Frequently Asked Questions

• What is RealNav?
  RealNav is a database built upon the navigation data produced by aviation authorities worldwide, and gathered by Lufthansa Systems.  It contains current real-world global information about airports, runways, enroute and terminal waypoints, VHF navaids,  airways, instrument approaches (including WAAS), departure procedures (SIDs), arrival procedures (STARs), and airspace frequencies.

• Is It accurate?
  The data used for building the RealNav database is the same real-world data used by GPS vendors and aircraft manufacturers around the world, so it is as accurate as the data provided to those types of companies.   Contact your individual software vendors to determine how RealNav data is utilized with their software.

• How do I check my Redbird FMX RealNav subscription status and either purchase/renew?
  Applying RealNav Data to your FMX is a simple process, see the instructions by clicking on this link.

• Can The Data Be Updated?
  Revisions to the database are available as part of your subscription at predefined intervals, depending on the type of license you purchase.   Home-use licenses are updated quarterly, while professional licenses have two update updates: all standard AIRAC cycle updates, or quarterly updates.

• Can I Edit The Data Myself?
  No, the database exists in a proprietary format.

• How Much Does A Subscription Cost?
  RealNav Home Use - $39.95     RealNav Professional (4 Cycles) - $495.00     RealNav Professional (13 Cycles) - $995.00

• How Long Does My Subscription Last?
  RealNav subscriptions last for one year.   The number of updates during the subscription period varies based on the type of license you purchase: Home vs Professional.

• Why Do You Offer Home vs Professional Pricing?
  The data is very expensive to gather and scrub.  It takes the efforts of a large team to provide a usable and accurate database every 28 days.   Under normal circumstances, only professional pricing would be available.  However, we recognized that many people who use home-based simulators for practice and entertainment like to have access to real-world data.   But the cost of real-world data can be prohibitive for a home user, so we offer a home-user license to non-professional users for a substantially reduced price.   Flight Schools and certified training operations using simulators compatible with RealNav data must purchase the professional license.

• Is my TD / TD2 eligible for home subscription pricing?
  No, see our home-user license reference to BATDs (Basic Aviation Training Devices)

• Can This Database Be Used In A Real Aircraft?
  Although our source for this database is identical to what is used in many real-world aircraft, the RealNav database is for simulator use only.

• How Does The Professional License Price Compare With Updating A Real Airplane?
  The price an aircraft owner pays for a GPS data update is typically only for a particular region of a particular country.   RealNav is a global database, not just a regional one, but our pricing is actually less than if you were able to update your aircraft's GPS system with all available GPS regions worldwide.  However, realize that many real-world GPS systems do not have enough onboard memory to load the entire global navigation database; but your simulator does!

• I Use Another NavData Database, Can I Convert to RealNav?
  The GPS avionics in your simulator must be updated by their respective software manufacturers to become compatible with RealNav data.   So you must first ensure your avionics vendor supports RealNav as a data source before your purchase data from this site.   Contact the makers of your software to find out if they are compatible with RealNav data.

• Can RealNav add the ILS to my airport?
  The data from this site only updates your RealNav-compatible GPS.   This means you get information about waypoints, altitudes, and frequencies for approaches, arrivals and departures, including LPV/WAAS.   But what RealNav does not change is the scenery in FSX or Prepar3D.  The word "scenery" can be a little misleading.  In FSX and Prepar3D, the scenery includes things you can see outside the airplane like trees, runways, rivers, and terrain.  But it also includes some "invisible" things like glideslope transmitters, localizer transmitters, VOR transmitters, ATIS transmissions, etc.    So if our data tells your GPS that an ILS exists at a certain airport on a certain frequency, we expect your scenery to have been updated separately so that the ILS actually exists.   A good analogy is to think about how you update the GPS in your real world aircraft.  If the GPS update says an ILS is present somewhere, the assumption is that the town that owns the airport actually installed the ILS that they said would be there, or issued a NOTAM that the ILS was out of service.

• How Is This Data Different from Other 3rd Party Navigation Databases?
  Other available databases have known limitations regarding the number of airports and approaches they contain.   Many non-precision approaches are not even present in those other databases, and updates to real world data are slow to reach them.   Many do not contain information about WAAS approaches or airspace, but RealNav does.  RealNav data comes from Lufthansa Systems, one of only three Level-1 providers of this type of data, so there is much more data in RealNav than in any other simulator data vendor's database.

• Do You Offer Trial Versions?
  No, not at this time.