ForeFlight Workflow

Streamlined workflows to support adding waypoints and incident mapping to the ForeFlight Mobile app commonly used by incident flight crews assisting with suppression and providing aerial intelligence.

The ability for pilots to navigate to an incident assignment and view the same common operational picture map as the ground resources is critical. Additionally, pilots need view aeronautical charts, aircraft traffic, aviation weather, hazards and obstacles, TFR's, and more in this same picture.  Use of Intterra Maps and ForeFlight Mobile together can provide this common picture.              

Add a waypoint to ForeFlight

Intterra Maps provides 'click and navigate to' functionality for pilots using the ForeFlight app. A mission location can be shared from Maps to Foreflight users as a waypoint in just a few clicks.  No more fat-fingering tedious lat/lon coordinates into ForeFlight!

Steps

  1. Click a location on the map that you want to navigate to. This opens the opens the Info Panel.  Depending on the client and user role, a ForeFlight section is available under Route to Location.
  2. The next step depends on  - 
    • Click on ForeFlight.  The single click opens ForeFlight, adds a waypoint and opens the waypoint panel. From here, pilots can click on Direct To to create a route with heading and distance from you location. 
    • Click on the copy icon.  The link is now copied to your device memory.
    • Hold and paste the link into an email or other means* and share to with a pilot.  
    • The receiving pilot can click on the pasted link* This opens ForeFlight and adds the waypoint as above.   
    • If you are using an iOS device with ForeFlight Mobile installed, for example the pilot,
    • If you want to share the add waypoint link to a pilot from any device, for example an aviation dispatcher or manager,   
* NOTE: Requires a device with ForeFlight Mobile installed and within an app that supports link-tapping, such as iOS Mail App.  Using a QR code generator also works.

Add an Incident Map to ForeFlight

The ability to view the same common operational picture map as the ground resources is critical.  The  ForeFlight app can import geoPDF formatted files as custom charts. This is the format commonly shared to resources assigned to the incident via QR Code or hyperlink for use in  Avenza. The process for ForeFlight is the same.
 There are two sources -  
  • Larger incidents with an incident management team.  Various incident map products are published and shared.  The may be a pilot pilot specific product available with additional information such as routes and checkpoints and list of helispots and dip sites with coordinates.
  • Initial and extended attack incidents prior to a team arriving.  The incident location and currently mapping being view by the responders can be exported as geoPDF formatted files by users from within Intterra Maps.  An email with a hyperlink to the file is sent to the user for use and sharing. 
Regardless of who produces the files, the process for importing these maps into ForeFlight as custom content charts is the same. 

Steps

  1. Open the map document 
    • QR Code - Use the iOS Camera app to view the QR Code. Open in link the Safari browser.  If more than one link, navigate desired one and select it.
    • Hyperlink - Tap the link, open the document in Safari browser.
    • Email Attachment - Open the email and tap to download the attachment.
  2. Click on  Image Placeholder share.
  3. After the share modal appears, scroll through the app list in the middle until you reach ForeFlight, then tap "ForeFlight". This will open ForeFlight. Note: If you don't see the app you want, select More to see the complete list of app choices.
  4. Press Customer Content, Custom Charts and the map is added as a custom chart.

Create a shareable Map from Intterra Maps

You can create your own custom chart in Intterra Maps. 
 

Steps

  1. Setup the map you want to share with the desired basemap, layers, and extent. 
  2. Use the Layer Export Tool to export the map.  An email will be sent to your account email address. 
  3. Open and Click on the link in the email and follow the process for importing via Hyperlink above.

Cleaning up ForeFlight at the end of a mission

  1. Waypoint -  Tap FPL at the top of ForeFlight screen and then Clear.
  2. Incident Map Chart - Tap More at the bottom of ForeFlight screen, Custom Content, Custom Charts. 
    • To remove all the charts, click Edit and Delete All Custom Charts. 
    • To remove a specific chart,  select the chart to remove, and then Delete Chart.

Additional Reference Material

Pilots can load these pdf reference documents to ForeFlight Mobile.