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Do you love traveling but hate the crowds, the delays, and all the check-in/ check-out ordeals? Well, thanks to technology, you can forget all about that. The best apps for logging flights are easy to download, they’ll let you know everything about your flight, including the possible delays, they’ll tell you exactly where you are even midflight and will let you know all the great sights or restaurants nearby. Sounds too good to be true? Read on, we’ve got some apps that say otherwise.

FlightAware Flight Tracker

This app has the great benefit of giving you a very accurate flight status, so you’ll know everything regarding your flight. You can keep track of other commercial flights too, which is particularly useful for business travel or if you’re meeting friends from other countries.

The FlightAware Flight Tracker has its own GPS, thanks to which you can figure out your own location, and what other planes are near you. There’s also this awesome possibility of looking at a world map, which is complete with all the flight details that interest you.

FlightTrack 5

Even if you have a drone with a sturdy enough quadcopter frame that can resist the impact with a plane, you’re still not allowed to use it near one. So you need an app to know which aircrafts are around you, which can be done thanks to the FlightTrack 5, an app that works even with the Wi-Fi turned off.

That’s amazing because some planes don’t have a Wi-Fi signal throughout their route, so you need something that can work offline too. You can get plenty of info regarding all possible delays, how the gate activity is looking, and what cancellations took place. That’s not just for your flight either, it’s for thousands of airports. We also love the map this app has because it’s precise, easy to navigate and zoomable for increased details.

GateGuru

This is a free app that’s available for both iOS and Android, and it’s part of the TripAdvisor brand. The GateGuru app gives you the ability to personalize your travel and that’s what sets it apart from all the other flight tracking apps.

That’s not to say it can’t log the details of your flight to a grade A level, but the day plans customization option is magnificent. So you can simply add a specific itinerary, and this app will tell you where you can check in, what the weather is like, how much time you’ll probably wait for security check and what facilities the airport has.

FlightBoard

This app is also available for both iOS and Android users, and it’s perfect if you’re someone who needs to keep track of multiple flights at once. Maybe you’re a pilot, a flight attendant or you need to constantly book business flights for different people. Or maybe you just like knowing what every airline does, because the FlightBoard tells you all about thousands of airlines and airports, with constant and consistent updates.

But this app isn’t for anyone since it’s designed to look exactly like a flight board, which you can tell from the name. This design might be considered by some as very basic and easy to read, while others might not like its traditional look, with no flourishments.

FlightView Free

Another free app for anyone to use, this great software lets you navigate through a very difficult route. So when you have tons of things on your plate that you can’t think of every little detail regarding your itinerary, the FlightView Free is exactly what you need.

Besides logging flights with it, you can also customize your itinerary. You upload the travel confirmations, and the app takes care of letting you know what to do and when, with precise and reliable reminders.

iFly Airport Guide

If you’re traveling on a regular basis, you know you have to be prepared for all possible situations because not all airports have amazing facilities. But if you install the iFly Airport Guide, you’ll know in advance what you can find in each one of its 700 airports.

You’ll know where you can grab a bite to eat because you get info on the nearest restaurants, including reviews, you’ll know if you have Wi-Fi to catch up on your work, or if there’s any ATM around for some extra cash. The app also tells you what the parking rates are and what sort of transportation means there are nearby.

Flightwise Flight Tracker Pro

This app only works for iOS users, and it’s pricier than most of its peers, but it’s amazing if you’re really into flying. That’s because the Flightwise Flight Tracker Pro will give you access to all sorts of information available about routes and flights as old as 2001.

Of course, you’ll also get all the basic flight tracking info for your flight, but you can also check these details for every plane that crosses the airspace above USA and Canada. Furthermore, you have the option to look at various images of the plane, and learn all its specific features, though the most interesting feature of all is the ability to get a complete flight history of these planes.

Flightradar24

This app is available for iOS and Android users alike, and it’s made for people who want to know what being an air traffic controller is all about. So you can use this for educational purposes if you’re training to be one, or you can simply use it for fun or to schedule your trip better.

The Flightradar 24 can tell you the details of your flight, when and where it’s supposed to fly and land, as well as its current status. If you want to know more details, like the speed, height and the route followed, you can also do that. But the feature that tells this app apart from the rest is the Cockpit View, which makes you see everything the pilot sees from the cockpit.

With that in mind, tell us which app you’re going to choose and why. What are you going to use it for? How often are you traveling? Leave us a comment below.

