Comparison

Solar Walk vs IFR Flight Trainer Simulator

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

Head to head
About

Solar Walk

Explore a detailed 3D model of our solar system and the universe. Interact with planets, moons, and satellites, and take virtual flights through space. Travel through time to see the universe's past and learn with educational movies.

Highlights
  • Interactive 3D solar system model
  • Virtual flights between celestial bodies
  • Time travel feature for historical views
  • Educational movies about space
  • Orrery and true-to-scale view modes
  • Milky Way Galaxy view
Features
Read full description

Solar Walk is an amazing 3D model of our Solar system bringing the universe to the palm of your hand and allowing you to interact with planets, satellites, moons, comets and other space objects anytime and anywhere. Start your fascinating journey through the realms of space and learn more about the universe we live in. *** Over 6 million users!*** *** National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA) - GOLD winner in the Educational Tools for Parents and Children category! *** *** A Parents’ Choice Gold Award Winner *** “Simply amazing.” - Macworld “Solar Walk serves up a visually impressive 3D model of our solar system. Set against a haunting, atmospheric soundscape, the app shows planets and satellites in their correct positions, and offers mini movies, facts and other related tidbits.” - TNW “This jaw-dropping app provides a wholly interactive 3D model of our solar system, one that’s had me hooked for days. It’s the kind of thing you can imagine a science teacher using in the classroom of the future — except that we don’t have to wait.” - CNet “Zoom from Mercury to Pluto (which makes the cut in this app), passing each planet’s moons along the way. Because Solar Walk knows what time it is, the planets are in proper orientation to the Sun: Earth is dark where it is currently night and gradually lightens to daytime on the other side.” - NY Times "It's great for showing my students the relative positions of the planets in the solar system, the satellites orbiting the Earth and our place in the galaxy. Awesome with a smartboard as well." - by jbrown61 Solar Walk enables you to: ► Observe the 3D model of our Solar system with all its objects in real time and in a proper orientation. Turn into an astronomer and explore planets, moons, satellites, asteroids, dwarf planets, comets, stars and other celestial bodies. Enjoy gorgeous graphics and visuals while navigating through the solar system. ► Make virtual flights from one space object to another. ► Travel in time and see what the universe and our Solar system looked like at a certain period. ► Find an exciting view of the Milky Way Galaxy. ► Watch a collection of educational solar system movies to learn about space-related topics including Earth's moon phases, Earth's cycles, tidal phenomena, and zodiacal constellations. ► Enjoy 3D planetarium with the help of special glasses and activating the anaglyph mode. ► Share interesting screenshots of the app with your friends. ► Choose the view mode comfortable for you (orrery/true-to-scale). The app contains In-App Purchases. Solar Walk is a great educational tool appropriate for both adults and children. The amount of information users can learn about the planets, moons, satellites and other celestial bodies is impressive. All information is age-appropriate and detailed. Animated video clips will make learning about our Solar system even more engaging. Start exploring the universe with Solar Walk!

About

IFR Flight Trainer Simulator

Practice instrument flight rules (IFR) navigation with this simulator. Learn and improve IFR procedures, including VOR, NDB, and holding patterns. Offers cockpit and map modes with adjustable wind and built-in tasks for comprehensive pilot training.

Highlights
  • Cockpit and map modes
  • VOR, NDB, DME, HSI, EHSI, RMI instruments
  • Approach procedure practice
  • Adjustable wind settings
  • Holding pattern simulation
  • Custom scenario creation
  • Built-in training tasks
Features
Read full description

Flying by instrument flight rules (IFR) is not an easy task, especially for student pilots. With the IFR Flight Trainer Simulator, students can easily develop and experienced pilots can quickly improve their understanding of IFR navigation. This is the perfect app for learning and practicing IFR procedures, and it is much cheaper than a single flight hour. Try it out if you want to acquire an instrument rating or just want to brush up your IFR skills. IFR Flight Trainer Simulator was designed with simplicity and intuitive operability in mind. The instruments available are: VOR, RMI, HSI, EHSI, DME, Directional Gyro and airspeed indicator. Thanks to a NAV 1 and a NAV 2 modes, you will also be able to train for two NDB/VOR approaches. Main features: • COCKPIT/MAP - Use the cockpit mode to practice and use the map mode to set up a scenario and check you progress. Both the aircraft and ground stations can be easily relocated to a new position by dragging and dropping them. • VOR, DME, HSI, EHSI, RMI - This aviation app is carefully designed to reflect the characteristics of different instruments. Choose between VOR or NDB navigation, select your instruments (HSI/EHSI or RMI) and a speed range up to 400 kts. • APPROACH PROCEDURES - IFR Flight Trainer Simulator will help learn how to track a radial, how to intercept a radial outbound, inbound, how to fly a DME arc, and so on. It is the simplest way to learn the navigation procedures inside out! • WIND - Have you become familiar with all the procedures? Add some wind to spice things up. The wind settings are displayed on separate screen, where you can set its direction and speed to increase the challenge. • HOLDING - Set and practice standard or non-standard holding patterns. Test you skills with VOR or NDB fix holdings. You already know where your next flight will happen? Build a scenario for it in the app to practice what awaits you in real life. This way you can practice your flight in a safe environment before facing the real challenge in the cockpit. If you want to learn the essentials, take a look at the built-in tasks as well. All features: • Use the classic or glass cockpit mode to simulate what you see in a real aircraft • Use the map mode to learn and understand the procedures from a third-person point of view • Choose between VOR and NDB navigation • Use the following, carefully designed instruments: RMI, HSI, EHSI, Directional gyro, DME, Airspeed indicator • Fly your own routes by creating challenging scenarios, using holding patterns and adjusting the wind • Test your knowledge through various built-in tasks • Drag & drop the aircraft or ground station symbols to move them around quickly • Turn the aircraft with 1.5°/s, 3°/s (standard), 6°/s and 9°/s modes, or just simply rotate the compass dial • View your flight path by enabling the aircraft track trail • Simulate winds up to 50 kts • Practice IFR flying procedures by generating random scenarios Download the app to see for yourself whether we can help you learn the essentials of IFR navigation. Try it for free and prepare at home without wasting expensive flight or simulator time.

