Comparison

Prepware Instrument Pilot vs R44 Pad XS

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

Head to head
About

Prepware Instrument Pilot

Prepare for your FAA Knowledge Exam with flashcard-style reviews and practice tests. Study by subject or take a full practice exam to gauge your readiness.

Highlights
  • Flashcard-style review
  • Questions, answers, and explanations
  • Study by subject
  • Practice test simulation
  • FAA Knowledge Exam preparation
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Comprehensive preparation, study and test tool for the FAA Knowledge Exam. Flashcard style review of questions, answers and explanations included for you to study by subject or with a true-to-form practice test.

About

R44 Pad XS

This flight computer app calculates weight & balance, performance, and navigation data for Robinson R44 helicopters. It features a user-friendly interface with sliders for quick adjustments and allows pilots to experiment with various scenarios.

Highlights
  • Weight & Balance calculations
  • Performance data (ceilings, density altitude)
  • Navigation calculations (E6B)
  • Speed limit calculations
  • Save and load helicopter setups
  • Email weight & balance results
Features
Read full description

Gyronimo Performance Pad for iPhone The flight computer revolution for Robinson R44 Raven and Raven II helicopters. ********* Important: This app is intended to run on iPhones only, as an addition to our iPad apps. It has LESS FEATURES than the iPad app. (it has NO LATERAL computations, no graphical MCP and Max Continuous Power computations and a simple version load manifest) For use on iPad with professional load manifest, exact lateral and MCP performance computations, please choose the Tim Tucker - iPad version. ********* A great new tool for students, instructors and professional pilots. Weight & Balance calculations have never been easier and faster. With the Gyronimo Performance Pad you can calculate weight & balance, performance and navigation data in just a few seconds! It is designed specifically for the Robinson R44 Raven and Raven II, and contains all necessary flight and performance data. The weight and balance calculations can also be used for the Robinson R44 Astro. Quickly change all important values using sliders! Compare Raven and Raven II OGE and IGE performance! Calculate and compare Manifold Pressure and Never Exceed Speed Limits. This enables students and flight instructors to experiment with the values and create "what if" scenarios in no time. The Performance Pad has four main pages 1. Weight and Balance Page Set person and baggage values in seconds using the convenient sliders. Select doors on/off with switch-buttons. The CG position is calculated and displayed simultaneously. Based on fuel flow and fuel available the flight time and fuel reserve are computed. Control all values via sliders and receive a warning if the fuel reserve is less than 20 minutes. 2. Performance Page Using the data from your Weight & Balance page the pad calculates: - Out of Ground Effect (OGE) ceiling - In Ground Effect (IGE) ceiling and converts the pressure altitude to feet MSL. The pad also calculates - Density Altitude - Maximum Continuous Power (MCP) - 5 minute take off power - Never Exceed Speed (V ne) using the internal data derived from the original helicopter operating handbook. You can also experiment with the all values and find the corresponding maximum helicopter weight for the particular environment. 3. Flight Time Page This page is a complete E6B flight computer with a new and revolutionary graphical user interface. Use the sliders to enter basic values like variation, deviation, wind velocity and direction and the pad will calculate - Calibrated and True Airspeed - True and Magnetic Course - Wind Correction Angle (WCA) - Compass Heading - Ground Speed - Flight Time for a specific distance 4. Helicopter Page Save and load helicopter setups and performance scenarios. Send weight & balance results to your email address. View important Airspeed Limits and access the Gyronimo Video Channel. Whether you are a professional pilot, student or flight instructor, we are sure that you will benefit from the possibilities of this revolutionary flight computer. Product Support We hope that the Performance Pad is intuitive to use, however if you have questions or reports please contact us anytime at: info@gyronimosystems.com and we will reply usually within the same day! Video Tutorials Check out our video channel on youtube and find a growing number of example calculations. DISCLAIMER: The Gyronimo R44 Performance Pad is a student, professional pilot and flight instructor assistance tool for plausibility checks and flight training only. All graphics and data provided in this application are used as examples. It is essential to refer to the similar graphs and data in the ORIGINAL POH for the helicopter you will be flying. The publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the computations and information contained herein. (c) 2012-2015 Gyronimo, LLC

