OK, just checked out EasyVFR. Looks like they use a limited set of national raster charts (mostly DFS). What isn’t clear to me from their website, is if you can overlay the vector charts with all the airspace info over the raster charts. As an aside, sort of weird that nowhere on their website do they give pricing….
Here are the available raster charts:
Austria Visual 500 (DFS)
Belgium/Luxembourg (DFS)
Denmark Visual 500 (DFS)
France OACI (IGN)
Germany ICAO (DFS)
Norway ICAO
Swiss ICAO (SkyGuide)
Swiss Visual 500 (DFS)
West Poland Visual 500 (DFS)
The reason I’m interested in all this is that I’d like to have some sort of ForeFlightesque product running on my iPad when flying in Europe next time I do so. Alas, EasyVFR isn’t going to be it, as it misses Spain and Portugal, where most of my EU flying takes place. Will check out the others or just make do with vector charts.
EasyVFR also does the Air Million charts, IIRC. These go even down to Greece.
As an aside, sort of weird that nowhere on their website do they give pricing….
It is a little bit hidden: EasyVFR Shop
Yes. Air Million charts are included in EasyVFR.
Charts are priced differently per chart as they cost different from the different vendors.
The DFS ones are typically about €22 each and the AirMillion ones about €20 each (it’s shown in the app on the screen that you purchase).
AirMillion cover all of Europe in 8 charts in 1 million:1 scale.
Do you really need raster charts? Just curious. As a beta tester I’ve access to all the raster charts for testing, but outside of beta testing, I don’t use them. I prefer the vector maps.
I can understand when you’re used to a particular format on paper, that having that same format onscreen can be useful. But when you have to learn a new format, is it still useful to have raster charts on screen?
The option is there for anyone who want it though!
dublinpilot wrote:
But when you have to learn a new format, is it still useful to have raster charts on screen?
You are probably right there. If they had used something uniform like the Jepps, then yes, but if they use the local xAA version, then probably not. Especially if they use (or are similar to) the Spanish VFR charts which are totally useless.
@TobiBS, thanks, hadn’t see that
I have always felt uneasy when using vector charts. You never know just which obstructions the vector chart software has hidden or ‘layered out’ of the display and with some navigation software the results are not even consistent.
Especially when the vendor doesn’t put in some stuff because it was too much work to extract it from the AIP – as Skydemon did in Italy, and they actually said that!
However I think Europe is gradually getting stuffed on “proper” charts. Very few pilots are buying them, and regardless of ICAO obligations (which e.g. Italy discharges with completely cockpit-useless presentation), most pilots fly only locally so if they buy one, they buy the smallest-coverage option they can get, and eventually it will be realised that it’s a waste of money printing them.
I like vector charts way more on any electronic device. That startet when I was using a cassiopeia for navigation in the glider. No way to use raster charts back then. But the first charts were Airspace and turnpoints only.
I do not think the paper chart will die, because many people enjoy navigation with pilotage and dead reckoning, at least some of the time. So my guess is there will be at least one company printing the data, even if it’s just an on demand service.
172driver wrote:
Here are the available raster charts:
Austria Visual 500 (DFS)
Belgium/Luxembourg (DFS)
Denmark Visual 500 (DFS)
France OACI (IGN)
Germany ICAO (DFS)
Norway ICAO
Swiss ICAO (SkyGuide)
Swiss Visual 500 (DFS)
West Poland Visual 500 (DFS)
I haven’t found ICAO for Norway since a year back, and the “default” nav info has not been updated from the AIP either (since 1-2 years). Today I use AirnavPro for the ICAO map and SD for nav. I keep EasyVFR to get some basic info into the MGL EFIS. Pretty stupid to have 3 nav apps, but that’s the only way to get all the info and not use paper charts.
LeSving wrote:
Pretty stupid to have 3 nav apps
Sound very luxurious for someone that just does glider towing and short burger runs indeed 
Aviathor wrote:
Sound very luxurious for someone that just does glider towing and short burger runs indeed
Who said I only do that? Well, mostly, but then again, try navigating in the mountains of Norway (instead of 5000 ft above them) without proper navigation equipment and maps, then try doing it when the ceiling starts coming down… We have proper maps for it, the M517 military low flying maps, but they are only available on paper, which is rather unbelievable in 2016.
