iPad Micro

[EllisMcgaughy]

Where do I find a $10/mo data plan?

[Malndi]

Mark
I rely on my iPad with Avplan for VTC, ERSA and other documentation so I like it to be reliable and visible (although I have an Android with Avplan Lite for backup). With the koger sunshade I find iPad visibility is generally ok if we move it around to keep it in the shade, and wearing dark clothing also helps to reduce glare in the cockpit. A bigger problem for us has been overheating, even in winter. Id like to install a mount for the iPad down low out of the sun, but to make it viable I think I would need to duct some cooling air to the back of the mount because it won't always be shaded. Apologies for the thread drift.
Mal

[n5lp]

Originally Posted by EllisMcgaughy

Where do I find a $10/mo data plan?

Data SIMs

[Saville]

I picked up an iPad Mini 2 with 32G of memory, a RAM mount, a Stratus 1 ADS-B GPS receiver, and tested it all out on short flights (and a car drive) using Foreflight.

Worked quite well. I was pleased.

So I took it on an XC 2 weeks ago from KBVY to KSYR (Beverly Ma to Syracuse NY, and back). Again performed quite well.

However, as the original poster mentioned, the iPad can only run for so long. Upon landing at Syracuse - after starting fully charged - I had only 37% power left on the iPad. Flight took 3 hours.

Some airplanes I rent have a cigarette lighter and some don't. If they do I'm all set because I have the power cord.

But in the cases of those that don't, I decided to get an external battery. So I bought an:

Anker 2nd Gen Astro Pro2 20000mAh 4-Port Aluminum Portable Charger External Battery Power Bank

Yesterday I ran my iPad power down to nothing, and connected it to a fully charged Anker. It took about an hour to fully charge the iPad and I would have another full charge left in the Anker. You can run the iPad while charging though I don't know if you will actually charge it, or if it will get it's power from the external batt.

The external battery is 4.4 x 6.6 x 0.6 inches ; 1.1 pounds - pretty small and light. It's nice to have the extra charging handy. You can also recharge your cell phone from it.

There might be some battery packs with a greater number of amp hours stored.

[grahambo]

I have a slider on my -4. Planning on trying a mini or iPhone 6 mounted the way Turbo shows it in his photo. Has anyone tried ducting avionics cooling to the back of the device? Is there a cooling fan that can be attached directly to the back of the device? Thx

[Tom in Ohio]

Originally Posted by turbo

mark, get a ram mount and get the iPad up to eye level. it should work much better there.

Ed,

I have a RV6-A and was wondering what RAM mount.....model # you're using? Are you using the glare shield mount??
My mini should work well in the same location of your unit in the picture.

Thanks,
Tom

[Jerry Cochran]

Larry and others here... This seems like a good place to ask about your thoughts and opinions on a G-696 vs, iPad mini with Stratus/Foreflight. Good points and bad on both?

Thanks,

Jerry

[bill@fusion4.net]

Originally Posted by newt

What do you folks do about screen visibility in bright sunlight with sunglasses on iDevices?

I have an iPad mini which I use on a kneeboard with OzRunways. But RVs have bubble canopies, and more often than not the sun is shining directly onto the display, and it's virtually impossible to read it without unclipping it and lifting it up near my face.

I can turn the brightness up all the way (not worried about battery life, I have an 11Ah external battery that'll run an iPad with the screen on for days). But even then it's hard to see fine detail through sunscreen fingerprint smears without shading it.

Not a big problem with paper charts

- mark

I had an ipad air 1, and did have some readability issues in bright sunlight, but was content with it. Then had a pilot fly with me that had his own ipad air 2. Difference in screen readability was night and day. the ipad air 2 is MUCH better in sunlight. (It has the glass bonded to the screen so there is one less reflecting surface. But much more $$ if you break the glass).

I don't know if the new mini's have the bonded glass or not, but if you are thinking about getting a big ipad, the extra $100 for the ipad air 2 is well worth it just for the sunlight readability. I ended up selling my air 1 to my kids and buying a 2 just for the flying.

[n5lp]

I got an offer to purchase the Garmin 496 that I removed and I thought about that. I'm glad I didn't do it.

I have increasingly realized that I have been frustrated with using Foreflight on small devices as a primary source of navigation and weather information. A few days ago I reinstalled the Garmin and things are much more comfortable.

The main reason I removed the Garmin 496 to begin with, wasn't because of the device itself but because of the necessity to use XM Weather to get what I needed. I have a few beefs with XM, the most important being the passive renewal. I decided I didn't want to deal with them, especially since much of the data is available for free now via ADS-B.

Yes, the Apple devices can be visible in the Sun, but it can be difficult. Yes, you can get what you need, but it can necessitate too much head down time. Foreflight on a larger iPad device can be quite easy to use but it is not so easy on the iPhones. It may be buried in menus while using a turbulence bouncing finger and things work entirely differently than they do on the larger devices.

Garmin really has this ergonomics thing down. It may be largely familiarity, but it is so much easier for me to find, say, the local center frequency, on the Garmin and using the dedicated buttons is much easier for me than stabbing at boxes. When I originally made the change I measured screen sizes and found the iPhone6+ screen is larger; well that doesn't mean much in this case. I find the presentation easier, in general, on the Garmin portable. Several functions that I use a lot, such as marking a position or navigating to a user waypoint are so much easier on the Garmin.

It is really neat to have the updated charts, including approach plates, on the iPhones running Foreflight. The trouble is the approach plates are really too small to use on the small devices and there is the continual need to update, like every three weeks or so. I don't like having to take the iPhone home after every flight.

The Foreflight app has some audio alerts but I missed the ones the Garmin has. I silence them sometimes in the mountains, but mostly I like them.

So, I am back to using the Garmin 496 mostly, and am keeping the iPhone6+ with an ADS-B receiver for weather and TFRs and such. I now have a real kluge of devices and cables and power adapters and antennas and I hate that, but it is a more comfortable thing for me until a more all-in-one solution at a reasonable price becomes available.

[bhester]

Originally Posted by Chkaharyer99

Larry,

It would be nice if Apple had a device smaller than a mini but larger than a iPhone 6.

Thanks gain,

They do, it is the iphone 6 plus and what Larry is talking about here.