Comparison

Hot Air vs FlyOn Pilot

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

Head to head
About

Hot Air

This app serves as a comprehensive flight companion for hot air balloon pilots. It offers features like live tracking, flight recording, navigation, and wind profiling, all tailored for ballooning. It supports pilots from students to commercial operators for planning, execution, and post-flight analysis.

Highlights
  • Live tracking on maps
  • Wind profiling by altitude
  • Waypoint navigation
  • Automatic flight recording
  • Custom map overlays
  • Offline map caching
  • Real-time flight sharing
Features
Read full description

Hot Air is a complete balloon flight companion, built by balloon pilots for balloon pilots. From preflight planning to postflight review, it delivers live tracking, flight recording, waypoint navigation, wind profiling, and more — all designed specifically for the unique needs of hot air ballooning. Whether you’re a student pilot, a commercial operator, or flying for fun, Hot Air helps you stay organized, informed, and connected. Features include: • Live tracking on street or satellite maps • Wind profiling by altitude during climb and descent • Waypoint navigation with bearing, distance, and estimated time • Automatic flight recording with 3D export support • Custom map overlays (KML/KMZ) • Offline-capable with map caching • Real-time flight sharing with crew or friends • Detailed flight logs for crew, passengers, propane, and temperature • Flight summaries and totals for logs or checkrides • Interactive map history of takeoffs and landings • Export to HTML, KML, or GPX • Payload calculator for accurate weight and balance • Integrated weather data and forecasts • Improved UTM 4x4 waypoint format support Additional features: • Real-time heading projection • Built-in data backup and restore • Localized in English, French, Czech, and Slovak • Fully optimized for iPhone and iPad (portrait and landscape) Note: Continued use of GPS can reduce battery life. Use an external battery for longer flights.

About

FlyOn Pilot

Features
Read full description

The FlyOn Pilot app is a flight planning and navigation app for Hot Air balloon pilots. It includes target guidance, drawing lines and geometries, adding map overlays and supports a wide range of map formats including kml, aip, geojson, tile maps and more. UTM formats are supported in both 4/4 and 6/7 formats for competition use. While the features may be super useful, the app is not a substitute for legally required flight planning and aviation instruments.

Screenshots

Hot Air4 screens
FlyOn Pilot3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Hot Air at $9.99 against FlyOn Pilot's $19.99. Hot Air also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs fortnightly) and device support (4 vs 2). FlyOn Pilot's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4). On ads and iOS requirement 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

Hot Air costs $9.99 and FlyOn Pilot $19.99 up front. Hot Air sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per year. FlyOn Pilot asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hot Air ships an update every 5 days, FlyOn Pilot fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Hot Air versus FlyOn Pilot: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHot AirFlyOn Pilot
Price$9.99 — better$19.99
Rating4.9 (578 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews90.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings578 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.5 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size129 MB38 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperCato Technologies LLCRune Paamand

Bugs and requests

Hot Air

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashing after latest update
  • Freezing when switching to camera
  • Flight tracking not syncing to logbook

Requested features

5 requests
  • Option to disable Glympse sharing
  • Ability to switch between mph and knots
  • More customization options for overlays and pins
  • Flight data sync between iPhone and iPad
  • Playback capability for past flights

FlyOn Pilot

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Hot Air

Subscriptions3
  • Offline Maps$2.991 Year
  • Pro$3.991 Month
  • Pro$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • Offline Map Subscription$2.99
None

FlyOn Pilot

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hot Air free?
Hot Air costs $9.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is FlyOn Pilot free?
FlyOn Pilot costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Hot Air or FlyOn Pilot have ads?
Neither Hot Air nor FlyOn Pilot shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hot Air or FlyOn Pilot?
Hot Air ships an update every 5 days, and FlyOn Pilot fortnightly. Most recently, Hot Air was updated on November 10, 2026 and FlyOn Pilot on November 8, 2026.

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