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Help nonGeek make Mini-tablet choice

LarryT

Well Known Member
I fly strictly day VFR. For years I have been happy navigating with a spiral bound Air Charts Sectional book and a compass. Then I added a Bendix AV8OR moving map GPS, primarily in the hope that I could add XM weather. Unfortunately, I could never get the XM device to communicate with the AV8OR, although I did get them to work with each other outside of the plane. :-(

To my disappointment, AirCharts quit publishing the Sectional books :-(

My ultimate goal is to have a sunlight readable moving sectional map with weather display - so I can fly away from or well around weather. :)

For me, this is an expense that is hard to justify without having some work benefit. The best use I could get of a tablet in my forensic engineering practice is to store scene photos taken by others. Then I can page through them when I am inspecting a scene, usually long after most or all of the evidence is gone. Currently I print out photo hard copies, but the resolution is crummy and they are hard to deal with out at a scene with the wind blowing.

I would appreciate recommendations based on my intended use from some of you who are experienced electronic flight bag users instead of a dumb gearhead like me. Questions I have:

iOS or Android? iPad mini seems to have the best apps, not very good in sunlight.

Best VFR app to use.

What peripheral accessories do I need to have weather overlay on the map?

How much storage for photo use? 64G?

I have no requirement for a cell phone that I am aware of.

How much should I expect to spend?

Anything else I have overlooked?

Thanks in advance. I sure appreciate any help you can give me.

Larry Tompkins
544WB -6A
W52 Battle Ground WA
 
iPad mini works great for me, with AirnavPro, Aeroweather and some other (local to NZ) apps.

regular iPad was just tooo large in the front of RV4 (but mini is perfect).... screen is fine even in sunlight, and the 'on-board' GPS works fine with me using 'pad like a kneepad (i.e. have found no need for bluetooth GPS yet)

FWIW
 
Nexus 7

I use Nexus 7 Android, now about $200 with 32GB, or $239 for new upgraded Nexus 7-2. Very sunlight readable. Internal GPS, WiFi only, no USB. I use AVARE (pronounced Av Air) navigation which is FREE on Play Store and works very well. There is a Nexus 7 forum page on all this which rates it very highly.
 
Looks like a great moving map,but...

... does not look like it has nexrad weather overlay capability. Is that correct?

Larry
 
I have an iPad Mini, a Skyradar ADS-B receiver, and run WingX to bring it all together. My experience is very good with the setup.

When the weather is good, I leave the Skyradar in the bag.

The Mini is a little difficult to read in direct sunlight, but it is workable.

My sympathies to the OP. The AV80R wasn't ever ready for prime time. I was one of the first buyers (and returners) of that sad little unit.

Personally, I wish Garmin would bring out a 695/696 with integrated ADS-B. That would be the stuff...
 
I recently played around with the 2nd generation Nexus 7 with the Garmin Pilot app and was quite impressed. I have been flying with an iPad with Foreflight and found the Nexus having much better sunlight readability.
 
I just picked up an N7 a few days ago and loaded the Garmin app, I like it :D
 
I'm using Garmin Pilot on my 1st gen Nexus 7, and it works great. I'm not connecting anything to it for weather at this time, I'm very satisfied with it's performance as a stand-alone device. I'm sure pairing it with something like a GDL-39 would be pretty amazing though.

All that was available when I bought it was the 32GB version. Right now I've got the US navigation data and airport info, sectionals, IFR low's, IAP's for about 2/3 of the country, and a few WAC charts loaded. I have a bunch of apps, FAA and other publications, Avilution aviation maps trial software, etc. I don't have a lot of pictures on it and no music. The sytem uses up some of the memory, so there's only about 28 GB available, It's got about 21 GB free at this point.

The Garmin Pilot app just keeps getting better and better all the time.

Screenshot_2013-10-08-18-04-26.png
 
Another vote for the Nexus 7-2. I have the 2nd Gen with 16GB running Naviator and love it. Great tablet made for Google by Asus. Fast, smooth, sunlight readable, decent internal GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, the right size for an RV cockpit, and best of all more $300 less than an iPad mini. Pare it to one of the external GPS/ADS-B units on the market and you get more than any VFR pilot will ever need.
 
There is not a single tablet out there where you will be able to read it in the sun while wearing sun glasses. Yes you can make do by shading the device and lifting your glasses off but none have the required brightness for sun operations. If they did the battery life would be terrible. I would spend a little more and pick up a used 696. It will do everything you need and far more. In addition it provides a excellent safety backup for almost any panel failure situation.

