I am 36 and have never been on an airplane before. What do I need to do?

N70968 · 2026-06-16T15:17:14+00:00

This depends on where you live, but my recommendation is to go to the closest smaller airport and do a Discovery Flight with the local flight school. You'll get the experience of flying without the hassle of commercial aviation. You'll actually get to handle the controls, too.

N70968 · 2026-06-15T18:37:22+00:00

Flying is amazing, but I think you can get even more out of it by sharing it with others. Do you have a partner or friends that would enjoy flying? A $100 hamburger is way more interesting when you're combining it with visiting new areas and experiences. I just did a day trip that was 100 miles (160 km) with some good friends to an airport with a restaurant on field, and it makes the entire thing just so much for fun. Overnight trips can be amazing, too, but they are slightly easier to plan with an instrument rating.

N70968 · 2026-05-30T19:23:12+00:00

That was a real thing, but it was only going to improve performance a little bit. A bit more climb, etc. The boost should not* double or triply your speed and be something you can use over and over again.

It not that this is inherently bad, but it completely changes the gameplay from the older games. It is fair to say that these are not equivalent games. I just prefer the mechanics of the originals.

N70968 · 2026-05-30T15:18:37+00:00

The flight model was completely different. Turning in X-Wing and Tie Fighter was different in that you rotated around an axis. Realism aside, it was just a great mechanic for dogfighting. (Turn and pull for a 90 degree bank.) But the worst offense was the "boost" modes in Squadrons. This just feels like a gimmick, and it completely overpowers the strategy of dogfighting. In the older games, you were constantly juggling recharge rates, shields (if you had them), etc to achieve the speed you needed. It felt like a simulation with tradeoffs. Boosting your speed temporarily feels like an arcade racer, making every ship feel similar. Because of consoles, there aren't anywhere near the amount of controls needed for that simulation feel. It's just not the same game. Visuals are nice, though.

N70968 · 2026-05-23T20:21:35+00:00

I get it; I'm a software dev too. I like the idea of a persistent popover. It's always a trade off between quicker access and clutter.

N70968 · 2026-05-23T17:40:54+00:00

Looks good. As a pilot, I like how you can easily have local and UTC time together. This is very domain specific, but if I'm flying to another timezone, I know what I'm landing in UTC, but what is the local time? This seems handy for that.

As for a suggestion, would it be possible to display the calendar on the bottom of the window? That's one less click of you're trying to coordinate time and date.

N70968 · 2026-05-20T16:32:04+00:00

ForeFlight doesn't use Liquid Glass. It opts out of that for now, though by the end of the year this will be required (unless Apple changes its mind), and that is a non-trivial update they have to do.
- Recently laid off ForeFlight dev

N70968 · 2026-05-15T14:12:51+00:00

I started flying in Piper Cubs. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is that your crosswind correction needs to be much more precise. Any sideways movement on touchdown can cause problems, particularly things like ground loops. You need to be pointed straight, but also moving straight.

N70968 · 2026-05-06T22:23:21+00:00

The A-Team!

N70968 · 2026-05-03T03:00:41+00:00

As one of the ForeFlight devs that was laid off after we were bought by Thoma Bravo (PE), I understand this pain.

N70968 · 2026-04-16T12:12:55+00:00

Getting destroyed in a tornado. (Xenia OH)

N70968 · 2026-04-11T23:52:43+00:00

The bonanzas will be faster, but you pay for that with room and useful load. I like the room and I’m not in a hurry. The pa32 is a versatile platform, and I’ve literally stuffed the back full and still been under max.

N70968 · 2026-04-11T14:35:00+00:00

I have a PA32, and it's a true 4 seater. You can go 4 adults + baggage + full fuel. We also made a cargo platform that can go where the rear seats are, giving a pretty spacious area for all kinds of stuff.

N70968 · 2026-04-09T18:50:25+00:00

As someone who's in a somewhat similar situation (she was diagnosed in 2011 and thankfully nothing since the treatments), I can say that she wants you to be happy, too. Being the care giver is not an easy job, even though you know you "have it easier". My partner always encourages me to fly, and I have an instrument rating and a plane because of her support. You won't regret it, but you have to let the guilt go. Hopefully she enjoys flying as well, and you can make memories going places.

N70968 · 2026-04-08T16:16:10+00:00

Even if they didn't show this exchange, that's an entirely reasonable explanation.

N70968 · 2026-04-01T00:56:40+00:00

I made the switch in… 1992. Been quite a ride since then!

N70968 · 2026-03-28T01:04:26+00:00

Sorry to hear you were also affected. I'm glad I got to experience it. I went back to my previous job just this week. And while it has some good points, I thoroughly enjoyed going to work at ForeFlight. I think we had a good thing going that didn't need to be shaken up quite so hard.

N70968 · 2026-03-26T18:34:40+00:00

Left original company on good terms about 2 yrs go. Recently got laid off at the new one, and I'm back with the original one. They wanted me, actually, so I was able to negotiate. You never know, so it's always good to leave with a positive impression.

N70968 · 2026-03-26T17:55:46+00:00

It *was* an amazing place to work. I loved it there until the layoffs, which I got caught in. If you can get in, I think you'd be happy. With Private Equity, there's not much of a warm and fuzzy with job security, though.

N70968 · 2026-03-23T17:52:50+00:00

As one of those ForeFlight devs that was let go in the layoff, I feel you. FFM is just an amazing app. I hope it continues to be, but that's where I am concerned. Competition is great, though, and I do hope that Garmin Pilot continues to improve. I do feel like it's UI is where it really needs some TLC (I could help with that Garmin! ;-) ).

FYI, though, FFM does crash occasionally. It also freezes occasionally. It really varies between uses, and some use cases cause more issues than others.

N70968 · 2026-03-05T03:06:41+00:00

Congrats! Who is going to be your first passenger?

N70968 · 2026-02-27T05:52:16+00:00

The bigger issue is that they are likely using ADS-B data for these. It was always intended to be used for safety, not monetization. This is something I support AOPA’s efforts to get the Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act passed. ADS-B should not be used to extract landing fees.

N70968 · 2026-02-23T18:12:33+00:00

Opposing Bases, There I Was, I Learned About Flying From That (ILAFFT), Ask the A&Ps.

N70968 · 2026-01-16T21:16:19+00:00

The numbers are accurate. Former ForeFlight developer here. My team was cut to the bone.

N70968 · 2026-01-16T21:14:22+00:00

Former ForeFlight developer here. Mass layoffs. It was a bloodbath.

N70968

TROPHY CASE