Story ID: 
ForeFlight Releases Holding Pattern Advisor
By: Matt Thurber
Caption: ForeFlight Version 13.5 adds some useful new features, including a Hold Advisor and an easier way to see approach minimums. 
Word Count: 345
A long-requested update to the ForeFlight electronic flight bag app allows pilots to set up holding patterns at any waypoint. ForeFlight v13.5 also added new augmented procedures to help show minimums for approach procedures, as well as more aircraft to its runway analysis service and visualization of engine-out procedures (EOP) on a preview map.

Hold Advisor is accessed by tapping on a waypoint on the moving map or in the flight plan bubble editor or using the Procedure Advisor. A hold can also be set at any arbitrary lat/long coordinate. ForeFlight chooses the holding pattern entry according to the course that will be flown to the waypoint. The user can adjust parameters associated with the hold, including inbound or outbound course, leg length or time, left or right turns, and options such as altitude, speed, and expect further clearance time.

Once the parameters are selected, the hold can be added to the route, which displays the hold and the proper entry. The navlog then shows the hold details, including headings to be flown during the entry and hold.

The Augmented Procedures feature shows approach minimums based on aircraft category and airport equipment status and displays the applicable minimums as part of the route. This can help eliminate confusion when looking for approach minimums and also helps highlight how, for example, inoperative approach lights can result in higher minimums.

ForeFlight’s runway analysis service now includes the Bombardier Global Express, XRS, and 5000; Learjet 60 and 70; Gulfstream G500; and Embraer Phenom 300/300E. Runway analysis allows pilots to fly with the maximum payload possible while meeting terrain- and obstacle-clearance requirements in case of loss of one engine during the takeoff phase of flight.

In addition to the new aircraft, ForeFlight now depicts the EOP on a preview map so pilots can see the required routing. The EOP depiction can’t be placed onto the ForeFlight moving map, but each EOP includes details on the path that must be flown in case of engine failure after takeoff.