Air Manager vs Flight Deck AR
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Air Manager
Design custom flight simulator instrument panels on your iPad. Connect to popular simulators like X-plane and FS2020 to use your iPad as a primary or secondary instrument display. Offers over 1000 free instruments and intuitive touch controls for a realistic simulation experience.
- Custom instrument panel design
- iPad as primary/secondary display
- Connects to X-plane, FS2020, P3D, FSX
- Over 1000 free instruments
- Intuitive drag-and-drop interface
- Control simulator functions via touch
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Air Manager lets you design custom flight simulator instrument panels on your iPad. Panels can connect to X-plane, FS2020, FS2024, Prepar3d and FSX. Use your iPad as a primary instrument panel and have your computer monitor for outside view only, or use your iPad as a secondary com stack to easily set frequencies through the iPad touch screen. Air Manager comes with more than 1000 free instruments. Add, drag, scale, build your instrument panel in only a matter of minutes. Save your created panels, and switch between them quickly. User friendly No difficult settings or downloading and configuring of third party applications. You can download the necessary plugins from our website for free. We offer a complete solution! Place instruments anywhere you like Tap an instrument to add it to the canvas, hold and drag to rearrange, and pinch to scale, it’s as easy as that. Loads of free instruments The application comes with more than 1000 free instruments, and this collection keeps growing. Buttons, Switches and Knobs Controls like Buttons, Switches, and Knobs let you control the simulator from your 2D panels, so your Flight Simulation is super realistic. Setting a radio frequency or the altimeter setting, moving electrical switches, and controlling the autopilot are just a few examples of what you can do without directly accessing the flight simulator. Multiplatform and multi simulator The Air Manager plugin runs on Microsoft Window, Mac OSX, and Linux, both 32 bits and 64 bits, and is compatible with Laminar Research X-Plane 9, 10 and 11, Microsoft FSX and Lockheed Martin Prepar3D.
Flight Deck AR
Transform your mobile device into a head tracker for X-Plane. Experience natural cockpit views that follow your head movements without any extra hardware or complex setup. Enjoy enhanced immersion in your flight simulations.
- Real-time head tracking with device camera
- Native X-Plane integration
- Zero-setup, plug-and-fly functionality
- Supports all X-Plane aircraft
- Cross-platform compatibility (Windows, macOS, Linux)
- Auto-pause when face is not detected
- Per-aircraft settings
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Turn your iPad or iPhone into a powerful head tracker and fly more naturally. No clips, no sensors, no plugins, no IP configurations. Just launch the app and your cockpit view follows your head instantly. Why Flight Deck AR? • Native integration: built directly on X-Plane’s official UDP/Datarefs. • Cross-platform: works with X-Plane on Windows, macOS, and Linux. • Zero setup: no IP config, no DLLs, no drivers, no emulation, no calibration. Plug & fly. • All aircraft supported: from Laminar defaults to complex add-ons. • Simple hardware: just your iPad or iPhone camera. • Lightweight & smooth: optimized for performance and stability. Features: • Real-time head tracking with your device’s camera • Native X-Plane integration (UDP & datarefs) • Full integration, zero-config, with X-Camera plugin • Camera controls, with custom head-tracked cameras for each Aircraft • Auto-Pause: pause the sim if face is not detected for a prolonged period. • Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux • Zero setup: launch, connect, and fly • Supports all aircraft (default + add-ons) • Uses only your iPad or iPhone camera • Smooth, lightweight, and responsive head tracking • Ready-to-use presets for common scenarios • Advanced settings for fine-tweaking • Per Aircraft settings. Each configuration of the tracker is linked automatically and independently to the currently loaded Aircraft. • No extra hardware required • Control the App from your X-Plane joystick • Eye Tracking (BETA) Fly naturally Move your head, look around. Lean forward to read instruments. Glance left and right on final. With Flight Deck AR, your cockpit becomes as alive as the real thing, without extra gear. Compatibility • Requires X-Plane 11 or 12 on Windows, macOS, or Linux. • No additional plugins or configuration needed. • Compatible devices: iPhone X and later (all models) iPhone SE (3rd generation and later) iPad Pro 11-inch (all models) iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later) iPad Air (4th generation and later) iPad mini (6th generation and later) The future of head tracking Unlike TrackIR or FreeTrack, Flight Deck AR is built for X-Plane, not hacked around it. It’s the first head tracker that works wherever X-Plane does, and it just works. Flight Deck AR. Plug & fly. Flight Deck AR transforms your iPad or iPhone into a powerful head tracker for X-Plane. Using just your device’s camera, you can move your head naturally and watch the cockpit view respond instantly. Enjoy a more immersive flying experience without wires, sensors, or complicated setups. Made for X-Plane pilots who want immersion, simplicity, and performance. Terms of use https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Flight Deck AR at 100% against Air Manager's 31%. Flight Deck AR also leads on price (Free vs $22.99) and rating (5.0 vs 3.1). Air Manager's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (27 vs 3). On ads, monetization model 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
Flight Deck AR is free to download; Air Manager costs $22.99 up front. Flight Deck AR sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Air Manager asks for nothing beyond the download.
Flight Deck AR holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Air Manager has 27 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 31% of Air Manager's written reviews are positive against 100% of Flight Deck AR's.
Air Manager ships an update every 10 months, Flight Deck AR fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Air Manager | Flight Deck AR |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $22.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.1 (27 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 30.8% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 27 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 897 MB | 61 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sim Innovations B.V. | Visuality srl |
Customer experience
Air Manager
Flight Deck AR
In-app purchases
Air Manager
No in-app purchases
Flight Deck AR
- Flight Deck AR PRO$11.99
Questions
Is Air Manager free?
Is Flight Deck AR free?
Which has better reviews, Air Manager or Flight Deck AR?
Do Air Manager or Flight Deck AR have ads?
Which is updated more often, Air Manager or Flight Deck AR?
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