Comparison

fDeck vs AirScope

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

fDeck

This app provides a comprehensive flight deck with realistic instruments for aviation enthusiasts and pilots. It includes navigation tools, real-time weather, and traffic data, functioning as both a training aid and a supplementary instrument set.

Highlights
  • Realistic flight instruments (HSI, VOR, ADF, etc.)
  • Interactive aviation moving map
  • Live weather and ADS-B traffic data
  • Radio navigation training simulation
  • Worldwide aviation database
  • X-Plane flight simulator integration
Features
Read full description

fDeck turns your iPhone or iPad into a working aircraft instrument panel - a graphically beautiful flight deck for your pocket, with live weather, real ADS-B traffic, a flight planner and a powerful radio-navigation trainer. Trusted by 50,000+ pilots, student pilots and flight-sim enthusiasts worldwide. 100% ad-free. A FULL PANEL OF INSTRUMENTS Every instrument is hand-crafted to look and behave like the real thing - responsive, animated, and controlled with intuitive touch. Mix and match any combination to build your own flight deck: • Synthetic Vision (Vision PFD) • Horizontal Situation Indicator (HSI) • VOR receiver • Automatic Direction Finder (ADF) • Artificial Horizon • Altimeter (GPS/Baro) • Vertical Speed Indicator (VSI) • Aircraft compass with heading bug • Groundspeed indicator • Chronometer with fuel totaliser • Live weather & wind, with TAF/METAR in raw or decoded form Every instrument has its own built-in video tutorial. LEARN TO NAVIGATE Pan your aircraft anywhere on the map and watch every instrument respond in real time. Tune any VOR, NDB or radio aid from a worldwide database - or build your own virtual navaids to practise tracking radials, intercepts and holds. The best radio-navigation trainer you can carry. PLAN YOUR FLIGHT Build a flight plan and slave any instrument to it. Waypoints transition automatically as you fly, so every needle keeps pointing exactly where it should - no re-tuning between legs. FLY WITH CONFIDENCE • Worldwide aviation database: 20,000+ airports and navaids, updated monthly • Aviation moving map with airspace, airports and navaids • Optional 5/10/20NM range rings and enhanced radial lines • Live ADS-B traffic with a built-in traffic avoidance (TCAS) system • Tag your own aircraft registration to silence alerts on yourself • Export your tracks as GPX or KML FOR YOUR HOME COCKPIT Drive the instruments straight from X-Plane or Microsoft Flight Simulator via the flight simulation connection, and turn any device into a secondary instrument panel. PRIVACY YOU CAN TRUST No ads. No tracking across other apps. We never sell your data and collect only what is needed to run the app. NEW IN VERSION 3.0 • Vision: a brand-new synthetic vision PFD (early access - 2D now, 3D coming soon) • Now 100% ad-free • Microsoft Flight Simulator support, alongside X-Plane FDECK PREMIUM fDeck is free to download and use. Become a Premium member to unlock: • Premium and Early Access instruments (including Vision) • Unlimited user navigation stations • Monthly navigation database updates • Map weather overlays & live virtual radar • Live ADS-B traffic with TCAS alerting • Live TAF & METAR reports • Unlimited X-Plane & MSFS flight simulation connection • Crazy fast support from the dev! Premium is available as a monthly or annual subscription, or as a one-time lifetime purchase. • Payment is charged to your Apple account at confirmation of purchase • Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends • Manage or cancel anytime in your account settings IMPORTANT fDeck is a training aid and a supplementary/backup instrument. It is not a certified instrument and must not be used as a primary means of navigation. Questions or ideas? I read every email personally - just use "Contact the developer" in the app, or the contact page on my website: https://fdeck.app/support/#contact Full details of our Terms of Service and Privacy policy can be found at the following URLs: Terms of Use: https://fdeck.app/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://fdeck.app/privacy/

About

AirScope

Visualize real-time aircraft positions and air traffic control information on a world map. Connect to local receivers or use cloud-based data to track flights and available ATC positions for virtual aviation networks.

