Introduction Avare (pronounced ə-ˈver - sounds like “ahvair” - think “aware” with a V) is a free aviation situational awareness moving map aviation GPS app first developed in Boston, and donated to aviators and open source programmers. There are no push ads, no special permissions, and no hidden charges or subscription fees.

[caption id=”attachment_69957” align=”aligncenter” width=”640”]Avare v8.1.2 Sample Screen Avare v8.1.2 in “Landscape” on phone. Runway guidance, track recording, and distance rings On.
Note a thin horizontal scroll bar at the bottom. Drag it Left for more “tabs” beyond 3D.[/caption]

Avare sometimes adds helpful new unannounced features, so please see our Play Store page for some of the latest and anytime you Update the app. When new features are in development or announced, you’ll usually find discussion on our Forum. In the Avare app itself, be sure to also look up new features via the Help button (tap Map, Menu, and Help). We ask that you refrain from asking questions or sharing negative feedback on app stores such as Google Play, because we don’t monitor those sites. Instead, please visit our Forum where you can read, search for answers, request features or changes, and get prompt help with any problems you may encounter. You can also visit our Avare YouTube Channel for basic introductory videos and a few tips, and share links on our Forum for any videos you post or find helpful anywhere online.

Basic features in Avare include offline (after download) airport quick reference including local sunrise/set, fuel availability, and full FAA C.Supplement (A/FD) pages; active GPS location on all FAA VFR Sectionals, WACs, TACs, IFR Plates and other charts including Airport Diagrams, and an Open Street Maps depiction of each airport Area including those not included in FAA materials. Avare enables manual browsing of all charts and all other materials even with GPS turned off (Simulation mode). Current FAA internet (and ADS-B In, with receiver) weather METARs, NEXRAD, TAFs, TFRs, and Flight Plans are supported too, along with a detailed Near list of airports, live 3D terrain or chart view and other extras. Permissions required include Internet access for downloading free current FAA materials and information, Storage access for storing materials, Bluetooth for new features like ADS-B, and GPS location to provide the moving map feature.

Avare Advantages:

  • Made by and for aviators
  • Easy to learn & use the basics
  • Remarkably quick and responsive
  • For most Android devices & versions
  • Electronic Flight Bag, moving map
  • No ads, no invasive permissions
  • Advanced features to explore
  • Safer open-source code

[caption id=”attachment_69976” align=”aligncenter” width=”640”]Avare Plan (2 screens) Two phone screens, Portrait mode, offline no GPS (Avare v8.1.2).
Plan on Left, Map on Right (green dots are rubber band points).[/caption]

If you’re a pilot (or passenger) who ever wished for a free collection of current FAA materials and information on your phone or other Android device in flight, right now is the time to install Avare. To visit the Google Play store page for Avare where you can read Reviews and Install Avare, just Click here with your Android device.

Popular Features Include Online or offline moving map FAA charts with or without GPS, download only the charts you need; ground track & destination bearing, GPS speed & altitude, distance, user waypoints, destination & track indicators; track lines, rubber banding, and recordings; ETA, CSup (A/FD), Airport Diagrams; and bearing & distance to/from any point on the chart. Display options include Landscape and Portrait mode, plus North Up or limited Track Up (text on the free FAA charts rotates with the chart in Track Up mode). All the Avare apps and all features are free.

Avare works on most Android devices (note: devices without GPS or other hardware may be rejected by Google Play’s Install, though we offer a manual installation option for such devices). Some devices will work even better with an inexpensive external WAAS GPS, and works with most ADS-B receivers including the powerful inexpensive StratuX (see our Forum about StratuS brand limitations). Avare works on even many small or older Android devices although of course best results and some features like the “PFD” benefit from newer devices, and an inexpensive external Bluetooth GPS may improve reliability and accuracy. Some users prefer the larger screen area on a tablet device. The fact that Avare was designed for and runs fine on a minimal early Android device means that on newer devices it’s even more responsive and easier to use, and with a 4” or larger screen it’s much easier to use and read in flight than a paper chart or similar size FAA certified panel GPS. Avare is for Android only so some iOS users have bought an inexpensive or used Android phone or tablet just to use Avare.

For more details about Avare, please see the Help page on this website or just install the latest version and discover for yourself how useful Avare is. To visit the Google Play store page for Avare where you can read Reviews and Install Avare, just Click here with your Android device.

We sincerely welcome feedback on all aspects of our products so please consider joining our Forum to share your questions, feedback, feature requests, or how you use Avare. On the Forum you’ll also find the very latest on new and planned features. You can also check the Play Store for the latest updates, and check (or sign up to Follow) the “Newest Here” section on this introductory website to see our infrequent announcements of some new features or related aviation developments that might not be announced on our Forum.

Other Install Options For a time we tried to offer Avare on the Amazon Android store, but after extensive problems with them (including them deleting Avare without notice), we have stopped trying. We do want to help users of all Android devices including the Kindle to get Avare working on their devices. If you can’t install on Google Play, please try the method outlined on our manual installation page. Please take a moment to search on our Forum in case anyone else has done it and to let everyone know, regardless of whether or not you’re able to use the Manual Installation on your particular device. By installing Avare or any of our apps, you’re invited to consider yourself part of our team. *Note that although we endeavor to ensure the integrity of our Manual Install versions of Avare, the Google Play Store or another source you completely trust may be safer if you can get them to work on your device.

Join If you like Avare and find it useful, we invite you to join the aviators supporting our free apps.

Donations are always welcome!

Please contact us if you’d like to volunteer your services.

Note that any negative feedback in a published Review rather than on our Forum might discourage other pilots from trying our products, and given that our apps are free and improving very rapidly we hope you’ll join us in encouraging pilots to try them out. All feedback allows us to gauge features of most interest, and to learn of and fix any problems.

Contact Us We are an all-volunteer group, and we invite you to join us by getting in touch. To save time and better serve all our users, we prefer to communicate with you via our Forum. Please contact us via the Forum and we’ll try to respond quickly. If you’re willing to help us and other users by replying to anything added by others on the Forum, it will help everyone. We also invite you to post photos, tips and tricks, stories, or links to videos there about how you use our apps.

We welcome any and all feedback or questions on any of our products, and it’s most helpful for our team and other users if you use our Forum to reach us. Thanks!

Click here to visit the Apps4Av Forum where you are of course welcome to read anonymously without joining.