PilotPal vs Handy Pilot
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PilotPal
This app provides FAA aviation airport charts and facility directories for easy flight planning. Access airport diagrams, frequencies, elevation, and helipad information offline. Stay updated with monthly chart revisions and quickly find nearby or favorite airports.
- Offline charts
- Airport Facility Directories
- Airport Diagrams
- Airport Information (Maps, Frequencies, Elevation, Helipads)
- Monthly updated FAA charts
- Nearby and favorite airports
- Airport search
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PilotPal is the easiest way to flight plan. PilotPal brings the FAA airport facility directory and Airport Diagrams to your pocket. Features: • Offline Charts: Easily download airports or entire regions for offline use • Airport Facility Directories • Airport Diagrams • Weather via METAR and TAF • Wind maps • Airport Information including: • Maps • Frequencies • Elevation • Helipads • Updated FAA charts every month so you're always up to date. • Nearby airports: Easily find airports around you • Favorite airports: Save your favorites for quick access • Airport search: Easily find any airport or helipad • Dark mode • iPad support Built by real pilots with a love for aviation Feedback or issues: tinybyteapps@gmail.com Legal: Airport facility directories and airport diagrams are provided by the FAA. Always consult appropriate and available sources to prepare for your flight. Our privacy policy is available at: https://pilotpal-1139.firebaseapp.com/privacypolicy.htm Our terms of service is available at: https://pilotpal-1139.firebaseapp.com/termsofuse.html
Handy Pilot
This app offers a suite of aviation-specific calculation tools for pilots of all levels. It simplifies complex flight planning and in-flight adjustments with features like unit conversion, wind component calculation, and descent rate planning. Enhance your flight efficiency and safety with these essential tools.
- Unit Converter for flight operations
- Time Calculator for flight planning
- Turning Radius and STD Rate Turn calculations
- Wind Component and Limitation calculators
- Descent Rate and Path Angle calculators
- ILS and PAPI indication calculations
- Holding Entry Pattern and Load Factor calculations
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"Handy Pilot" is designed to be used not only by trainees but also by professional pilots. It will become the best partner that can perform complex calculations on your behalf. With this app, your daily flight will definitely become smarter. Enjoy Handy Pilot and have a safe flight. Tools : "Unit Converter" - converts units used in everyday flight operations. "Time Calculator" - add, subtract, multiply, and divide time values. "Turning Radius" - calculates the turning radius based on speed and bank angle. "STD Rate Turn" - calculates the bank angle for making a standard rate turn. "Wind Component" - calculates the crosswind and headwind components. "Wind Limitation" - calculates the wind speed that can meet your limitation, in each wind direction. "Descent Rate" - calculates the descent rate required to maintain the desired path. "ILS Height Check" - calculates the passing altitude at the desired point based on the temperature at that time. "Path Calculator" - calculates the actual path angle based on the true altitude. "Descent Point" - calculates the starting point of descent to obtain the desired descent angle based on the true altitude. "PAPI" - calculates the altitude at which each PAPI indication can be obtained at the desired point. "ILS vs PAPI" - calculates the change in the PAPI indication during the ILS approach. "Entry Pattern" - calculates holding entry pattern based on heading. "Load Factor" - calculates the load factor based on the bank angle. It can also calculate the bank angle at which any load factor can be obtained. * Available on iOS 14.1 and later. * Purchase is required to use all the features.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: PilotPal at none against Handy Pilot's shown. PilotPal also leads on ratings volume (663 vs 1). Handy Pilot's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 3 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, in-app purchases, 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
Both are free to download. PilotPal sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Handy Pilot sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Handy Pilot holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PilotPal has 663 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
PilotPal ships an update every 3 months, Handy Pilot every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PilotPal | Handy Pilot |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (663 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 55.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 663 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 14.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 19 MB | 25 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tinybyte Apps LLC | Shin Nariai |
Customer experience
PilotPal
Handy Pilot
Bugs and requests
PilotPal
Reported bugs
5 issues- Subscription verification loop - shows already subscribed but denies access
- Airport diagrams not displaying despite active subscription
- App stopped working after February update
- General app functionality failures
- Missing settings/preferences menu
Requested features
6 requests- Airport diagram printing functionality
- Ability to sort favorites tab
- Front and back page information inclusion
- Improved search functionality for VOR locations
- Legend/index documentation
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- Comprehensive chart supplement data (VFR corridors, visual reporting points, VOR test locations)
Handy Pilot
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
PilotPal
- Airport Diagrams$0.991 Month
- PilotPal Monthly3 Days trial$2.991 Month
- PilotPal Pro3 Days trial$19.991 Year
Handy Pilot
- Unlock All Features$2.99









