Comparison

O.R.I.O.N. vs Fire Heli Load Calc

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

Head to head
About

O.R.I.O.N.

Access Airbus Helicopters technical documentation online and offline. Download publications and receive alerts for new versions. Requires a Keycopter account for online access.

Highlights
  • Online and offline publication consultation
  • Downloadable publications
  • New version availability checks
  • Email alerts for new publications
  • Requires Keycopter account
Features
Read full description

O.R.I.O.N. is an online publishing service for Airbus Helicopters technical documentation. O.R.I.O.N. allows you to: - Consult publications online and offline - Download publications - Check the availability of newer versions of downloaded publications Access to online publications requires an account on Keycopter, the Airbus Helicopters customer portal. To request a subscription contract for one of our publications, please contact your Airbus Helicopters TechPub commercial representative. If you wish to be informed by email when a new publication is available online, select « My Alerts » on Keycopter. The ORION® application is published by Airbus Helicopters, a French company with a share capital of 581 614 047 Euros registered in the Aix-en-Provence R.C.S under n°352 383 715 7 and whose Head Office is located at: Aéroport International Marseille-Provence – 13725 Marignane Cedex – France

About

Fire Heli Load Calc

Features
Read full description

Filling out and sharing the Interagency Helicopter Load Calculation form now designed to save time and eliminate errors. Use your performance charts and the app calculates the fields for you, time stamps, and dates. Email to your manager and save a copy. This is an electronic version of the USFS / Interagency Helicopter Load Calculation form OAS-67/FS 5700-17 (07/13). App customization to company specific aircraft and personnel available upon request. Email us team@arsenaldev.com for a quote. This app is a fully digital forest service load calculation form. As a helicopter aerial firefighting payload calculator, it replaces manual paperwork with a fast, accurate, paperless solution you can run on any tablet or phone. Instantly compute multiple payload calculations, including helitanker, Bambi bucket, water bucket, fire retardant, external load, sling load, and fuel capacity for all aerial firefighting missions—all within one intuitive interface. Beyond simple data entry, this aerial firefighting app doubles as an aircraft firefighting payload planner and forest service helicopter performance planner. Need a sling load performance calculator? It’s built-in. Want a helitanker load calculation tool? It’s one tap away. Pre-flight planning has never been smoother: verify bucket capacity, confirm sling load performance, and finalize helitanker load with confidence. Designed specifically for forest fire aerial load management and firefighting helicopter performance planning, this app streamlines every step of your mission planning. Our digital load calculation form automates complex calculations so you can focus on flying missions, not filling forms. Whether you’re a helitack or helitanker pilot running payload checks, this app gives you mission data on-demand, paperless record-keeping for audits, and a reliable helicopter firefighting payload calculator you can trust—anywhere, anytime. Key Features: Digital Interagency Helicopter Load Calculation Form (OAS-67/FS-5700-17) our version of an eForm Replace paper with a paperless, fast and accurate Fuel planning included Easily sign and share to your manager or supervisor Easily send a copy to your base operations External load calculations Water bucket load calculation Internal water drop payload calculation Sling load operations calculations including a safety margin

Screenshots

O.R.I.O.N.4 screens
Fire Heli Load Calc3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: O.R.I.O.N. at Free against Fire Heli Load Calc's $2.99. Fire Heli Load Calc's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

O.R.I.O.N. is free to download; Fire Heli Load Calc costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
O.R.I.O.N. versus Fire Heli Load Calc: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterO.R.I.O.N.Fire Heli Load Calc
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating2.9 (7 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews12.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings7 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS1513.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB55 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAIRBUS HELICOPTERSArsenal Dev LLC

In-app purchases

None

O.R.I.O.N.

No in-app purchases

None

Fire Heli Load Calc

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is O.R.I.O.N. free?
O.R.I.O.N. is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Fire Heli Load Calc free?
Fire Heli Load Calc costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do O.R.I.O.N. or Fire Heli Load Calc have ads?
Neither O.R.I.O.N. nor Fire Heli Load Calc shows ads.
Which is updated more often, O.R.I.O.N. or Fire Heli Load Calc?
O.R.I.O.N. ships an update every 6 weeks, and Fire Heli Load Calc every 6 weeks. Most recently, O.R.I.O.N. was updated on October 24, 2026 and Fire Heli Load Calc on October 11, 2026.

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