Flight Calcs vs Aviation Descent Calculator
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Flight Calcs
This app provides pilots with essential flight calculation tools for logging time, planning routes, and performing preflight checks. It offers accurate, real-world aviation calculations with familiar terminology and unit conventions.
- Pilot time logging and summing
- Flight block/duty time calculation
- Time-Speed-Distance (TSD) calculations
- Wind component and True Airspeed (TAS) resolution
- Density altitude computation
- Fuel burn estimation
- Weight and balance verification
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Thank you for using Flight Calcs. Your attention to fuel, weather, loading and timing is good airmanship. Keep useful numbers close from preflight to the debrief, with aviation calculators, airport references and saved records on iPhone and iPad. FLIGHT PLANNING AND E6B - Solve heading, wind correction angle, groundspeed, time and distance. - Practice with the visual mechanical E6B simulator. - Check runway crosswind, headwind and tailwind components. - Estimate trip fuel, reserve fuel, endurance, climb and descent. - Calculate true airspeed, Mach, pressure altitude and density altitude. - Review cloud base estimates and holding pattern entry guidance. - Build NavLog legs with checkpoints, ETA, fuel and route notes. - Convert knots, nautical miles, gallons, liters, pounds and more. WEIGHT AND BALANCE - Choose from eleven searchable aircraft planning templates. - Enter occupants, baggage, equipment and usable fuel by station. - Compare zero-fuel, ramp, takeoff and landing weight and CG. - Include ground or taxi burn and trip fuel burn. - Switch between Load, Sheet and Envelope views. - Review basic empty weight, station arms and moments. - See which checks apply when a phase weight maximum is unknown. - Save loading snapshots alongside your other flight records. Templates are starting points. Verify the current aircraft's basic empty weight, station limits, fuel assumptions and CG envelope against its approved documents. AVIATION WEATHER AND AIRPORTS - Retrieve METAR and TAF reports from AviationWeather.gov. - Decode wind, visibility, clouds, altimeter and flight category. - Review TAF changes in a forecast timeline. - Decode pasted NOTAM and SNOWTAM reports. - Compare plain-language summaries with the original reports. - Find nearby airports and weather when you request location. - Search bundled airports by identifier, name, city or region. - Review available runways, elevation, frequencies and time zones. - Browse FAA reference material for preflight and study. TIME, DATES AND RECORDS - Work with flight time, duty snapshots and Zulu time. - Add or subtract times and dates. - Plan countdowns, work windows and business days. - Keep flight, duty, NavLog and Weight & Balance records. - Edit saved entries and browse activity in the Records Calendar. - Search records or duplicate a plan for the next trip. - Share supported results with Pilot Pro. Core calculators, bundled references and saved local data are useful offline. Live weather and App Store purchases need an internet connection. FREE STARTERS AND PILOT PRO E6B, E6B Simulator, Pilot Time, Flight Duty Snapshot and Time Speed Distance are free starters. Free iPhone and iPad access also includes three Pro calculator sessions and three Weight & Balance sessions per day, with five combined. Free Records allow one new record per day and six total. Pilot Pro removes those limits and enables sharing, with monthly and lifetime options. Temporary promotional access is separate from a purchase. Use Flight Calcs for planning and cross-checks. Your aircraft's current POH or AFM, approved Weight & Balance report, official weather briefing, operator procedures and applicable regulations remain the authority. For monthly subscriptions: Monthly Pro is a 1-month auto-renewable subscription. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Aviation Descent Calculator
Quickly calculate the distance and vertical speed needed for a smooth climb or descent. Designed by pilots, it features a large, always-open keypad for easy data entry, even in turbulence. Avoid arriving too high and ensure a comfortable flight.
- Calculate descent distance and vertical speed
- Smooth climb and descent planning
- Large, always-open keypad
- Accurate calculations
- Supports climb and descent
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Descent Calculator quickly and accurately calculates the distance and vertical speed you need to fly a smooth, controlled climb or descent. Never arrive at your destination too high again! Built by a team of commercial pilots and air traffic controllers, Descent Calculator was designed with simplicity in mind. We've built you a HUGE ALWAYS-OPEN keypad that enables you to enter data easily, even in HEAVY TURBULENCE. Don't struggle with the traditional mobile keyboard that's too small, has unnecessary keys, and often hides itself when you need it most. Have you ever been unsure of when to start descent for your destination? Are you one of those pilots who waits until they see the airport, before thinking about descent? This practice is dangerous, hard on your engines, and uncomfortable for pilots. Starting a descent late increases the likelihood of engine cylinder wear from shock cooling. A late descent can easily put your airspeed into the yellow arc. Descending late will also hurt your passengers' ears. There are some rules of thumb that a pilot can use for making descent calculations, such as the "Rule of Three" or "3:1 Rule of Descent". Descent calculator is easy to use, and very accurate. And, it can be used for both climbs and descents. Did ATC give you a crossing restriction? Is there higher terrain ahead? Calculate and re-calculate your descent distance and required vertical speed quickly with the Descent Calculator. After inputting your current altitude, target altitude, desired vertical speed and groundspeed, Descent Calculator will tell you how many miles are required. You can then update the mileage result with your actual distance-from-field, and your vertical speed gets automatically re-calculated for you. Arrive at your destination in control!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Flight Calcs at 85% against Aviation Descent Calculator's 33%. Flight Calcs also leads on price (Free vs $1.99) and rating (5.0 vs 2.8). Aviation Descent Calculator's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (4 vs 1). On ads 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
Flight Calcs is free to download; Aviation Descent Calculator costs $1.99 up front. Flight Calcs sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Aviation Descent Calculator asks for nothing beyond the download.
Flight Calcs holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of Flight Calcs's written reviews are positive against 33% of Aviation Descent Calculator's.
Flight Calcs ships an update every 2 months, Aviation Descent Calculator every 24 months. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Flight Calcs | Aviation Descent Calculator |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 2.8 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 84.6% of reviews — better | 33.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 4 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 24 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 6.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 38 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Verosocial Studio | Big Fat Simulations Inc. |
Customer experience
Flight Calcs
Aviation Descent Calculator
In-app purchases
Flight Calcs
- PilotCalculators pro monthly$1.991 Month
- Pilot Calculators pro lifetime$14.99
Aviation Descent Calculator
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Flight Calcs free?
Is Aviation Descent Calculator free?
Which has better reviews, Flight Calcs or Aviation Descent Calculator?
Do Flight Calcs or Aviation Descent Calculator have ads?
Which is updated more often, Flight Calcs or Aviation Descent Calculator?
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