user-friendly for weather and navigation functions as ForeFlight Mobile. If Jeppesen charts were available on ForeFlight, then ForeFlight Mobile users could use the app all over the world.&nbsp;(Garmin Pilot customers have been able to do this since July 2016, by purchasing a Jeppesen subscription and using Jeppesen charts in the Pilot app.)


There are two key elements to the ForeFlight-Jeppesen alliance. First, ForeFlight is adding Jeppesen’s global navigational, terrain and obstacle data to ForeFlight Mobile, starting with version 9.1 this summer. After that, version 9.2 will add Jeppesen terminal charts, and version 9.3 will include Jeppesen en route maps.&nbsp;


ForeFlight users will be able to purchase Jeppesen data directly in the ForeFlight Mobile app. ForeFlight business users, if they already have a Jeppesen subscription with an unused product key, can use that to link the Jeppesen charts to their ForeFlight app. Subscribers to Jeppesen data for panel-mounted avionics will also be able to add service for their mobile devices, but will have to contact Jeppesen for that option.


Adding Jeppesen charts to ForeFlight will cost $199 per year for U.S. coverage. Prices for European coverage have yet to be announced. Canada/Alaska will cost $179, Africa $417 and Middle East and South Asia $421 per year.&nbsp;


The second result of the alliance is that Jeppesen is upgrading its FliteDeck Pro app, both the iOS (Apple) and Microsoft Windows versions, with “a combination of the familiar capabilities in FliteDeck Pro and significant features and functionality from ForeFlight Mobile,” according to the company. While not providing specifics, Sain said that a Jeppesen customer advisory board has been providing input on features they want to see in FliteDeck Pro. “We’ve created a backlog of a number of features and functionality and user experience design elements,” he said, “using the best qualities of both apps. Today we’re reviewing the working software with our maps and the ForeFlight user experience.”


FliteDeck Pro is one of few electronic flight bag (EFB) apps available for the Windows operating system, and updating it with new features from ForeFlight could make the Windows platform more attractive to pilots that prefer non-Apple devices. The new version incorporating ForeFlight functionality—FliteDeck Pro 4.0—will be released in January.


The most recent update of FliteDeck Pro (3.0 iOS and 9.0 Windows) added features such as SmartNotes to facilitate access to charting information relevant to the flight plan; tailored en route data for adding company-specific content; and integrated high-resolution airport moving maps for nearly 1,000 global airports, according to Jeppesen.


The alliance between ForeFlight and Jeppesen brings together “the core DNA of both companies,” said ForeFlight co-founder and CEO Tyson Weihs. “Both companies were founded by aviators passionate about solutions. The teams are working together to build amazing capabilities. We have the opportunity to pick from the toy chest of things done on both sides and pick the best.”


“It’s really going to improve the user experience and situational awareness,” said Sain. “It’s gorgeous software, you’re going to like it.”


Asked why the two companies didn’t merge or one buy the other (i.e., Jeppesen buy ForeFlight), Weihs said, “It’s clear this is a partnership. We think it’s important [in order] to solve challenges in the aviation space, that companies need to partner up. There are things we can do faster and better by partnering. Jeppesen has, as a result of recent mindset changes, really been working at an incredible pace. We’ve only been doing this for a handful of months, and already we’re working in an agile fashion. Cross-pollination is already happening. We’re learning about the significance and importance of highly regulated environments [with which Jeppesen is familiar]. We’re looking forward to many years of innovation.”

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