Highlights
  • Real-time aircraft tracking
  • Radar/ATC style map interface
  • VATSIM/IVAO network integration
  • Local ADS-B receiver connection
  • Cloud-based ADS-B data
  • Detailed flight information display
  • ATC position plotting
Features
Read full description

AirScope is a plane plotter that retrieves aircraft positions and measurements from online sources and displays them on top of a world map in radar / ATC style. When flying online with VATSIM or IVAO (or even as preparation for a flight in one of these networks) it's often useful to have an overview of who's in the air at any given moment or which ATC positions are currently filled and online. AirScope shows just that in a stylish universal interface for iOS and macOS devices. With the ADS-B Interface users can connect AirScope to their local receiver and display traffic data as it's being broadcast. AirScope can connect to a computer with one of these receivers and an instance of dump1090 to recognise messages in SBS (BaseStation) format on a TCP port (default 30003) and plot air traffic on its map. On top of that, with the built-in complimentary cloud based ADS-B, users can see real traffic from various places in the world (anywhere where there's voluntary coverage) even without being there or having a receiver themselves. The ADS-B Interface functionality is enabled and available through an in-app purchase. The data is retrieved from the online and public info servers of the respective networks (for which an Internet connection is required) at periodic intervals and traffic is plotted accordingly. Tapping on a plane (target) further discloses a tag with additional information about the flight such as its callsign, aircraft type, squawk, flight level, vertical speed, flight stage, course, speed, departure and arrival. VATSIM and IVAO positions currently online are also plotted / shaped and shown on the map together with their frequencies so that virtual pilots can contact them should they enter their airspace.

Screenshots

fDeck4 screens
AirScope4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: fDeck at 4.8 against AirScope's 3.8. fDeck also leads on review sentiment (90% vs 67%) and ratings volume (328 vs 8). AirScope's advantage is device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (12.1 vs 16.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. fDeck sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and AirScope sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

fDeck holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: fDeck has 328 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 90% of fDeck's written reviews are positive against 67% of AirScope's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

fDeck ships an update every 3 weeks, AirScope monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
fDeck versus AirScope: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterfDeckAirScope
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (328 ratings) — better3.8 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews90.0% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings328 — better8
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.012.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size137 MB177 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDarren YeatesJoao Cabral

Customer experience

fDeck

All ratings328 ratings
Positive95.7%
Neutral2.7%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews70 reviews
Positive90.0%
Neutral2.9%
Negative7.1%

AirScope

All ratings8 ratings
Positive62.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative25.0%

Bugs and requests

fDeck

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • Compass inverted display
  • Map pointer inverted
  • VOR OBS reverse sensing (TO/FROM indication incorrect)
  • Maps fail to load/display
  • X-Plane simulator connection unreliable
Show 4 more
  • VSI inaccuracy compared to actual aircraft instruments
  • App incompatible with iPhone SE screen format
  • Ads cannot be closed and require app restart
  • Weather pressure readings 1mb inaccurate

Requested features

9 requests
  • Compass horizontal configuration support (180 degrees)
  • CarPlay functionality for in-vehicle navigation
  • EFIS version for advanced glass cockpit simulation
  • Local NOTAM integration
  • CAA airspace overlay for UK users
Show 4 more
  • User-defined waypoints with latitude/longitude input
  • Primary flight display (PFD) for airliner-style instruments
  • Accurate elevation data for locations
  • iPad split-screen compatibility

AirScope

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

fDeck

Subscriptions2
  • fDeck monthly lounge access$1.991 Month
  • fDeck annual lounge access$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • fDeck lifetime lounge access$29.99
1 purchases

AirScope

One-time1
  • ADS-B Interface$4.99

Questions

Is fDeck free?
fDeck is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is AirScope free?
AirScope is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, fDeck or AirScope?
fDeck is rated higher. fDeck averages 4.8 out of 5 from 328 ratings, while AirScope averages 3.8 from 8 ratings.
Do fDeck or AirScope have ads?
Neither fDeck nor AirScope shows ads.
Which is updated more often, fDeck or AirScope?
fDeck ships an update every 3 weeks, and AirScope monthly. Most recently, fDeck was updated on September 23, 2026 and AirScope on September 16, 2026.

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