Comparison

iControl DCS vs AirEFB

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

Head to head
About

iControl DCS

Enhance your flight simulation experience by extending your cockpit to an iPad. Control Digital Combat Simulator's A-10C Warthog with touch screen input, eliminating the need for a mouse during intense gameplay. Enjoy interactive displays and a wide range of cockpit functions for a more immersive simulation.

Highlights
  • Interactive MFCD, CDU, and UFC displays
  • Touchscreen control for simulator functions
  • Retina iPad support with original graphics
  • Support for multiple connected iPads
  • Cold ramp startup controls
  • Autopilot controls
Features
Read full description

Extend your cockpit to the iPad! iControl DCS allows you to connect your iPad with Digital Combat Simulator's A-10C Warthog flight simulation. Allowing you to control the simulator by touching your screen. Never fumble for your mouse in the heat of the moment again! Here are some of the functions it provides • Crisp and clean 100% original graphics with retina iPad support • Quick and easy navigation between instruments via swipe gestures or buttons • Live MFCD displays (left and right) with working buttons • Live CDU display with working buttons • UFC panel with working buttons • Caution and warning light panel • Various commonly used cockpit functions • Supports multiple devices. Connect two iPads at once and display Different MFDs on each! • Radio stack • Combined view with UFC and dual MFCDs on one screen • Autopilot controls • All controls and switches necessary to performa a cold ramp startup • Portrait CDU mode System Requirements: • DCS: World with A-10C Addon • Microsoft Windows • iControl DCS Server available at http://www.bit-shift.com/ • Due to limitations in the simulator, live MFCDs must be repeated on your monitor. • Due to limitations in the simulator, the sim will be forced to run in full screen windowed mode ***** We suggest you give A-10 VC Free a try before purchasing iControl DCS to make sure it suits your play style. ***** This application will not work with macOS PCs! iControl DCS and bit-shift.com are not affiliated with iControl Networks.

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.

Screenshots

AirEFB4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: iControl DCS at 71% against AirEFB's 0%. iControl DCS also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.5) and ratings volume (10 vs 2). AirEFB's advantage is price ($17.99 vs $29.99) and device support (4 vs 1). 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

iControl DCS costs $29.99 and AirEFB $17.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

iControl DCS holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: iControl DCS has 10 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of iControl DCS's written reviews are positive against 0% of AirEFB's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on June 9, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
iControl DCS versus AirEFB: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriControl DCSAirEFB
Price$29.99$17.99 — better
Rating4.9 (10 ratings) — better4.5 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews71.4% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings10 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB354 MB
Age rating17+4+
Developerbit-shift.comJoao Cabral

Customer experience

iControl DCS

All ratings10 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews28 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative28.6%

AirEFB

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

In-app purchases

None

iControl DCS

No in-app purchases

None

AirEFB

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is iControl DCS free?
iControl DCS costs $29.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is AirEFB free?
AirEFB costs $17.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, iControl DCS or AirEFB?
iControl DCS is rated higher. iControl DCS averages 4.9 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while AirEFB averages 4.5 from 2 ratings.
Do iControl DCS or AirEFB have ads?
Neither iControl DCS nor AirEFB shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iControl DCS or AirEFB?
iControl DCS ships an update every 4 months, and AirEFB every 4 months. Most recently, iControl DCS was updated on June 9, 2026 and AirEFB on September 16, 2026.

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