Enroute Flight Navigation vs Balloon Pilot Chaser
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Enroute Flight Navigation
A non-commercial flight navigation app for VFR pilots, offering a moving map with airspace and airfield information. It provides flight planning tools, weather-based diversion suggestions, and free, weekly updated aeronautical maps.
- Moving map with current position and flight path
- Detailed airspace, airfield, and navaid information
- Weekly updated aeronautical maps
- Flight planning for distance, time, and fuel
- Closest airfield suggestions for diversions
- No advertising or commercial versions
Read full descriptionHide full description
Enroute is a non-commercial flight navigation app written by flight enthusiasts for VFR pilots. Designed to be simple, functional, and elegant, it takes the stress out of your next flight. Enroute features a moving map similar in style to the official ICAO maps. Your current position and your flight path for the next five minutes are marked, and so is your intended flight route. A simple tap gives you all the information about airspaces, airfields, and navaids – complete with frequencies, codes, elevations, and runway information. Our aeronautical maps are free, receive weekly updates, and cover large parts of the world. Selected maps show traffic circuits and flight procedures for control zones. Enroute supports essential flight planning. It allows you to quickly and easily compute distances, courses, and headings. It gives you an estimate for flight time and fuel consumption. If the weather turns bad, the app will show you the closest airfields for landing, complete with distances, directions, runway information, and frequencies. There is no advertising and no commercial “pro”-version of the app. We do not spy on you. You do not need to register for “membership.” And we do not hassle you with e-mails. We do not even have or want your address! Disclaimer: We publish this free app hoping that it might be helpful as an aid to prudent navigation. It comes with no guarantees. It may not work as expected. The data does not come from official sources and might be incomplete, outdated, or otherwise incorrect. This app is no substitute for proper flight preparation or good pilotage. Relying on it as a primary means of navigation is most likely illegal, undoubtedly stupid, and potentially suicidal.
Balloon Pilot Chaser
Read full descriptionHide full description
Balloon Pilot Chaser brings balloon and retrieve vehicle together: the pilot shares the position with one tap, the crew sees the balloon live and is guided all the way to the landing site – farm tracks and trailer included. THE PILOT SHARES – THE CREW NEEDS NO APP Tap “Share position” in the basket and send the link to your crew by messenger, SMS or email. Anyone who opens the link sees the balloon live on the map – on any phone, tablet or computer, nothing to install. When the iPhone lies still after landing, the crew still sees the position as current. NAVIGATION BUILT FOR CAR AND TRAILER “Go to Balloon” starts Chaser Navigation with voice guidance, even with the screen locked. It plans for a car towing a balloon trailer and avoids barriers, fords and spots too narrow or too low. You decide how far off the road it may go: • Off – paved roads only • Firm – plus firm farm and service tracks mainly on the last stretch to the balloon • All – every drivable track, for 4×4 retrieve vehicles One tap takes you from the navigation back to the map. Apple Maps and Google Maps remain available as alternatives at any time. WHERE THE SIGNAL DROPS In Hesse, Germany, routes are calculated entirely on the device – exactly where rural coverage tends to fail. With a data connection, reported closures there are avoided as well. In the rest of Europe and in Turkey, routes come from the Chaser server. Everywhere else, “Go to Balloon” opens Apple Maps or Google Maps automatically. Live position and sharing work worldwide; a new balloon position always needs a data connection. THE CREW ON THE PILOT’S MAP Followers can choose “Show to pilot” to share their car with the pilot – in the app or straight from the link, no app needed – and say who has the trailer. The pilot sees each car as a coloured dot with name and distance, the car with the trailer always in blue. So the pilot knows in the basket who is closest. PILOT VIEW While sharing, the pilot sees altitude, vertical speed, speed, track and their own flight path on the map – a simple backup in the basket. MADE FOR THE FIELD • Choose your units: m or ft, m/s or ft/min, km/h, kt or mph, km or miles in the car • Topographic map and satellite imagery • English and German • For iPhone and iPad, with CarPlay: map, flight data and “Go to Balloon” on the car display PRIVACY No account, no ads, no tracking. Shared positions are deleted when sharing ends, otherwise at the latest one hour after the chosen duration (up to 8 hours), crew car positions after 30 minutes without an update. Only the pilot sees the cars. Background location only while you share or while a navigation you started is running. BUY ONCE No subscription, no in-app purchases. NOTE The app is a guide for driving to the balloon, not an aviation navigation instrument. Traffic rules, track conditions and landowners’ rights always come first.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Enroute Flight Navigation at Free against Balloon Pilot Chaser's $3.99. Balloon Pilot Chaser's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 5 weeks). On ads, in-app purchases, device support 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
Enroute Flight Navigation is free to download; Balloon Pilot Chaser costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Enroute Flight Navigation ships an update every 5 weeks, Balloon Pilot Chaser daily. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Enroute Flight Navigation | Balloon Pilot Chaser |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $3.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (6 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 6 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 88 MB | 331 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Akademische Fliegergruppe Freiburg i. Br. e. V. | Frank-Alexander Uhdris |
In-app purchases
Enroute Flight Navigation
No in-app purchases
Balloon Pilot Chaser
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Enroute Flight Navigation free?
Is Balloon Pilot Chaser free?
Do Enroute Flight Navigation or Balloon Pilot Chaser have ads?
Which is updated more often, Enroute Flight Navigation or Balloon Pilot Chaser?
Other comparisons















