It’s no secret that ForeFlight has set the standard for integrating charts, weather, and navigation data into the electronic flight bag. The company’s latest release, Dynamic Procedures, is being hailed as a turning point toward a chart-free IFR future—giving pilots an interactive, context-aware way to brief and fly instrument approaches.
“Instead of re-drawing a traditional chart, we provide pilots just the procedure details they need in concert with our primary data-driven map—filtering the procedure to what is relevant, yet keeping it in context with weather, traffic, terrain, and obstacles,” said Travis Root, ForeFlight’s vice president of product.
Whether we’re really ready for a chart-free IFR cockpit or not remains to be seen, but for now, the Dynamic Procedures concept has been confusing for many users—especially those attempting to decide which tablet app to use—so here’s a short technical summary of what the new utility does.
What Dynamic Procedures Does
ForeFlight unveiled Dynamic Procedures at AirVenture 2025—demoing the feature during the show and positioning it as the next major evolution in digital flight planning and execution.
At its core, Dynamic Procedures replaces the static IFR chart with a live, data-driven overlay inside ForeFlight’s moving map. When you select an approach, transition and minimums, the map displays the entire procedure alongside your own-ship position, weather, traffic, terrain, and obstacles.
A collapsible sidebar appears with only the information you need for the procedure you’ve chosen. Frequencies, per-leg altitude and speed restrictions, notes, and briefing strips are neatly presented without clutter. For pilots who want the comfort of the familiar, the Jeppesen approach chart is still just a tap away.
Beyond the Chart
Dynamic Procedures extend far beyond simply drawing lines on a map. Integrated 3D views allow pilots to preview the runway environment, including approach lighting, from both a short-final and approach-light perspective. Minimum Safe Altitude rings are displayed directly on the map, along with safe circling areas for a growing number of airports. A dynamic profile view (APCH mode) provides a vertical depiction of the procedure, showing glideslope extension, terrain, and descent guidance in real time. The sidebar also filters notes to display only those that apply to the selected procedure, while communication frequencies are pinned and organized for quick access.
Dynamic Procedures are powered by Jeppesen’s industry-recognized dataset, the same gold-standard data used by airlines and business aviation worldwide. “It’s the accuracy of Jeppesen charts, coupled with the intuitive design of ForeFlight, making IFR approaches simpler and smarter than ever before—shooting an approach has never been this easy,” said Mike Ross, Jeppesen’s head of global data.
Availability, Access and What’s Next
Dynamic Procedures are now rolling out with coverage across the U.S., Canada, and Pacific Islands. All ForeFlight customers in these regions can try it during a three-month preview period, even on Starter plans. After the preview, Dynamic Procedures will require at least an Essential subscription.
Business accounts can enable or disable the feature for their pilots through organizational settings, ensuring flexibility for training and operations. ForeFlight says Dynamic Procedures are just the beginning. Future updates will add TAAs, missed approach overlays, and expanded support for SIDs and STARs. With Jeppesen’s full global dataset behind it, international coverage is also on the horizon.
Initial Impressions
I haven’t been able to fully evaluate Dynamic Procedures yet, but after spending some time with it I was left with mixed impressions. On one hand, it’s undeniably slick. The sidebar is well laid out, and I was able to find all the key information quickly.
That said, I’m not a believer in chartless procedures. The ability to load procedures and display crossing altitudes on the map isn’t new, and in practice the iPad’s limited screen space means you’ll still be scrolling through the sidebar to see everything. My bigger concern is training: A generation of IFR students raised only on Dynamic Procedures will lag behind peers in traditional chart literacy.
As for the commercial aviation world, I don’t see Dynamic Procedures making its way into 135 or 121 flight decks anytime soon. Charts remain deeply embedded in training, SOPs, and regulatory compliance, and I expect that will be the case for a long time. For now, I’d call Dynamic Procedures a promising tool for general aviation pilots who want more integration—but not a replacement for the procedure plate.
Look for a full report on the ForeFlight Dynamic Features, with a contrast to Garmin’s SmartCharts, in a future report here in The Smart Aviator.
Recently did my IFR currency approaches with my beloved government chart booklet – no clunky ipad, no batteries, no problems.
I have a different take. I’ve flown a couple of approaches with dynamic procedures and find the scroll bar on the right to be quite useful. It is missing the vertical rate needed to intercept the fix however. This calculation already exists in foreflight but is not displayed in dynamic procedures.
In many ways, this transition from paper to digital data mimics the transition many engineering companies are going through. Most of their “data” is stored in documents and then managed by a electronic document management system. Finding a bolt of specific length and material is virtual impossible. However, if the attributes about the bolt are stored as attributes, then it’s easy for the computer to find the bolt required.
Standardized digital data is always more useful than documents.