Pilots tired of translating flight plans, checklists, and charts between electronic flight bags (EFBs) and the instrument panel will soon have reason to rejoice.
uAvionix and Jeppesen ForeFlight on Tuesday introduced SkyPlay, a new integration that will embed the popular flight planning platform directly within panel-mounted avionics. Attendees of EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on July 20-26 will have the opportunity to experiment with SkyPlay using interactive, live flight simulators at both companies’ exhibits.
Oshkosh will mark the integration’s public debut. The partners said they will share information on pricing and shipping dates in the future.
By integrating ForeFlight’s familiar mapping, routing, and workflows into the instrument panel, SkyPlay would allow a pilot to plan a flight remotely using an iPad or other tablet, then synchronize it to digital screens in the cockpit. That would let them use either interface to monitor and manage their route in the air. The idea is to eliminate the learning curve that comes with a new avionics suite, the partners said.
“Pilots have routinely found themselves translating workflows back and forth between the [electronic flight bag] on their knee and the glass in their panel,” per a news release shared Tuesday.
SkyPlay’s digital interface is paired with physical, multifunction control knobs that function under heavy turbulence and are compatible with flight gloves.
The partners said certified and experimental aircraft will not require a panel redesign to install the system. Soon, they plan to introduce a “suite of panel applications anchored entirely in the ForeFlight environment.”
Earlier this year, Jeppesen introduced a ForeFlight Emergency Glide Mode and partnered with Tecnam, allowing owners and operators of aircraft such as the P2012 and P-Mentor to integrate its data into the models’ Garmin avionics systems. The agreement gives owners a one-year subscription to Jeppesen NavData and Jeppesen Charts as well as one ForeFlight premium subscription.
Earlier this week, the company introduced the AI-powered ClearNOTAMs app, which translates raw, convoluted NOTAMs into plain English and conveys the real operational impact of each notice.
