What would folks recommend for:
- VFR guides in Europe (I use Pooleys in UK + CAA 1/2 mil charts)
Jepp still publish the paper Bottlang guides, but if you get Jeppview there is a VFR plate option in that which
AFAIK is the same as the Bottlang books and much lighter to carry
- IFR charts etc. in UK and Europe
IFR approach charts - Jepp (Jeppview for the electronic ones)
IFR enroute charts - Jepp (though if you have Jepp Flitestar you rarely if ever actually look at the printed ones because you can print off A4 enroute sections for the flight)
- flight planning software to run on a PC and ideally copy data over onto a PDA (ideally incl. Notams, flight plan filing)
VFR (and UK-style informal IFR in Class G kind of stuff) - Navbox
IFR (Eurocontrol routes) - Jepp Flitestar
- moving map software for a PDA backup GPS
Depends on whether this is to be your primary/only GPS, or a backup one for emergency use. For the latter function you basically want a VFR chart, regardless of whether the flight is VFR or IFR.
The only proper up to date IFR/airway moving map is Jepp FliteDeck (which comes with Jeppview) although their now discontinued FliteMap product (identical to Flitestar but has a GPS input) would do more or less the same thing.
For VFR flying, Memory Map does nicely for the UK. For Europe, Oziexplorer but the VFR charts then have to be sourced from rather less official sources
Experiences of
- PocketFMS
- NavBox
- Jeppesen
PFMS - not used it myself.
Navbox - Great for European VFR but has no real maps so you need the real VFR chart for airspace/DA/obstacle planning.
Jeppesen - the only contender for Eurocontrol routings (called "airways" by UK pilots), offers little over Navbox Pro but is a lot more clumsy, which is pointless for VFR