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rv9aviator

Well Known Member
I am getting ready to buy a new I-Pad and need some advice. Should I get the 4G add-on and subscribe to a service? I am assuming I will be able to get the weather channel and other sources for radar and other weather related information. It still looks like the ADS-B reporting areas are leaving out Arkansas Oklahoma and most of Missouri which is where I fly the most. Is there a better way?
Edit: Is it even possible to get current weather at altitude using a 4G service?
 
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Not likely... if you're fairly low in an area with good cell coverage, you'll get some spotty service, but I certainly wouldn't recommend counting on it.
 
The 4g hookup is not reliable while you are flying,

If your intention is inflight weather, you will probably be disappointed, but it is great for checking the weather before you launch.
 
I was afraid of that. I guess I will get the cheaper model without the 4G as I have that on my phone. Looks like 16 GB's is enough from what I've read here in other posts.
 
rv9aviator said:
I was afraid of that. I guess I will get the cheaper model without the 4G as I have that on my phone. Looks like 16 GB's is enough from what I've read here in other posts.
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The thing is getting the 4G model also gets you the built in GPS. There are external GPS solutions but I think the simplicity and elegance of the built in one is very much worth the extra cost.
 
4G

Go ahead and get the 3G if you're getting the Ipad 2, or the 4G if you're getting the newer Ipad 3. You're not paying more for the 4G and you still get 3G service. You will need the 3 or 4G cellular service while you're in your hangar unless your airport has a huge wi-fi hotspot. It is especially useful when you're away from home.

As was said. 4G is new and very spotty across the US, but is becoming more and more available.

I'll bet that you've noticed that your cell phone battery runs down a lot faster if you're flying for a long time. That's because it is using it's highest power output constantly searching for a better signal. When there's a tower close by, it doesn't put out very much power at all, but when it's searching for a good signal it's giving it all the "umph" it can.

As I understand cellular transmission---it is only beamed at a low angle, kind of like the rotating beacon at your airport is beamed. Why waste power projecting a signal upward? That means that if you're in the air, you're not getting a signal from a tower close by---it is comming from a tower at quite a distance from you and that means that you're recieving a very low power signal, hence the very spotty signal while flying.
 
get the 4g

Buy the 4g, but not for the wireless service. Get it because that version of the iPad comes with a GPS, and the other doesn't.

We bought the new iPad, got the 4G version, and never activated the service. I can follow the GPS track in ForeFlight. I get weather before I take off using WiFi. If I want weather in the plane I'll use either XM or ADS-B, depending on which plane I'm in.
 
Jim, if you get a Clarity, Stratus, or Skyradar ADS-B receiver, they provide weather and GPS data to your iPad.
 
n5lp said:
The thing is getting the 4G model also gets you the built in GPS. There are external GPS solutions but I think the simplicity and elegance of the built in one is very much worth the extra cost.
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Please help me (and others?) understand: Is the 4G model what they are calling the "new iPad"? Am I to understand that it will have a built-in GPS that does NOT need any type of cellular plan / service? I had a customer show up at my office last week (via truck, not aircraft) but he said his iPad's built-in GPS got him halfway across Texas and right to my door. I asked if he had some sort of data/cellular plan, and he said no. He simply bought the iPad and did not subscribe to any plan. I asked if he had the unit tethered to an iPhone and that answer was also no. So by adding all this up, I am assuming that it is possible to use the GPS in the 4G without any cellular / data plans?

I understand that I can also purchase the aviation charts you guys mention. No plan needed for those either, as long as I buy the aviation app/download, and have an internal GPS built into the correct version of iPad?

Many thanks!
 
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txaviator said:
Please help me (and others?) understand: Is the 4G model what they are calling the "new iPad"? Am I to understand that it will have a built-in GPS that does NOT need any type of cellular plan / service? I had a customer show up at my office last week (via truck, not aircraft) but he said his iPad's built-in GPS got him halfway across Texas and right to my door. I asked if he had some sort of data/cellular plan, and he said no. He simply bought the iPad and did not subscribe to any plan. I asked if he had the unit tethered to an iPhone and that answer was also no. So by adding all this up, I am assuming that it is possible to use the GPS in the 4G without any cellular / data plans?

I understand that I can also purchase the aviation charts you guys mention. No plan needed for those either, as long as I buy the aviation app/download, and have an internal GPS built into the correct version of iPad?

Many thanks!


Many thanks.
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Apple screwed up with naming these things.

The iPad 2 only has Wi-Fi or 3G+Wi-Fi.
The "New iPad" (which is really the iPad 3) has Wi-Fi or 4G+Wi-Fi.

I have the "New iPad". You do not need to have the 4G service enabled for the GPS to work -- it just works. I have Foreflght and I do not subscribe to the iPad's 4G data plan. I simply download all the charts when I'm at home or at the hangar via borrowed Wi-Fi and then when I go fly I open the iPad up and it just works.

Another advantage of the 3G/4G route is if I find myself at some airport (i.e weathered in) without Wi-Fi coverage I can just activate the data plan on the spot. The activation process on the iPad will actually turn on a limited 3g/4g connection that will allow you to set up the account while on the road! I haven't found a need to activating my 4G service but I'm sure at some point I will.
 
txaviator said:
Please help me (and others?) understand: Is the 4G model what they are calling the "new iPad"? Am I to understand that it will have a built-in GPS that does NOT need any type of cellular plan / service? I had a customer show up at my office last week (via truck, not aircraft) but he said his iPad's built-in GPS got him halfway across Texas and right to my door. I asked if he had some sort of data/cellular plan, and he said no. He simply bought the iPad and did not subscribe to any plan. I asked if he had the unit tethered to an iPhone and that answer was also no. So by adding all this up, I am assuming that it is possible to use the GPS in the 4G without any cellular / data plans?

I understand that I can also purchase the aviation charts you guys mention. No plan needed for those either, as long as I buy the aviation app/download, and have an internal GPS built into the correct version of iPad?

Many thanks!


Many thanks.
Click to expand...

Your assumptions are correct. The 3G and "New iPad" with 4G have the GPS built in and the GPS works without a cellular data plan.

I have had my iPad 2 3G for one year now and never have a data plan. The GPS has worked everywhere I went in the US and was almost as accurate as the IFR certificated GPS that is in my panel.

I trust the iPad built in GPS to be accurate enough to give me reference to where I am on the chart including approach charts.

(Note: I use Foreflight and have SkyCharts Pro just for the back side of TAC charts.)
 
Gps accuracy I the iPad

I was using my iPad yesterday on an IFR flight in visual conditions. Just because I had a long leg I checked my iPad (running Foreflight) against my IFR certified GPS and the VOR. All three matched. When the VOR centered over a radial, the moving map on the iPad showed me over the same radial.

My iPad is a iPad 2 wifip + 3G, but I have not activated the 3G. It has worked up to 10,000 ft. I really recommend the geo-referenced approach plates. Great situational awareness.
 
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