Screenshots

Solar Walk4 screens
IFR Flight Trainer Simulator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: IFR Flight Trainer Simulator at Free against Solar Walk's $4.99. IFR Flight Trainer Simulator also leads on review sentiment (82% vs 72%). Solar Walk's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 3.9) and ratings volume (8.1K vs 76). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

IFR Flight Trainer Simulator is free to download; Solar Walk costs $4.99 up front. Solar Walk sells 11 one-off in-app purchases and IFR Flight Trainer Simulator sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Solar Walk holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Solar Walk has 8.1K ratings behind it against 76, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 72% of Solar Walk's written reviews are positive against 82% of IFR Flight Trainer Simulator's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Solar Walk ships an update every 5 months, IFR Flight Trainer Simulator every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Solar Walk versus IFR Flight Trainer Simulator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSolar WalkIFR Flight Trainer Simulator
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (8.1K ratings) — better3.9 (76 ratings)
Positive reviews72.2% of reviews81.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings8.1K — better76
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size451 MB155 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperVito Technology Inc.Flygo-Aviation Ltd

Customer experience

Solar Walk

All ratings8,149 ratings
Positive93.1%
Neutral3.5%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews461 reviews
Positive72.2%
Neutral7.2%
Negative20.6%

IFR Flight Trainer Simulator

All ratings76 ratings
Positive71.1%
Neutral6.6%
Negative22.4%
Written reviews130 reviews
Positive81.5%
Neutral4.6%
Negative13.8%

User reviews

Solar Walk

From 8.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Excellent graphics and visuals
  • 🔍 Detailed information about the solar system
  • 🌍 Ability to explore the planets and moons
  • 🎥 Informative videos and animations
  • 🧠 Educational and informative for all ages

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive in-app purchases required to unlock full features
  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes reported, especially after updates
  • 🕹️ Navigation and controls can be unintuitive
  • 🌌 Limited to just the solar system, no other galaxies or deep space

IFR Flight Trainer Simulator

From 76 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 User-friendly interface and intuitive controls
  • 🎓 Excellent learning tool for IFR training and instrument procedures
  • 🎮 Comprehensive customization options (wind, runway, conditions)
  • 📊 Dual view modes (cockpit and map/plan view)
  • 🎯 Realistic flight modeling and aerodynamics

Room to improve

  • 💰 Aggressive monetization with limited free trial
  • ⏱️ Unreasonably short trial period (3-5 minutes)
  • 🔒 Paywall blocks most features in free version
  • 🎯 Unrealistic immediate heading changes (no standard rate turns)
  • 🐛 Occasional app crashes and stability issues

Bugs and requests

Solar Walk

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes on launch for some users
  • In-app purchases not working correctly
  • Freezing and performance issues on older devices
  • Incorrect planet/moon positioning and timing

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more planets, moons, and objects to the solar system
  • Expand to include other star systems and galaxies
  • Improve navigation and controls for easier exploration
  • Offer more free content instead of paid add-ons
  • Fix reported bugs and crashes

IFR Flight Trainer Simulator

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • App crashes after short usage periods
  • Heading indicator gets stuck causing continuous turning
  • HSI radials appear to be offset or incorrect
  • DME distance calculations may be inaccurate (slant range issue)
  • Task completion triggers before reaching waypoints
Show 1 more
  • OBS cannot be changed without paid upgrade

Requested features

8 requests
  • Standard rate turn simulation for realistic intercepts and holdings
  • LOC (Localizer) mode for HSI reverse sensing practice
  • Fixed-card ADF instrument option
  • Adjustable turn rate settings to match different aircraft
  • Error feedback display showing incorrect flight paths
Show 3 more
  • Bearing and course to station relative to VOR1/VOR2
  • Higher difficulty levels for advanced pilots
  • Extended free trial period for proper app evaluation

In-app purchases

11 purchases

Solar Walk

One-time11
  • Mission of Cassini-HuygensFree
  • Cycles of the Earth SystemFree
  • Major Circles of LatitudeFree
Show 8 more
  • Movies BundleFree
  • 3D Satellites in Real TimeFree
  • Planets of the Solar SystemFree
  • What is a Solar Eclipse?Free
  • The Moon Phases ExplanationFree
  • Zodiacal ConstellationsFree
  • High Resolution Bundle$1.99
  • All Additional Content - Sale$2.99
2 purchases

IFR Flight Trainer Simulator

One-time2
  • IFR Simulator Half Price$11.99
  • IFR Simulator Unlock$24.99

Questions

Is Solar Walk free?
Solar Walk costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is IFR Flight Trainer Simulator free?
IFR Flight Trainer Simulator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Solar Walk or IFR Flight Trainer Simulator?
Solar Walk is rated higher. Solar Walk averages 4.7 out of 5 from 8.1K ratings, while IFR Flight Trainer Simulator averages 3.9 from 76 ratings.
Do Solar Walk or IFR Flight Trainer Simulator have ads?
Neither Solar Walk nor IFR Flight Trainer Simulator shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Solar Walk or IFR Flight Trainer Simulator?
Solar Walk ships an update every 5 months, and IFR Flight Trainer Simulator every 3 months. Most recently, Solar Walk was updated on September 24, 2026 and IFR Flight Trainer Simulator on September 7, 2026.

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