Been there, done that. Comments below.

On 9/12/2005 10:40 AM, FlyBean wrote the following:
Hello!

I will be getting a tablet PC (thinking about the Motion Computing
LE800),

You want the View Anywhere screen, which I understand is not quite yet
available. Also, that one is 800x600, so things will be a little more crowded
than on the 1024x768 screens like my HP T1100.

and will be buying a flightplanning software package for IFR
soon. I've been looking around at all the different options (Seattle
Avionics Voyager/GlassView), RMS FlightsoftPro/Vista, FlightPrep,
EverywhereMap, etc. It is quite confusing.

Yes. This area of the market is changing almost hourly. You just have to bite
the bullet and make your best decision.

It seems that Seattle
Avionics is the most reasonably priced, but SLOW!

and immature. Re slow, they are doomed because they are using MS dot-net. Also
huge amounts of memory required. I do have/use Smartplates though and like it.

FlightPrep looks
nice, but at $500/yr, a bit too pricey for my blood.

They have just changed their pricing policy so you don't have to buy the full
subscription. Check with them. (like I said, the situation changes fast!)
Also, that is the price for the top of the line moving map, etc. not just for
the flight planner.

Flightprep is the one I chose, one reason being that they offered to add me to
their beta test team. They announced 3.0 at OSH and I can tell you that it is
pretty spectacular. Beyond that, you'll have to see what they have published on
it as I am under an NDA. Release is a month or two out, I think.

Flightsoft seems
like it might have everything, but not sure, and they don't allow a
trial download. What are your experiences?


Same reason I rejected it. No trial period. (Same problem with AnyWhere map
which is really a PDA application anyway.) Also, I think RMS is well behind
Seattle Avionics and Flightprep on the availability of georeferenced charts and
plates. Don't know about SA, but Flightprep even has the airport diagrams
georeferenced. That's pretty neat at a strange airport!