Comparison

Virtual PAPI vs FlightStreamX

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

Head to head
About

Virtual PAPI

This app offers adjustable visual descent guidance for any runway, allowing pilots to select airports and runways, then customize descent angles and aiming points. It provides accurate vertical guidance for various approach types and works offline with an extensive runway database.

Highlights
  • Adjustable visual descent guidance
  • Select airport and runway
  • Customize descent angle and aiming point
  • Accurate vertical guidance
  • Works offline
  • 30,000+ runway database
Features
Read full description

Pilots love runways with visual descent guidance, such as PAPI or VASI, but unfortunately they don't exist everywhere. This app provides an adjustable visual descent guidance for every runway on the planet. The pilot can select an airport, a runway, adjust the desired descent angle and the aiming point, then Virtual PAPI will create a glide slope indicator style. The glide slope will provide accurate vertical guidance to the aiming point from any direction, 360 degrees, providing a valuable guidance for any type of approach, like base entries, short approaches, straight-ins, etc. The app comes with over 30 thousand runways in its offline database, and more will be added as they are discovered. The app works completely offline and never tries to use the internet. All it needs is access to your location. Virtual PAPI is and free and open source, with all the code available on GitHub.

About

FlightStreamX

Seamlessly transfer flight plans from your iPad's EFB apps directly to X-Plane on your desktop. This app eliminates manual file transfers, offering an instant, wireless workflow for flight simulation enthusiasts.

Highlights
  • Wireless flight plan transfer
  • Automatic X-Plane discovery
  • Instant flight plan conversion
  • Supports ForeFlight and Garmin Pilot
  • Cockpit-inspired interface
  • Resend flight plan feature
Read full description

FlightStreamX wirelessly sends flight plans from your iPad's Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) to X-Plane on your desktop — instantly, over your local Wi-Fi network. SIMPLE WORKFLOW 1. Create a flight plan in ForeFlight or Garmin Pilot on your iPad 2. Tap Share and select FlightStreamX 3. Your flight plan appears in X-Plane automatically No cables. No USB drives. No manual file copying. Just share and fly. HOW IT WORKS FlightStreamX automatically discovers X-Plane running on your local network using the X-Plane beacon protocol. Once connected, it converts your EFB flight plan into X-Plane's native FMS 1100 format and transmits it directly — all in under a second. SUPPORTED EFB APPS • ForeFlight (.fpl flight plan files) • Garmin Pilot (.gfp flight plan files) FEATURES • Automatic X-Plane discovery — no IP addresses to configure • Real-time connection status with host details • Instant flight plan conversion and transmission • Resend capability — retransmit your last flight plan with one tap • Dark, aviation-inspired interface designed for cockpit use • Shows route summary with departure, destination, and waypoint count REQUIREMENTS • X-Plane 12 or greater (desktop) running on the same Wi-Fi network as your iPhone or iPad • ForeFlight or Garmin Pilot with a flight plan ready to share • iOS 18.0 or later PERFECT FOR • Flight sim enthusiasts who plan routes on their iPad • Virtual pilots practicing real-world procedures • Anyone who wants a seamless EFB-to-simulator workflow FlightStreamX bridges the gap between professional EFB apps and desktop flight simulation, giving you the same workflow real pilots use — plan on the iPad, fly on the desktop.

Screenshots

Virtual PAPI2 screens
FlightStreamX4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Virtual PAPI at 100% against FlightStreamX's 0%. Virtual PAPI also leads on price (Free vs $8.99) and rating (5.0 vs 1.0). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Virtual PAPI is free to download; FlightStreamX costs $8.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Virtual PAPI holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Virtual PAPI's written reviews are positive against 0% of FlightStreamX's.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Virtual PAPI versus FlightStreamX: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVirtual PAPIFlightStreamX
PriceFree — better$8.99
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.618.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMarlon DutraFlying Dragons

Customer experience

Virtual PAPI

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

FlightStreamX

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

None

Virtual PAPI

No in-app purchases

None

FlightStreamX

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Virtual PAPI free?
Virtual PAPI is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is FlightStreamX free?
FlightStreamX costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Virtual PAPI or FlightStreamX?
Virtual PAPI is rated higher. Virtual PAPI averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while FlightStreamX averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Virtual PAPI or FlightStreamX have ads?
Neither Virtual PAPI nor FlightStreamX shows ads.

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