TruAirspeed vs PiCal
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TruAirspeed
This utility calculates true airspeed, pressure altitude, density altitude, and Mach number. It accounts for compressibility effects and offers unit choices and keypad styles. Users can also input a correction factor for their airspeed indicator.
- True airspeed calculation
- Pressure and density altitude calculation
- Mach number calculation
- Compressibility effects accounted for
- Choice of input/result units
- Calculator or telephone keypad options
- Airspeed indicator correction factor
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TruAirspeed is a True Airspeed Calculator for the iPhone and iPad. It's a bit different from other true airspeed calculators, in which the pressure altitude is an input. This requires resetting the altimeter to the standard sea level pressure of 29.92"Hg to read the pressure altitude. With TruAirspeed, you input the indicated altitude and the Kollsman window's pressure setting — the app then calculates the pressure altitude, density altitude, true airspeed and mach number for you. The calculations involved take full account of compressibility effects, but not shock waves, so it's limited to subsonic, non-transonic flight only. You have a choice of units for inputs and results, and you may choose either a calculator-style keypad (top row: 7-8-9) or a telephone-style keypad (top row: 1-2-3). You may also set a correction factor for your bird's airspeed indicator/pitot-static system, if you know it (mine is 0.95).
PiCal
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On this application, you can calculate - True Air Speed (TAS) - Radius of Turn - Standard Rate Turn - Localizer Deviation - Glideslope Deviation - Trigonometric Functions
Screenshots
Verdict
TruAirspeed and PiCal are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | TruAirspeed | PiCal |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (8 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 71.4% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 24 months | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | James Petty | Aure Comet |
In-app purchases
TruAirspeed
No in-app purchases
PiCal
No in-app purchases
