Comparison

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.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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 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 The data does not come from official sources and might be incomplete, outdated, or otherwise incorrect.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.

About

Balloon Pilot Chaser

Features
Read 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

Enroute Flight Navigation4 screens
Balloon Pilot Chaser4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Enroute Flight Navigation versus Balloon Pilot Chaser: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEnroute Flight NavigationBalloon Pilot Chaser
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating5.0 (6 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings6 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS1716.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size88 MB331 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAkademische Fliegergruppe Freiburg i. Br. e. V.Frank-Alexander Uhdris

In-app purchases

None

Enroute Flight Navigation

No in-app purchases

None

Balloon Pilot Chaser

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Enroute Flight Navigation free?
Enroute Flight Navigation is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Balloon Pilot Chaser free?
Balloon Pilot Chaser costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Enroute Flight Navigation or Balloon Pilot Chaser have ads?
Neither Enroute Flight Navigation nor Balloon Pilot Chaser shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Enroute Flight Navigation or Balloon Pilot Chaser?
Enroute Flight Navigation ships an update every 5 weeks, and Balloon Pilot Chaser daily. Most recently, Enroute Flight Navigation was updated on November 3, 2026 and Balloon Pilot Chaser on November 8, 2026.

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