The last few months we have been very busy behind the scenes, bringing the EasyVFR4 development environment on all supported platforms — Windows, Android, iOS and iPadOS — much closer together.

It is important to understand this version has significant changes so install and use this version only when you have a second device with the current official released version operational

And that work has now resulted in two major steps forward:

EasyVFR4 for Windows is now fully 64-bit

The Windows version of EasyVFR4 has made the move from 32-bit to 64-bit and now also uses the latest ANGLE graphics libraries.

This may sound like a mainly technical change, but for us it is a very important milestone. Until now, the limitations of our remaining 32-bit Windows version were holding back several improvements we wanted to make across EasyVFR4.

Now that all supported platforms are running 64-bit, that restriction is finally gone. It opens the door to many improvements that have been waiting on our development list for quite some time — and we are very excited to start working on them!

Native EasyVFR4 for Apple Silicon Macs

This beta also introduces a native macOS Apple Silicon version of EasyVFR4.

Apple Silicon Macs could already run the iOS/iPadOS version of EasyVFR4, but we want to explore whether a true native macOS version brings worthwhile advantages in performance, usability and integration.

This beta gives us the opportunity to find out together with you.

New SEARCH and NEAREST

The search window has been rebuilt, a switch at the top of the window chooses between Search (type a name or code) and Nearest (what is around you right now). Both share the same category tabs: airfields, navaids, IFR waypoints, VFR reporting points, cities, user waypoints and airspaces. Each tab shows how many results it has.

Search

• Results are sorted into the category tabs as you type. Your recent searches are listed as soon as you open the window.
• The pin button next to the text field switches to Google places search.
• Tap a result to open its action strip. The actions follow the same order as the route options on the map: Direct To, Depart, Insert, Append, Remove, Alt 1, Alt 2, Info, Show on the map.
• Suitable for <your aircraft>: when an aircraft profile is selected, this switch shows only airfields that suit the profile (aircraft type, minimum runway length and the fuel you need).

Nearest

Nearest lists everything around your GPS position within a range you set with the +/- buttons (5 to 250 NM, 50 NM by default). Without a GPS fix it works around the map centre. Where the app knows your track, it uses it for directions and ordering

Airfields

• Each airfield shows its symbol from the moving map, so heliports, glider fields, ULM strips and so on can be told apart at a glance. 
• The runway symbol is turned relative to your current track. If you are flying 090 and the runway is 18/36, the bar is drawn across your path, so you can judge the runway direction for a diversion straight away.
• On the right is an arrow pointing to the airfield relative to your track (straight up = dead ahead), with the distance below it. When you are not moving, or you use the map centre, the arrow is north-up and greyed out.
• The row shows the elevation, the longest runway (with "soft" if it is unpaved), PPR, the available fuel types as badges, and the first frequency.
• The Suitable for <your aircraft> switch also works here, on the airfields tab only. If no suitable airfield is in range, you get a message instead of an empty list, and you can turn the switch off right there.

VFR reporting points

• The map symbol tells compulsory points (filled) from non-compulsory points (open).
• The second line shows how the point is used and at what altitude, for example Inbound · 1500 ft, Outbound · 2000 ft, or In/out 1500/1000 ft when inbound and outbound altitudes differ.
• If a point is restricted to certain aircraft, a third line says so, for example Cat A-C only or Helicopters only.
• The bearing arrow and distance work the same as for airfields

Airspaces

• Each row shows the airspace's real outline in its map colours instead of a generic icon. If you are inside it laterally, a blue dot marks where you are within the shape.
• Using your GPS altitude (and QNH via METAR where available), each row shows a small altimeter stack: upper limit / inside / lower limit, or above> / below with the limit you are clear of. You can see at a glance whether you are really in that TMA or just underneath it.
• For airspaces you are not in, the stack shows whether you would enter it, pass over it or pass under it at your current altitude, with the distance to the lateral crossing point in the middle.
• Track awareness (above about 30 kt groundspeed): if your current track runs into an airspace within the range, the row shows in 12.3 nm, which is the distance along your track to where you will enter it. An orange chevron on the outline marks the entry point. A hollow chevron means you will pass over or under it at your current altitude. When you are inside an airspace, the dot becomes a chevron that shows your direction.
• Order: airspaces you are in come first. Next are the airspaces your track will enter, nearest entry first. All others follow by distance. After a turn, the list re-sorts once your new track is steady for a couple of seconds.

Navaids, IFR waypoints, cities and user waypoints

• These are sorted by distance and use the same track-relative bearing arrow and distance. Tap a row for the same actions as in Search

AIP Supplement and Airspaces by NOTAM links

Also going nuts from all those NOTAMS about temporary restricted airspaces created and you have no idea where these are? Despair no more! For a long time our AeroData team scans each day for new notams that create such airspaces and make sure these are also in or database, and now you can actually get a visual confirmation when viewing such a NOTAM! 

Android improvements

We have also spent a considerable amount of time improving and modernising our Android development environment.

That work already resulted in fixes for several annoying Android-specific bugs, but just as importantly, it gives us a much better foundation for optimising future Android versions of EasyVFR4.

So while much of the work in this beta has taken place “under the hood”, it represents a major step forward for EasyVFR4 as a whole.

With all platforms now on a modern 64-bit foundation, we can finally start taking advantage of possibilities that were previously out of reach.

And that is where the really interesting work starts. 🙂

We’d love your feedback!

Please try out this version and share your experiences, findings, and suggestions right here in the forum. Your input helps us make EasyVFR even better.

Cheers,

The EasyVFR 4 Dev Team

RELEASE NOTES

All changes in this beta cycle since the last public App Store release:

4.9.2 Beta (01OCT2026)

• NEW: Search and Nearest 
• NEW: AIP Supplement and NOTAM airspaces linkage
• FIXED: On Android numeric input using the onscreen keyboard was broken in 4.9.0

4.9.0 Beta (16SEP2026)

• NEW: MAJOR: Windows version is fully 64 bit now including latest ANGLE graphics drivers.
• NEW: MAJOR: Android version is built using the latest Native toolchain and is compliant with the latest Android 16 requirements (targetSDK-36) and is being tested against the new Android 17 requirements
• NEW: MAJOR: MacOS Silicon version is now available; MacOS Intel is frozen at version 4.7.0.
• NEW: When a bluetooth mouse is connected to an Apple iPad then using the mouse wheel will now zoom the map
• IMPROVED: Traffic metadata text rendering now renders the + or - altitude difference sign using a larger font size so its size is equal to the altitude difference digits.  
• IMPROVED: Other Traffic now display speeds in the system-selected unit also
• IMPROVED: Map rendering of aerodata labels is tweaked a lot to allow more decluttering at lower zoom levels to avoid the map becoming useless due to too many labels being rendered
• IMPROVED: Running the iOS/iPadOS app on a MacOS Silicon now supports zooming using the touchpad and mouse wheel controls
• FIXED: a crash when aerodata files where open-closed-opened-closed without any actual data collection in between.
• FIXED: When changing units in Aircaft Profile (Simple and Easy mode) a change of a unit was not persistent across sessions.
• FIXED: on iOS activating the SafeSky Premium license from within the SafeSky app was broken in easyvfr4 version 4.8.9
• FIXED: on some iOS/iPadOS systems EasyVFR4 could freeze when entering numeric-only input fields.
• FIXED: On android, when EasyVFR4 was ended by swiping it of the screen, a new startup would keep easyVFR4 freezing at a white startup screen until the user actively chooses "force stop" for the app in Android settings.

BETA DOWNLOADS

📱 Mobile & Tablet