Screenshots

Prepware Instrument Pilot4 screens
R44 Pad XS4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Prepware Instrument Pilot at $9.99 against R44 Pad XS's $14.99. Prepware Instrument Pilot also leads on rating (2.6 vs 2.3) and chart position (#155 vs unranked). R44 Pad XS's advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 4 months) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). On review sentiment, 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

Prepware Instrument Pilot costs $9.99 and R44 Pad XS $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Prepware Instrument Pilot holds the better App Store score, 2.6 against 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Prepware Instrument Pilot has 45 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 38% of Prepware Instrument Pilot's written reviews are positive against 43% of R44 Pad XS's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Prepware Instrument Pilot ships an update every 4 months, R44 Pad XS every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Prepware Instrument Pilot versus R44 Pad XS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPrepware Instrument PilotR44 Pad XS
Price$9.99 — better$14.99
Rating2.6 (45 ratings) — better2.3 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews37.8% of reviews42.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings45 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank#155 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.09.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size36 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperASAGyronimo, LLC

Customer experience

Prepware Instrument Pilot

All ratings45 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral15.6%
Negative51.1%
Written reviews74 reviews
Positive37.8%
Neutral20.3%
Negative41.9%

R44 Pad XS

All ratings6 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive42.9%
Neutral7.1%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

Prepware Instrument Pilot

Reported bugs

39 issues
  • Text frequently cut off
  • App cannot dynamically scale text
  • Some questions missing figures
  • Figures have nothing to do with the question
  • Correct answers no longer shown in green
Show 34 more
  • Dark mode broken
  • App crashes
  • Save feature does not work
  • Answers lost when returning to app
  • Progress lost when switching categories
  • App closes by itself
  • Loses test progress when minimized
  • Figures not displayed for questions
  • Incomplete questions
  • Questions and answers do not match
  • Questions not completely displayed
  • Can't get back to question from figure display
  • Back button disappears
  • Can't take entire test without shutting down or redownloading
  • Software reverts to quiz mode when returning to study mode
  • Explanation link missing in study mode
  • Can't go back when opening a figure
  • Answers longer than three lines are cut off
  • Figures are sometimes incomplete
  • Figures are sometimes at too low a resolution
  • No way to store previous test scores
  • No progress shown
  • Study modes stops showing correct answer
  • Practice test questions do not allow access to appropriate figure
  • Truncated answers
  • Truncated questions
  • Figures are sometimes incomplete
  • Font is hard to read and small
  • Bold indication of right or wrong is missing
  • No running tally of missed questions
  • App restarts in test mode even when last in study mode
  • Bugs causing crashes that instantly exit the application
  • Scans did not come over well, particularly weather graphics
  • Hard to see some images

Requested features

18 requests
  • Ability to focus on previously incorrect answers
  • Major update for functionality and display bugs
  • Ensure all software is up to date with FAA question banks
  • Add timer and number of questions selection
  • Ability to eliminate questions already known
Show 13 more
  • Autosave and clear progress button
  • Ability to search through questions
  • Save test results
  • Ability to uncheck material of questions not needed
  • Ability to select questions relating to chapters
  • Provide reasons for wrong answers
  • Make background red or green for visibility
  • Allow marking questions for review
  • Record wrong answers for review
  • Dark mode option
  • Advanced analytics dashboard
  • Ability to skip questions that do not apply to equipment
  • Add CX-2 to iPhone

R44 Pad XS

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Prepware Instrument Pilot

No in-app purchases

None

R44 Pad XS

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Prepware Instrument Pilot free?
Prepware Instrument Pilot costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is R44 Pad XS free?
R44 Pad XS costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Prepware Instrument Pilot or R44 Pad XS?
Prepware Instrument Pilot is rated higher. Prepware Instrument Pilot averages 2.6 out of 5 from 45 ratings, while R44 Pad XS averages 2.3 from 6 ratings.
Do Prepware Instrument Pilot or R44 Pad XS have ads?
Neither Prepware Instrument Pilot nor R44 Pad XS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Prepware Instrument Pilot or R44 Pad XS?
Prepware Instrument Pilot ships an update every 4 months, and R44 Pad XS every 6 weeks. Most recently, Prepware Instrument Pilot was updated on October 30, 2026 and R44 Pad XS on October 29, 2026.

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