Comparison

AirEFB vs Flight Deck AR

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

Head to head
About

AirEFB

This app centralizes flight charts, technical manuals, and checklists for pilots. It integrates with a flight simulator to provide real-time airport maps, traffic data, and weather information for easier navigation and ground operations.

Highlights
  • Centralized chart and manual storage
  • Interactive flight checklists
  • Airport data and ground taxi maps
  • Real-time traffic and weather display
  • X-Plane flight simulator integration
  • Document manager for PDF files
Features
Read full description

Whether you want to keep all your charts and technical manuals in one single place, have a concise way of performing flight checklists or want to know your way around the airport while on the ground and taxiing, AirEFB allows you to do just that in one single iPad app. Designed to integrate with the X-Plane flight simulator, AirEFB provides an interface layer to all the documents you need to carry onboard and an absolute must have to find your way to holding point X or runway Y while on the ground. Using our next generation communications protocol you can connect AirEFB to X-Plane seamlessly and effortlessly. Install a simple plugin and it all happens automatically, on the fly and over the Air; no need to configure anything. AirEFB is compatible with iPad devices running iOS 9 or later, in all its screen sizes, and connects to X-Plane versions 9, 10 and 11. CHARTS allows you to access your own synched PFD approach plates, your Air Account uploaded charts, and over 4GB of US airport charts as published by the FAA. A DOCUMENTS manager allows you to load and query your own aircraft specifications and technical documents in PDF format. With CHEKLISTS you can create your own aircraft checklists and go through them, as well as load any lists in XChecklist (clist.txt) format or beam them down from X-Plane automatically. Plus the PLANE INTERFACE feature allows items to be preemptively marked completed by looking at their corresponding datarefs before you set them as done. And last (for now) but certainly not least, the AIRPORT DATA & MAP section allows you lookup your favourite airport and display it, together with your plane and all surrounding traffic with beautiful graphics and animations. Know where you are in an airport, its ATC frequencies in use, the current weather and real-time, wind and altimeter settings as well as seeing all surrounding traffic moving as they do. Taxing will never be the same again. AirEFB currently supports X-Plane native ATC traffic as well as JAR design's X-Life traffic.

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Read full description

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

AirEFB4 screens
Flight Deck AR4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Flight Deck AR at 100% against AirEFB's 0%. Flight Deck AR also leads on price (Free vs $17.99) and rating (5.0 vs 4.5). AirEFB's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and device support (4 vs 2). On ratings volume and ads 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

Flight Deck AR is free to download; AirEFB costs $17.99 up front. Flight Deck AR sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. AirEFB asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Flight Deck AR holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of AirEFB's written reviews are positive against 100% of Flight Deck AR's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AirEFB ships an update every 4 months, Flight Deck AR every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
AirEFB versus Flight Deck AR: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAirEFBFlight Deck AR
Price$17.99Free — better
Rating4.5 (2 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings23 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size354 MB65 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJoao CabralVisuality srl

Customer experience

AirEFB

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Flight Deck AR

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

AirEFB

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Flight Deck AR

One-time1
  • Flight Deck AR PRO$11.99

Questions

Is AirEFB free?
AirEFB costs $17.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Flight Deck AR free?
Flight Deck AR is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, AirEFB or Flight Deck AR?
Flight Deck AR is rated higher. AirEFB averages 4.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Flight Deck AR averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do AirEFB or Flight Deck AR have ads?
Neither AirEFB nor Flight Deck AR shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AirEFB or Flight Deck AR?
AirEFB ships an update every 4 months, and Flight Deck AR every 2 weeks. Most recently, AirEFB was updated on October 6, 2026 and Flight Deck AR on October 12, 2026.

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