ForeFlight Student Pilot Guide: When to Start & How to Use
Why ForeFlight Dominates General Aviation—And How It Can Transform Your Flight Training
ForeFlight has become the undisputed standard for general aviation pilots, and for good reason. This iPad-based electronic flight bag (EFB) has revolutionized how pilots plan, brief, and execute flights, combining weather, charts, airport information, and navigation tools into a single, intuitive platform. Recent market analysis shows that ForeFlight has emerged as the clear market leader, with surveys indicating over 90% of GA pilots use either ForeFlight, Garmin Pilot, or FltPlan Go—and ForeFlight holds the largest share of that market.
What Makes ForeFlight the Industry Standard
ForeFlight’s dominance isn’t just about being first to market—it’s about delivering comprehensive functionality that pilots actually need. The app provides interactive map features with automatic airspace decluttering, graphical flight planning with Touch Planning technology, comprehensive weather overlays, and integrated terrain awareness using Jeppesen’s high-resolution data. Whether you’re filing IFR flight plans from the ramp or checking AWOS data with real-time weather cameras, ForeFlight makes complex tasks remarkably simple.
The platform continues to evolve with features like 3D flight preview, synthetic vision, and profile view weather analysis that enhance situational awareness and safety. For pilots planning to fly professionally, learning ForeFlight during training provides invaluable hands-on experience with the same tools used by airline and military pilots.
How ForeFlight Benefits Student Pilots
Enhanced Safety and Situational Awareness
ForeFlight enhances safety throughout all phases of flight training. The app’s hazard awareness features highlight dangerous terrain and obstacles near your aircraft position, providing an extra layer of protection as you build your skills. The moving map display with GPS tracking helps student pilots maintain better situational awareness, especially when navigating complex airspace or unfamiliar airports.
Reinforcing Fundamental Concepts
Rather than replacing aviation fundamentals, ForeFlight reinforces them. Students can visualize concepts learned in ground school—from weight and balance calculations to airspace boundaries—in ways that static textbook diagrams simply cannot match. The app includes pre-loaded aircraft performance data for over 100 aircraft models, helping students understand how weight and balance affects their specific training aircraft.
Streamlined Organization and Progress Tracking
ForeFlight Logbook offers integrated flight logging with progress tracking reports that monitor your FAA flight requirement progress toward certificates and ratings. The remote signing feature allows instructors to review and endorse logbook entries digitally, saving time and providing convenience for both students and CFIs. Document management capabilities keep all your training records, endorsements, and reference materials organized in one place.
How We Incorporate ForeFlight Into Training
In our flight training program, we introduce ForeFlight gradually, treating it as a professional tool that students will use throughout their aviation careers. This phased approach ensures students master fundamental skills while gaining proficiency with modern technology.
During Early Training: Students use ForeFlight for weather briefings, chart review, and accessing FAA publications. They become familiar with the interface and learn to interpret weather products and airspace depictions.
Cross-Country Phase: ForeFlight becomes a planning powerhouse. Students create flight plans using both traditional methods and ForeFlight’s tools, understanding how the app calculates winds, fuel burns, and leg times. During flights, we may initially disable the “ownship” position indicator, encouraging pilotage and dead reckoning skills before relying on GPS tracking.
Pre-Checkride Preparation: Students operate ForeFlight at full capability, learning to integrate all features efficiently while maintaining proper cockpit management and outside visual scanning.
Post-Certificate: We offer additional ground instruction to ensure new pilots maximize their ForeFlight subscription and understand advanced features like procedure previews, 3D replay, and track log analysis.
When Should You Start Using ForeFlight?
The ideal time to introduce ForeFlight is early in your training, but with proper guidance. Active CFIs recommend starting ForeFlight from day one or shortly after beginning flight training, primarily because proficiency with the app requires practice, just like any other cockpit tool.
However, early introduction must be balanced with mastering paper chart skills. The goal is not to replace fundamental navigation and flight planning knowledge, but to enhance it. Understanding how to manually calculate magnetic courses, measure distances, and determine fuel requirements provides the aeronautical knowledge foundation that makes you a competent pilot—ForeFlight then makes executing those skills more efficient.
For student pilots wondering about the free trial timing, consider starting your subscription when you begin solo cross-country planning. This provides the most value during the intensive flight planning phase while ensuring you’ve already developed core navigation skills. As a flight instructor, I can also offer a discount to new ForeFlight users. Ask me about how to redeem this discount.
The Bottom Line
ForeFlight represents the present and future of general aviation. Students who train with ForeFlight from the beginning develop competency with industry-standard tools while building the fundamental skills required for safe, proficient flying. The app’s ability to make flying “safer, easier, and more efficient” isn’t marketing hype—it’s the daily reality for hundreds of thousands of pilots worldwide.
As your instructor, I’m committed to teaching you how to use ForeFlight appropriately under guidance, rather than leaving you to learn through trial and error. Whether you’re planning your first solo cross-country or preparing for your instrument rating, ForeFlight will be an invaluable companion in your aviation journey—helping you stay organized, maintain safety, and ultimately become a more confident, capable pilot.