Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
By Dino
#1846381
Just wondering how many people still buy paper flight guides; Pooleys, AFE ?
Do you think they're still relevent with SkyDemon etc.
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By russp
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1846383
Probably the same people that buy paper charts? I pay for them on my EFB but I often end up printing the one for the field I'm flying to. Still think the info on a pooleys plate is superior to a SD plate.
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By Iceman
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1846384
I switched last year from the paper version to the electronic version that is integrated with SkyDemon. The service provides some useful geo-referenced plates for airports that are not included in the basic SkyDemon subscription. It certainly beats carrying around a heavy paper copy.

Iceman 8)
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By Lefty
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1846389
I use an electronic version of AFE as part of my SkyDemon subscription.
I think that the AFE plates give me more info, particularly for the areas outside the airfield boundary.
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By PeteSpencer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1846391
russp wrote:Probably the same people that buy paper charts? I pay for them on my EFB but I often end up printing the one for the field I'm flying to. Still think the info on a pooleys plate is superior to a SD plate.


I buy paper charts but I also have Pooleys on Sky Demon :wink:

And now I’ve upgraded my printer I can knock out a plate to scribble on in seconds…..
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By Iceman
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1846393
Another advantage of the electronic flight guides being the regular update service to keep them current.

Iceman 8)
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By Rob P
#1846396
Haven't bought a flight guide for years. I don't really know why you would.

Rob P
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By PeteSpencer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1846406
Danny wrote:I buy a paper one every couple of years or so. I actually quite enjoy perusing it looking for ideas for destinations in a way I just wouldn't if I had to do it on a screen.


Agreed: I have a total aversion to reading anything of significance on the screen:

Even to the extent that I deny myself the freebee monthly that is Flyer magazine.

Its just the way I am...................... :wink:
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By RisePilot
#1846460
I see printed flight guides as irrelevant. Particularly when flying a helicopter - as you can’t exactly read a book while on the controls. So I have all my information prepared ahead of time (from SD plate, aerodrome website, internet or just call them on the phone). Though very much a tech geek, and love electronic gizmos, I've always flown with a kneeboard w/ relevant info for my flights. Also, as over 90% of my landings are at private sites; I have my own template for making plates for kneeboard.

Regarding Pooleys, I developed an aversion to buying anything from them. They were glacially slow to even adopt anything electronic and now if you buy an electronic copy, when it expires, you can not view it anymore.
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By Dusty_B
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1846462
RisePilot wrote:Regarding Pooleys, I developed an aversion to buying anything from them. They were glacially slow to even adopt anything electronic and now if you buy an electronic copy, when it expires, you can not view it anymore.


What utter tosh. A) Pooley’s were the first to provide a UK VFR flight guide in electronic format, albeit as their own app (for copy protection) - not long after the iPad came out. B) How is their subscription model different to any of the other providers? Jeppesen or AFE?
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By NDB_hold
#1846464
PeteSpencer wrote:
Danny wrote:I buy a paper one every couple of years or so. I actually quite enjoy perusing it looking for ideas for destinations in a way I just wouldn't if I had to do it on a screen.


Agreed: I have a total aversion to reading anything of significance on the screen:

Even to the extent that I deny myself the freebee monthly that is Flyer magazine.

Its just the way I am...................... :wink:


You could always download and print the PDF...
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By Genghis the Engineer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1846465
I have Pooleys looseleaf and iPlates.

I accept the argument that AFE is a more comprehensive guide, it's just that their pages are a bit too big and don't fit most of my kneeboards.

G
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By akg1486
#1846477
Rob P wrote:Haven't bought a flight guide for years. I don't really know why you would.

Rob P

I've replaced the paper flight guide with an electronic one and I opted for the version integrated in Skydemon. I think that the flight guides are just as relevant now as they used to be: if you mostly fly somewhere where local procedures/traffic pattern information is readily available in a free soure (IAIP), they're less relevant. Take a look at German airfields in Skydemon, for instance. You can buy flight guide add-ons for Germany, but I struggle to see why you'd need them. In other areas, such as where I fly in Sweden, flight guides are more relevant: Skydemon has the correct frequencies, but that's about it.

I'll never go back to the paper version, though.
By TopCat
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1846481
I've got a 1997 Pooleys, a 2000 Delage (sadly almost completely unused), a 2006 AFE, and a 6th ed Lockyears (2012?).

Nothing on paper since then.