George
 
There is not a single tablet out there where you will be able to read it in the sun while wearing sun glasses. Yes you can make do by shading the device and lifting your glasses off but none have the required brightness for sun operations. If they did the battery life would be terrible. I would spend a little more and pick up a used 696. It will do everything you need and far more. In addition it provides a excellent safety backup for almost any panel failure situation.

George

Sorry George but I respectfully disagree. I have no issues wearing sun glasses and seeing the Nexus screen under the bubble canopy of my RV4 in sunlight. The 696 is a good unit but no where near as versitile and cost effective as any tablet, hence the reason most are going to tablets and away from dedicated portable GPS units.
 
You can still buy paper charts and navigate like the old days before all this marvelous gps/computer crutch was invented. :)

I like laying out a map, drawing a line and seeing how well I can do it. But it sure is easier using a Garmin. The mini pad is better than nothing but remains difficult to read in bright sun light. I have an old, old Garmin 295 that has served my well for years, even got it upgraded this year.

For any paper chart your heart may desire, including free shipping, go to:

http://www.mypilotstore.com/mypilotstore/
 
I opted for the Samsung Tab 2 7.0 a couple months back. I run Garmin pilot.

I chose that over the iPad because the base model comes with internal GPS. To get internal GPS in an iPad you have to buy the cellular-enabled version.

I chose it over the Nexus 7 because it has a removal SD cards. I figured if I ran out of storage I could have one SD card for flying, and another for other things. Though, I'll admit I had to do some "hacking" to get Garmin Pilot map data to store on an SD card instead of internal storage.
 
Another vote for Nexus 7. I used the 2012 model for the last year, and just upgraded to the 2013 model. My go-to app has been Avilution's Aviation Maps, but I've considered switching over to Garmin Pilot.
 
Couple of thoughts

Get a anti-glare screen protector. Makes reading in sunlight better, for some reason they also seem to protect against heat buildup in the unit.

On the iPad side, there is a relatively new app (free) FltPlan Go that seems to have a lot of promise. (Not as robust as Foreflight, but it does a lot, free US and Canadian approach plates (that appear georeferenced - at least, the US) and seems intended to get enroute weather from XM or Clarity. (I don't see this yet on the Android market, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were a question of time.) If I were thinking it over, I'd at least look at that one before spending. (A lot of corporate GA pilots I know absolutely love FltPlan.Com and I suspect they're really going to give this one high marks.)

That said, I plan to stick with ForeFlight with a Stratus II.

Dan
 
ipad mini for me

I use the 4g mini with foreflight pro. IMO, Mini is much better in RV cockpit vs full size. I was going to mount it but just leave in my case and sit by my knee. We have a shade and I use non-polarized glasses and I can read it just fine. Foreflight Pro is just an unbelievable app.

I do not have any experience with the android units.
 
backup

For my passenger, and as a backup, I have an Ipad 2nd gen running wingx which uses the skyradar d2 wifi mounted on the right side of the panel. The skyradar d2 provides a gps signal, weather, and traffic via wifi to the IPad. The IPad is the cheaper older generation and I can read it but the sunlight does make it difficult. I put a shade on the canopy to help reduce the glare and also have an anti-glare screen cover for the Ipad. Of course, my IFly 720 also picks up weather and traffic via skyradar so the skyradar is doing double duty.

I would purchase and use a Garmin 696 or 796 or whatever if it would utilize my skyradar d2 wifi. However, it doesn't so its IFly and IPad for now.
 
Do any of the Android software suites have IFR charts?

I like Foreflight, but I'm not crazy about the IPAD options for a lot of reasons. Would prefer a small Android Tablet like the Nexus, but Foreflight is not available for anything but Apple. Is the software available for the Android devices anywhere near as good as Foreflight, especially for IFR - meaning georeferenced Low Alt IFR Charts and Plates, being able to enter a text-based IFR route with intersections, VORs, and IR routes and have it lay out a course line, etc? Foreflight does so much else for you, it's more than just a chart viewer.

Are there any good, full-featured IFR solutions for android apps people would recommend?
 
Question about getting photos into tablet

It's me, LarryT again. These responses have been great and I am learning a lot.

Am I correct that some of the tablets do not have convenient ways to import photos? The photos taken by investigators in my line of work tend to be large file sizes. Therefore they do not e-mail well. It would be really inconvenient to e-mail 318 photos to my tablet one at a time :-(

To store photos, I would need a tablet with either a USB port or SD port. Which tablets does that eliminate? Or conversely, which ones do I still consider?
 
It's me, LarryT again. These responses have been great and I am learning a lot.

Am I correct that some of the tablets do not have convenient ways to import photos? The photos taken by investigators in my line of work tend to be large file sizes. Therefore they do not e-mail well. It would be really inconvenient to e-mail 318 photos to my tablet one at a time :-(

To store photos, I would need a tablet with either a USB port or SD port. Which tablets does that eliminate? Or conversely, which ones do I still consider?

