Visual Holding Pattern vs Air Navigation
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Visual Holding Pattern
This app offers a visual guide for pilots to determine correct holding pattern entry techniques. It allows for easy rotation of the holding pattern and aircraft heading to visualize the approach, with manual or automatic heading input.
- Visual holding pattern reference
- Determine entry techniques
- Rotate holding pattern
- Match aircraft heading
- Manual heading input
- Automatic heading input
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The Visual Holding Pattern provides a complete visual reference to help you determine the proper holding pattern entry technique based on your aircraft's heading and the holding pattern's inbound leg course. With a single finger rotation a pilot can easily orientate the holding pattern around a holding fix based on the inbound leg's desired bearing, radial, or course. The entire circular image can be rotated to match the aircraft's heading to allow the pilot to visualize the aircraft's approach to the holding pattern. The aircraft's heading can either be set manually or automatically based on the magnetic heading of the iDevice being used. This app is designed for optimal viewing and use on an iPad or iPhone 5 screen size or larger. This app requires iOS 8.0 or greater.
Air Navigation
This app provides pilots with comprehensive flight planning and navigation tools. It offers worldwide charts, real-time weather, terrain awareness, and airport information for both VFR and IFR flights. Features include route planning, offline map access, and digital navigation instruments.
- VFR/IFR route planning
- Worldwide charts and GPS navigation
- Real-time weather (METAR/TAF)
- Offline map and chart downloads
- Terrain awareness system
- Digital EHSI/RMI instruments
- Airport information and NOTAMs
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Air Navigation - VFR & IFR is the ultimate flight planning and navigation app for pilots. Plan VFR or IFR flights with worldwide charts, real-time weather (METAR/TAF), NOTAMs, airspace alerts, terrain awareness, airport information, and more – all in one easy-to-use app. Download and try PRO free for 1 month! * Features: • Route planning Create and save routes with 50,000+ airports, navaids, and waypoints. • Maps and charts, connected to GPS Navigate with updated sectional and en-route charts in the US and EU **. Customize maps with airports, airspaces, navaids, and weather layers. • Weather Access worldwide METAR and TAF reports. • Offline use Download maps, charts, and terrain for offline flying. • Terrain avoidance system *** Terrain coloured red and yellow against your GPS altitude in the air, and on the ground against a preview altitude above the field — so what is red is what stands in the way of the departure. • Airspace alerts A banner names the airspace you are approaching or entering, its class and vertical limits, the distance to its boundary, and the frequency to call — derived from the aerodrome's published data, so always verify it. • EHSI / RMI instruments Fly procedures with digital navigation instruments. • Nearby airports Quickly find alternate airports, their distance, and relative direction. • Real-time flight information Heading, track, distance, ETA, ETE, speed, and waypoints. • iCloud synchronization Sync your data between multiple devices. • Airport information & diagrams Runways, frequencies, navaids, NOTAMs, and weather data. Runway diagrams with the wind — now or at any TAF time — and to-scale airport diagrams with taxiways and your position. • NOTAMs Runway closures highlighted, cancelled filings followed, duplicate filings folded together, and the distance to each one. • User points Add custom waypoints by tapping the map or entering coordinates. • Quick tap mode Tap any location to view airspace, frequencies, SIGMETs, AIRMETs, and runway data. The airspace column draws every airspace above the point to its height. • SIGMETs & AIRMETs Global weather advisories displayed on the map. • Advanced search Find airports by name, city, ICAO, or IATA. • Units & north reference Imperial (US) or metric units, magnetic or true north. • Taxiing & runway awareness The airport diagram as a taxi chart: your aircraft on the taxiways, your taxi route with hold-short crossings, and runway alerts, shown and spoken. • Free ADS-B traffic Connect a SkyEcho 2 or any GDL 90 receiver: nearby aircraft on the map with relative altitude and a trend vector, details on tap, and the receiver's GPS for navigation. • Built-in user guide Step-by-step help with screenshots, without leaving the app. * Subscriptions: BASIC and PRO. Unlimited charts, terrain, and the 1-month trial are included with PRO. BASIC offers a 2-week trial. ** EU sectional charts are available in Belgium, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Sweden, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Malta, Austria, Romania, Switzerland, and Slovakia. Additional charts are available in South Africa and Namibia. Charts provided by Open Flight Maps. Airspace data: openAIP (openaip.net, CC BY-NC 4.0) and the FAA. *** Terrain data available from 60°N to 57°S. Disclaimer: This is not a certified flight instrument. Pilots must not rely solely on the app for navigation. Always use approved avionics for flight safety. Terms of use: https://www.flygo-aviation.com/air-navigation-terms-of-use/ Privacy policy: https://www.flygo-aviation.com/air-navigation-privacy-policy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Air Navigation at Free against Visual Holding Pattern's $0.99. Air Navigation also leads on rating (4.4 vs 3.9) and review sentiment (98% vs 63%). Visual Holding Pattern's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 26.0). On ratings volume, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Air Navigation is free to download; Visual Holding Pattern costs $0.99 up front. Air Navigation sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Visual Holding Pattern asks for nothing beyond the download.
Air Navigation holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 12 and 32 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of Visual Holding Pattern's written reviews are positive against 98% of Air Navigation's.
Visual Holding Pattern ships an update every 9 months, Air Navigation every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Visual Holding Pattern | Air Navigation |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.9 (12 ratings) | 4.4 (32 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 62.5% of reviews | 98.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 12 | 32 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Freemium — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 76 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Arthur Varrassi | Flygo-Aviation Ltd |
Customer experience
Visual Holding Pattern
Air Navigation
Bugs and requests
Visual Holding Pattern
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Air Navigation
Reported bugs
4 issues- App freezes with unresponsive controls
- 30-second lag on button responses
- Maps fail to populate in some instances
- No customer support response to reported issues
Requested features
4 requests- Comprehensive video tutorials for beginners
- Detailed how-to manual for all features
- Ability to move/reposition maps and charts on screen
- Improved onboarding for new and returning pilots
In-app purchases
Visual Holding Pattern
No in-app purchases
Air Navigation
- Air Navigation Basic 1 Month14 Days trial$3.991 Month
- Air Navigation Pro 1 Month1 Month trial$6.991 Month
- Air Navigation Basic 6 Months14 Days trial$17.996 Months
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- Air Navigation Pro 6 Months1 Month trial$29.996 Months
Questions
Is Visual Holding Pattern free?
Is Air Navigation free?
Which has better reviews, Visual Holding Pattern or Air Navigation?
Do Visual Holding Pattern or Air Navigation have ads?
Which is updated more often, Visual Holding Pattern or Air Navigation?
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