DroidEFB: EFB for Pilots (US)

Review by eFreeware

The most distinctive thing about DroidEFB is that it is an electronic flight bag built specifically for pilots flying in the United States, and it is free of advertising. That combination matters in a cockpit, where a stray banner or a pop-up is the last thing anyone wants while heads-down. The developer, DroidEFB, LLC, describes the app as pilot-built and pilot-tested, and the whole package is organized around US airspace.

It is aimed at private pilots, instrument-rated flyers and instructors who work from Android phones and tablets and want charts, weather, airport data and flight planning in one place. The app has been on Google Play since June 2015 and has passed 100,000 installs, with a 4.0 average from 750 ratings. Those numbers suggest a settled product with a real user base rather than a new experiment.

I would think of it as a working tool rather than a training aid. The app assumes you already know what a STAR, a DP and a victor airway are, and that you want them on a screen you already carry.

Charts, overlays and the core flying screen

At the center of the app is a moving-map view. Your position and planned route appear over FAA Sectional, TAC, low-altitude and high-altitude charts. From there you can amend airports, waypoints, victor and jet airways, STARs, DPs, GPS coordinates and DME references, which covers the edits that come up most often when a clearance changes mid-plan.

The navigation log accounts for current winds aloft, so the planning side is not just a line drawn between two points. Vertical speed required, special use airspace and track prediction are included, along with a free weather function. Approach plates and airport diagrams are available, with geo-referencing tied to the Premium tier.

Weather is handled as an overlay rather than a separate screen. NEXRAD, METAR, TAF, PIREP, SIGMET and AIRMET data can arrive over the internet, through a MobileLink device or over ADS-B, while surface winds, winds aloft, icing potential, area forecasts and TFRs come over the internet. Satellite imagery, lightning strikes and freezing levels come through MobileLink. NOTAMs can be received over the internet or ADS-B.

The chart sources are worth noting. Seattle Avionics supplies geo-referenced plates and taxi diagrams; FlightAware supplies fuel pricing and FBO information. Those are professional data suppliers, and the developer leans on them as a reason to choose this over a bare-bones chart viewer.

ADS-B, briefings and the hardware it talks to

DroidEFB works with ADS-B receivers. Traffic and weather, including TIS-B, come through Stratux and other GDL-90 devices, and the list of supported hardware also includes Baron MobileLink, iLevil with AHRS, Dual XGPS, ZAON XRX, Pathfinder, SkyRadar and Dynon. There is support for Microsoft FSX and X-Plane as well, which is unusual in a flight bag and useful for anyone who wants to rehearse a route on the ground.

Briefings are handled through 1800wxbrief. You register on that site, enable Avilution/DroidEFB as your service provider under flight planning and briefing, and the app can then receive and file official briefings. That is a meaningful step beyond reading weather on a map, because it connects the app to the briefing system many US pilots already use.

The app brings together features pilots usually keep in separate places. There is a sophisticated weight and balance tool, an automatic logbook, track logs, SAR patterns, the A/FD chart supplement, Grand Canyon and helicopter charts, point-of-interest search for airports, addresses, businesses and coordinates, and the ability to write or draw on charts and terminal procedures.

Pinch zoom and a measuring tool round out the map controls, and user waypoints and flight plans can be created, saved and synced. The developer mentions redundant data servers, which is the kind of detail that matters when a briefing has to load before a departure.

Offline caching and the RouteMinder check

You can view charts and plates through the app's servers while online, or download them for offline use. That distinction is central to how the app is meant to be flown: cache what you need before departure. RouteMinder automatically checks a planned route and flags charts that still need to be downloaded, which addresses the most common way an offline flight bag lets a pilot down.

The app also stores data on an external SD card, which helps on tablets with limited internal storage once a full set of charts is cached.

I would treat the caching workflow as the part to learn first. The developer maintains tutorials and documentation on its own site, and given the number of data layers involved, working through those before relying on the app in the air seems sensible.

What it needs, and what the subscriptions cover

The app runs on Android 8.0 or higher. A subscription or free trial can be used across multiple devices, so a phone and a tablet can share one plan, and subscriptions are authenticated through the Google account on the device. The developer states that passwords and credit card details are never shared with DroidEFB. Rooted devices are not officially supported.

There are two paid tiers. Standard covers VFR at $6.99 per month or $74.99 per year. Premium adds IFR and geo-referenced plates for $149.99 per year. The developer also mentions CFI and military programs. The download itself is free, there are no ads, and in-app purchases are how the subscriptions are sold.

The geo-referencing is the clearest dividing line between the tiers: approach plates and airport diagrams are geo-referenced with a Premium subscription, so instrument work sits behind the higher price.

Support is handled through the developer's website. Feedback left in Google Play reviews cannot be answered, so a complaint posted there may go unseen.

Who this fits

This is an app for US pilots who fly with an Android tablet or phone and want their charts, plates, weather and planning tools in a single ad-free package. The focus on Sectionals, TACs, the A/FD, TFRs and 1800wxbrief filing makes that clear. If you fly inside the United States and already carry ADS-B hardware, the pieces line up.

Flight instructors have a case for it, given the CFI program and the bundled logbook, weight and balance and track log tools. Student pilots working toward a certificate would find the same tools useful for planning, though the app assumes familiarity with the procedures it displays.

The subscription is the main consideration. VFR-only pilots can stay on the Standard tier, while anyone flying instruments will want Premium for the geo-referenced plates. A free trial is mentioned, which gives a way to judge the interface before committing to a year.

The case for DroidEFB

DroidEFB is a mature, focused flight bag for US airspace. The professional chart and fuel data, the ADS-B integration, the offline caching with RouteMinder checking, and the 1800wxbrief connection are the features that separate it from a simple chart viewer, and the absence of advertising is a genuine advantage in the cockpit. The 4.0 rating across 750 ratings suggests it delivers on most of that for the people who use it.

The trade-off is the subscription cost. Premium at $149.99 a year is a real expense, geo-referenced plates sit behind it, and the app is built around US charts and US briefing services. Rooted devices are not officially supported, and support runs through the developer's site.

For a US private pilot or instructor flying Android hardware, this is a well-established option worth trying against the free trial.

What's new in version 2.9.9

2.9.9: * Fix a crash during the app version check * Fix a crash in Google Play billing * Fix new purchases sometimes not activating until an app restart * Improved subscription reliability TUTORIALS: https://droidefb.com/tutorials/ DOCUMENTATION: https://droidefb.com/documentation/ MANAGE: https://droidefb.com/manage-subscription/