Stay ahead of
the airplane.

Ahead plans your VFR cross-country, briefs you to a clear GO or NO-GO, and in the air tells you the next call before you need it. A real copilot, finally on Android.

Join the Android betaFor Android 8 and newer

The whole flight, from two airport codes.

Type where you're going. Ahead picks the route and a legal VFR cruise altitude: 1,000 feet over the terrain, 2,000 over the mountains, under or around Class B, clear of Class C, D and MOAs when there's a reasonable way, and inside your oxygen limits. When it can't avoid something, it tells you why and who to call.

KAUNAuburn Municipal
KRTS · FUELReno/Stead, 100LL
KWMCWinnemucca Municipal
8,993 FThighest within 2 nm
CLASS C1 nm right of the line
11,500ftcruise: odd thousands plus 500 for 039°
8,993fthighest ground within 2 nm of the line
2,507ftover it, where the mountains need 2,000

Auburn Municipal to Winnemucca Municipal, 190 nm in a trainer with 20 gallons, as Ahead planned it. Every height here is from the terrain data Ahead plans with (Copernicus GLO-90).

Fuel stops, planned like a road trip.

Ahead picks the stops before you ask, the way an electric car plans its chargers: fields that sell your fuel, with a runway your POH says is long enough, spaced so you always land with the 91.151 reserve, day or night, or your own minimum if it's more. Don't like one? Swap it or remove it.

KRTS
Reno/Stead100LL · 70 nm out of KAUN
Lands with
11.5gal
That's
92min
Reserve kept
60min
Ahead's fuel stops for KAUN to KWMC: depart KAUN, fuel at KRTS with Swap and Remove, land at KWMC, and the fuel along the trip

Every brief ends in GO or NO‑GO.

Weather, winds, TFRs, NOTAMs, runway performance and weight and balance, in the order 91.103 asks for them. When the answer is no, it says why, with a fix you can tap: another runway, a divert, a later time.

The top of the Brief: GO, VFR both ends, crosswind within limits, fuel 9 minutes over the pilot's 60-minute minimum at KWMC
GO
Calm morning at KWMC.
The top of the Brief: NO-GO, the forecast crosswind at KWMC over the pilot's limit, and a button to pick a later time
NO-GO
Same trip, KWMC gusting 34 knots.

In the air, it tells you what's next.

Fly mode shows one big card at a time: the next call, its frequency and the words to say, at the right place on the route. A voice says it too, so your eyes stay outside.

  1. 90 NM · 100 TO KWMC
    Oakland Center128.8

    Said aloud: Oakland Center next, one two eight point eight.

  2. 165 NM · 25 TO KWMC
    KWMC AWOS120.175

    Said aloud: Winnemucca weather, one two zero point one seven five.

  3. 174 NM · 17 TO KWMC
    Descend

    Said aloud: Top of descent. Descend to 6 thousand 9 hundred, 500 feet a minute, and hold it to Winnemucca: the ground before it.

  4. 10 NM OUT
    KWMC CTAF122.8

    Said aloud: 10 miles. One two two point eight.

  5. 1 NM TO KWMC
    Rwy 14 · Left122.8

    Said aloud: Cross midfield, left downwind, one four, at 5 thousand 1 hundred.

After sunset, it all turns red.

Once the sun is down, the Fly screens switch to red on black by themselves, so your eyes stay used to the dark.

Join the Android beta
The Fly card in red night mode: Oakland Center 128.8

No signal needed.

Plan on the ground with a connection. After that, the maps, terrain, plan, callouts and the questions you ask out loud all run on the phone. It works the same in airplane mode, and we test that it does.

Your airplane, from your own POH.

Give Ahead your POH as a PDF. It reads the speeds, fuel burn, takeoff and landing distances and weight and balance on your phone, and shows you what it found before using any of it.

Next, it listens to the radio. Coming.

Pair a Bluetooth aviation radio and Ahead will listen to the ATIS while you preflight and write down what ATC tells you, with your squawk and frequency pinned. It's not in the beta yet: we haven't tested it on a real radio.

Fly your next cross-country with Ahead.

We're letting pilots into the Android beta a few at a time. Leave your email and we'll send an invite when there's a place.

Only used for the beta. How we handle your email.

Questions pilots ask

Which airplanes does Ahead work with?

Any airplane you fly VFR. Give Ahead your POH as a PDF and it reads the speeds, fuel burn, takeoff and landing distances and weight and balance on the phone. You check what it read before it's used.

Does it work without a cell signal?

Yes. Plan and brief with a connection; after that the maps, terrain, callouts and the questions you ask out loud run on the phone, in airplane mode too.

Where does the data come from?

Airports, frequencies and airspace come from the FAA's 28-day cycle, which Ahead downloads by itself on Wi-Fi. Weather, winds, NOTAMs and TFRs come live from their official sources.

Is Ahead an approved source for a preflight briefing?

No. Get your official briefing as you do today. Ahead is a planning and situational-awareness aid, and the pilot in command decides.

Is there an iPhone version?

Not yet. Ahead is Android only for now, on Android 8 or newer.