Comparison

IFR Flight Trainer Simulator vs VORSim

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

Head to head
About

IFR Flight Trainer Simulator

Practice instrument flight rules (IFR) navigation with this simulator. Learn and improve IFR procedures, including VOR, NDB, and holding patterns. Offers cockpit and map modes with adjustable wind and built-in tasks for comprehensive pilot training.

Highlights
  • Cockpit and map modes
  • VOR, NDB, DME, HSI, EHSI, RMI instruments
  • Approach procedure practice
  • Adjustable wind settings
  • Holding pattern simulation
  • Custom scenario creation
  • Built-in training tasks
Features
Read full description

Flying by instrument flight rules (IFR) is not an easy task, especially for student pilots. With the IFR Flight Trainer Simulator, students can easily develop and experienced pilots can quickly improve their understanding of IFR navigation. This is the perfect app for learning and practicing IFR procedures, and it is much cheaper than a single flight hour. Try it out if you want to acquire an instrument rating or just want to brush up your IFR skills. IFR Flight Trainer Simulator was designed with simplicity and intuitive operability in mind. The instruments available are: VOR, RMI, HSI, EHSI, DME, Directional Gyro and airspeed indicator. Thanks to a NAV 1 and a NAV 2 modes, you will also be able to train for two NDB/VOR approaches. Main features: • COCKPIT/MAP - Use the cockpit mode to practice and use the map mode to set up a scenario and check you progress. Both the aircraft and ground stations can be easily relocated to a new position by dragging and dropping them. • VOR, DME, HSI, EHSI, RMI - This aviation app is carefully designed to reflect the characteristics of different instruments. Choose between VOR or NDB navigation, select your instruments (HSI/EHSI or RMI) and a speed range up to 400 kts. • APPROACH PROCEDURES - IFR Flight Trainer Simulator will help learn how to track a radial, how to intercept a radial outbound, inbound, how to fly a DME arc, and so on. It is the simplest way to learn the navigation procedures inside out! • WIND - Have you become familiar with all the procedures? Add some wind to spice things up. The wind settings are displayed on separate screen, where you can set its direction and speed to increase the challenge. • HOLDING - Set and practice standard or non-standard holding patterns. Test you skills with VOR or NDB fix holdings. You already know where your next flight will happen? Build a scenario for it in the app to practice what awaits you in real life. This way you can practice your flight in a safe environment before facing the real challenge in the cockpit. If you want to learn the essentials, take a look at the built-in tasks as well. All features: • Use the classic or glass cockpit mode to simulate what you see in a real aircraft • Use the map mode to learn and understand the procedures from a third-person point of view • Choose between VOR and NDB navigation • Use the following, carefully designed instruments: RMI, HSI, EHSI, Directional gyro, DME, Airspeed indicator • Fly your own routes by creating challenging scenarios, using holding patterns and adjusting the wind • Test your knowledge through various built-in tasks • Drag & drop the aircraft or ground station symbols to move them around quickly • Turn the aircraft with 1.5°/s, 3°/s (standard), 6°/s and 9°/s modes, or just simply rotate the compass dial • View your flight path by enabling the aircraft track trail • Simulate winds up to 50 kts • Practice IFR flying procedures by generating random scenarios Download the app to see for yourself whether we can help you learn the essentials of IFR navigation. Try it for free and prepare at home without wasting expensive flight or simulator time.