 

About Author:

Jack is a true drone passionate and he focused his education on this amazing field. Thus, he graduated the Drone/UAV Pilot Training Certificate program and now he’s a member of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International. His main purpose right now is to find and develop new features and help others discover the wonderful experience of flying a drone. For this, he is the main editor and content creator at MyDroneLab Blog where you can find everything you want to know about drones.

Hovering over Hoth-like Landscapes

It’s no surprise that pilots and those taking great videos and still shots love to use drones in the winter: it’s not only the warmer months that offer jaw-dropping footage. When cities and villages all over the glove are covered with a fresh coat of white snow, getting a high-quality camera above them to show the rest of the world how spectacular they are is one of the most fun things you can accomplish as an owner of a UAV that pulls down great footage.

Since even the finest of drones are working with a bit of a limitation on battery life, shooting in the dead of winter poses many challenges. There are many elements to be concerned with such as areas that have already become half melted, any areas of your drone that may be loose or slowly cracking, and ice that may have already gathered around branches of trees.

There are also instances where you run home after pulling down some great footage over a snow-covered location, and are very excited to see the results. Lo and behold, when you pull up the SD card and monitor, there are glare and balance issues that you may not get during the warmer months, depending on the time of day. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your drone during the winter, and make sure that your footage doesn’t suffer the “frigid effect”.

Dealing with Moisture issues: Whether it is fog, snow, or rain that you are flying in, the moisture in the air around you is not going to help matters any as far as the motors or other sensitive electronics on the drone are concerned. Fog is one of the things you want to avoid with a capital “A”, because you could lose sight of your precious drone right off the bat.

There are some in the extreme sports industry who have successfully navigated snow, but it is not recommended. If you really have to do this to get the footage you need, make sure the tablet or phone is covered well, and plan far ahead to make sure you have somewhat of a dry area to land and take off.

Practice Flying Inside Using droneSim Pro UAS Flight Simulator: This is a super cool version of software that can be customized to help you practice flying a drone in different types of locations. It is basically a code-written entity that “creates” scenarios like forest fires, powerline and tower locations, and adverse weather conditions to fly through. Click here to shop for droneSim Pro.

Using software such as this insures that you can have test runs that won’t damage your equipment, and they create elements that absolutely seem lifelike. Especially if you have made the choice to pilot drones for your own business, by all means pilot the “artificial” skies before you attempt the real ones.

Choosing Appropriate Filters for the Season: When the weather and sky is very bright, sometimes it forces the aperture on the cameras to be fixed too fast, and it turns the video into something that looks primitive, and the polar opposite of smooth. If you add a Neutral Density filter, it helps limit the amount of light that enters the camera, and allows for the user to choose slower shutter speeds.

Ice can really be the enemy: When you are trying to pass through an area of interstate or residential street with a car, ice is truly the enemy, as it can make things slippery and unsafe. When ice builds up on the blades of drones propellers, it makes the UAV heavier, and you’ll notice instability immediately.

One thing to do is just to stay as far away as possible from a possible shoot if that temperature is hovering around the 32-25 degrees Fahrenheit range, because that is when most of the troubles begin.

Being Proactive about Battery Life: When the temperatures dip, your battery is going to be affected, and quickly. It is essential to plan for this both in flight routes, and in all ways that you deal with and handle the batteries. Keeping a hand warmer handy or in your pack is a good tip, but you must take special care to not place it directly on the batteries themselves.

Once you get in the air, you can begin by letting the drone hover for at least a minute or two to make sure it warms up properly. Cold conditions are known to make the battery’s voltage drop, and so keeping away from hitting high speed right in the beginning is a good choice to boot.

Varying amounts of Wisdom Regarding Visibility: Fog is almost always present over water during the winter, even if it’s just in very trace amounts. One thing about low clouds is that they make for quite a dramatic photo or video shoot, but they require the pilot to absolutely be on their top guard to get through unscathed.

Even with all of the GPS options among others that there are to track your craft, visibility is one of the things that is always going to work in your favor. We know just how mesmerizing a winter wonderland can look: after following just a few of these tips, you’ll be up in the air and pulling down some snow-capped stills or video in moments!

Thanks to our friends at Readycopters for this review of droneSim Pro.

Our simulator was evaluated by the team at dronethusiast.com. After their testing, we are ranked the #1 drone flight simulator on the market. Please read more about their Drone Flight Simulator Analysis and Comparison.