E6B Descent Planner vs NRST
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
E6B Descent Planner
This tool offers a digital circular slide rule for pilots to perform real-time descent planning. It calculates crucial metrics like top of descent distance, descent angle, and glide ratio with simple one-finger operation.
- Digital circular slide rule
- Real-time descent planning
- Top of descent distance calculation
- Descent angle calculation
- Vertical descent rate calculation
- Glide ratio calculation
- Maximum glide distance calculation
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The E6B Descent Planner provides a fully functional circular slide rule for use in real time descent planning. Using one finger, and with a single turn of the rotating inner disk, pilots can easily perform calculations to determine top of descent distance, angle of descent, vertical descent rate required, glide ratio, maximum glide distance based on altitude, plus many other calculations that are not commonly associated with a mechanical E6B.
NRST
This app helps pilots navigate by providing essential airport information, including distance, elevation, and required descent rates. It offers real-time data updates and customizable descent settings for various aircraft types. Worldwide airport coverage is available, with daily database updates.
- Real-time airport data
- Customizable descent rate
- Worldwide airport coverage
- Filter airports by runway
- Glide distance calculation
- Watch app integration
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Don't miss your airport! Designed for pilots of any size aircraft, this app provides you with bearing and vertical speed required to nearby airports. The following information is shown for destinations: • Distance from current location • Field Elevation • Descent rate required • Time to Top of Descent (TOD) • Bearing • Frequencies • Runways • Glide distance delta Additionally your current speed, course, altitude and vertical speed are displayed. Tapping on the information button, Time to TOD or Target Altitude allows you to customize the desired descent rate. All data is updated in real time as you fly. You may choose a nearby airport or select an airport by identifier by scrolling down on the airport list. Filter by runway length and surface type and choose any of the following: airports, seaplane bases, heliports, balloon ports and closed airports. You may optionally provide a glide ratio for your aircraft. The glide distance long or short of the selected airport is then displayed and is conveniently color coded. A positive, green glide delta indicates the glide distance has been estimated to exceed the distance to the airport with a 25% safety margin. Runway headings, if known, are used to draw runways on the heading indicator. If the magenta arrow is pointed straight up and aligned with a runway then you are headed straight in. Worldwide airport information is provided by multiple sources. Canada, Europe and all continents are covered! For more information go to ourairports.com/world.html. Database updates are performed daily. Your location and altitude is provided by your device's location services. If location or altitude is not available that information will not be displayed however you can still search for an airport by identifier. Unfortunately external GPS devices are generally NOT compatible. You must be moving for course information and the magenta relative bearing arrow to be displayed. The Watch app has many of the same features and fits on your wrist. See distances to nearby airports or bearing to a selected airport. Frequencies and runway lengths can be seen with a swipe. A green glide icon or delta indicates glideability is likely. Just like the iPhone and iPad app, the Watch app requires GPS information to locate nearby airports and relative bearing. Additionally, altitude is needed to calculate descent rates. Feedback and feature requests are appreciated. Thanks! Subscription Fine Print ---------------------- - 1 month FREE trial - Database Subscription or Apple Watch Subscription is required for new users - The subscription is for 1 year and updated data is available daily - The annual subscription is $11.99/year or $17.99/year for Watch - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase - No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period - Privacy policy and terms of use are located at: http://toonsy.net/privacy.html - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: E6B Descent Planner at 92% against NRST's 47%. E6B Descent Planner also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 6) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 17.0). NRST's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 3.5) and update cadence (every 4 months vs every 9 months). On price, ratings volume, 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
Both are free to download. NRST sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per year. E6B Descent Planner asks for nothing beyond the download.
NRST holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14 and 9 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 92% of E6B Descent Planner's written reviews are positive against 47% of NRST's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
E6B Descent Planner ships an update every 9 months, NRST every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | E6B Descent Planner | NRST |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (14 ratings) | 4.6 (9 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 92.3% of reviews — better | 46.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 14 — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 37 MB | 50 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Arthur Varrassi | Toonsy Net |
Customer experience
E6B Descent Planner
NRST
In-app purchases
E6B Descent Planner
No in-app purchases
NRST
- Early Adopter Device Subscription1 Month trial$0.991 Year
- Early Adopter Device and Watch Bronze1 Month trial$1.991 Year
- Device Only1 Month trial$11.991 Year
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- Device Only1 Month trial$14.991 Year
- Device and Watch1 Month trial$17.991 Year
- Device and Watch1 Month trial$24.991 Year