About

VORSim

Features
Read full description

Radio navigation clicks when you fly it, not when you read about it. VOR Sim is a procedure trainer for iPhone and iPad. A light flight model sits behind a full six-pack panel, a moving map, a synthetic outside view and a GNS 430-style GPS, so the needles stay the thing you have to concentrate on. Nothing to configure, no aircraft to buy, no scenery to download: press START and intercept something. THE PANEL • Classic VOR head (NAV1) with a rotatable OBS ring, CDI and TO/FROM flag • HSI (NAV2) with course needle, deviation bar, heading bug and an ADF pointer • Twin-needle ADF: tune two NDBs and cross their bearings for a position fix • The ADF card is fixed, slaved to the compass (RMI) or set by hand — the three ways a real ADF head is read, one knob apart • Directional gyro that precesses about 10° in 15 minutes, and has to be reset • Airspeed with an RPM sub-dial, attitude, altimeter with hPa subscale, VSI and turn coordinator • Spread two fingers on the panel and the three nav heads take the whole screen, which on a phone is the only way to read half a dot; the V1 · V2 · ADF buttons under the panel decide which of them are up and how the width is shared — V2 steps HSI → second VOR head → off, ADF two needles → one → off • Every card and ring turns under the finger: the OBS ring on the VOR head and the HSI, and the ADF card, which takes itself off the compass when you do REAL NAVAIDS • About 17 000 airports and 10 000 VOR and NDB stations from OurAirports, all bundled, all offline. Positions, idents, frequencies and runway directions are real • Long press a VOR on the map to tune it on NAV1, then NAV2; long press an NDB and it goes to the first ADF needle, then the second • Long press an airport to fly direct to it MOVING MAP • Your aircraft, its breadcrumb track and every station, draggable — build an intercept in seconds and drag the aeroplane back to fly it again • The selected OBS course drawn through each VOR with TO/FROM arrows and radial numbers pinned to the screen edge • A chart scale bar you can long press and slide to zoom • Or take the ground away: a second press of MAP leaves the stations, radials, track and airspace on black, which is how a radial is easiest to read GNS 430 • Direct-To, a flight plan with automatic leg sequencing, OBS suspend, CDI source switching between GPS and VLOC, COM and NAV tuning • Any bundled ident can be typed in, with a match list from the database FLYING IT • Tilt the device like a yoke — tilt is elevator, rotate is ailerons — or use the on-screen stick, rudder and throttle. Hardware keyboards work too • Controls are damped the way an aeroplane is: an input arrives over about a second, and the turn builds up after it • Engine sound synthesised from the rpm, from a lumpy idle to full power • Wind with gusts, 1–4× time compression, a stopwatch for timing a hold • Power off, the nose has to come down; below about 45 kt the wing stalls, with aileron on it spins, and the ground ends the flight • A turn costs what it costs: 1.4 g at 45° of bank, and either the nose falls or the speed does OUT OF THE WINDOW • Look out over the cowling — the nose is the attitude reference in a real aeroplane, and where the horizon sits above it is your pitch • Or switch to the glass panel: the nose goes, and the horizon, a pitch ladder, a bank scale and boxed speed, height and climb are painted on the window, so the view can be flown on its own • The ground under you is the real countryside, from the map The training area centres on your position, or on EDAZ Schönhagen. Switch on "Reset moves you somewhere new" and every reset deals the exercise at a real aerodrome somewhere else in the world, with the real VORs around it. Made by a pilot, for pilots and for students working on the instrument rating. IMPORTANT — the airspace, and the exercise stations dealt by a reset, are invented for training. Nothing in this app may be used for real navigation.

Screenshots

IFR Flight Trainer Simulator4 screens
VORSim4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: VORSim at none against IFR Flight Trainer Simulator's 2. On price, ads, 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

Both are free to download. IFR Flight Trainer Simulator sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. VORSim asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
IFR Flight Trainer Simulator versus VORSim: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterIFR Flight Trainer SimulatorVORSim
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (76 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews81.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings76 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size155 MB3 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperFlygo-Aviation LtdArnulf Friedemann Jurgen Keese

Bugs and requests

IFR Flight Trainer Simulator

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • App crashes after short usage periods
  • Heading indicator gets stuck causing continuous turning
  • HSI radials appear to be offset or incorrect
  • DME distance calculations may be inaccurate (slant range issue)
  • Task completion triggers before reaching waypoints
Show 1 more
  • OBS cannot be changed without paid upgrade

Requested features

8 requests
  • Standard rate turn simulation for realistic intercepts and holdings
  • LOC (Localizer) mode for HSI reverse sensing practice
  • Fixed-card ADF instrument option
  • Adjustable turn rate settings to match different aircraft
  • Error feedback display showing incorrect flight paths
Show 3 more
  • Bearing and course to station relative to VOR1/VOR2
  • Higher difficulty levels for advanced pilots
  • Extended free trial period for proper app evaluation

VORSim

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

IFR Flight Trainer Simulator

One-time2
  • IFR Simulator Half Price$11.99
  • IFR Simulator Unlock$24.99
None

VORSim

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is IFR Flight Trainer Simulator free?
IFR Flight Trainer Simulator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is VORSim free?
VORSim is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do IFR Flight Trainer Simulator or VORSim have ads?
Neither IFR Flight Trainer Simulator nor VORSim shows ads.

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