For the Nexus 7, just use the provided plug to hook it to your home computer to make it an external hard drive and copy/paste from one to the other. It also has Bluetooth to transfer files from cellphone to Nexus.

Also, install Google Drive on all your devices. You then transfer files on one device into Google Drive and they are then available on all your devices.
 
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Is the software available for the Android devices anywhere near as good as Foreflight, especially for IFR - meaning georeferenced Low Alt IFR Charts and Plates, being able to enter a text-based IFR route with intersections, VORs, and IR routes and have it lay out a course line, etc? Foreflight does so much else for you, it's more than just a chart viewer.

Are there any good, full-featured IFR solutions for android apps people would recommend?

Garmin Pilot does all of this. You can just type in your route of flight in the active flight plan, to include departure and arrival procedures.

I'm very interested to see if Fltplan go makes it to the android market. I've used fltplan.com for years; it started off good and has become a fantastic tool. Much of my military flying is similar to corporate type work, and the tools available, ease of use and smart phone compatibility make it almost irreplaceable.

Doug
 
IPAD Mini with stratus 2 ADSB and foreflight pro
Combine with a Seasucker Vacuum mount and a screen protector and you are good to go with good screen visibility all the time!

John Morgan
 
Are there any good, full-featured IFR solutions for android apps people would recommend?

Yes, either Naviator or Avilution. Both use the same Seattle Avionics georeferencing that Foreflight uses and both have all the IFR charts and approach plates. Not sure about the other Android apps but would imagine that Garmin Pilot has IFR functionality as well.

Regarding moving large files such as pictures you can either hook up the tablet directly to your computer or use a cloud service or both. I happen to like Dropbox which enables you to upload files and send a link so others can see and download it if they wish. Google Drive is very similar but since I don't use it I'm am not sure what the differences are.

Sounds like Android is getting more votes here! I guess they are no longer the black sheep and that title now goes to the new Windows tablets. Love their commercial vs. iPad though. Kinda payback for the Apple vs. MS commercials where Apple always won a few years ago.
 
I like Foreflight, but I'm not crazy about the IPAD options for a lot of reasons. Would prefer a small Android Tablet like the Nexus, but Foreflight is not available for anything but Apple. Is the software available for the Android devices anywhere near as good as Foreflight, especially for IFR - meaning georeferenced Low Alt IFR Charts and Plates, being able to enter a text-based IFR route with intersections, VORs, and IR routes and have it lay out a course line, etc? Foreflight does so much else for you, it's more than just a chart viewer.

Are there any good, full-featured IFR solutions for android apps people would recommend?

Check out Avare, Noah. I'm running it on a Samsung Galaxy 7"
All charts and plates. IFR or VFR. FREE and easy to download.
Its not a flight planning tool (yet). It is a tool for after that is done and you want ref in the cockpit.

You can input text based flight plan and it will draw the course lines and do much more.
Current weather requires WIFI Internet.

They are working on ADS-B so I expect it in the next few months. Unfortunately I don't have the puck to drive it.

I did not post it for the OP because I find the Android tablets to still be a little geeky for some users.
 
It's me, LarryT again. These responses have been great and I am learning a lot.

Am I correct that some of the tablets do not have convenient ways to import photos? The photos taken by investigators in my line of work tend to be large file sizes. Therefore they do not e-mail well. It would be really inconvenient to e-mail 318 photos to my tablet one at a time :-(

To store photos, I would need a tablet with either a USB port or SD port. Which tablets does that eliminate? Or conversely, which ones do I still consider?

iPad can grab the photo's when hooked up to your computer via the iTunes app.

I bought an iPad just because of Foreflight and at the time Garmin wasn't available on anything.

Bob
 
Avare now has Grand Canyon corridor charts.

Really like the free Avare APP. The addition of Grand Canyon Corridor will be hugely useful. Additional features are being released almost daily, and ADSB will be online very soon.

Works great on my Samsung tablet. I can usually download the weather with Verizon 3G.

Roger
 
If you want to drive an autopilot then try the Ifly 720 or the Helm 650 which is 1200 nits screen that you can read in full sunlight. I use the Helm with Aviationsafety.com, True Flight software and it works great. This unit is smaller than the tablets and dedicated to this purpose only. It has usb ports and dedicated128 gig of solid state memory.
 
More questions.....

a bit of a hijack but,

If I were looking for a small tablet that I would leave in the airplane all the time...would the Nexus still be the tablet of choice?

I have been using an iPad with Foreflight. no ADS-B yet. Just oFreflight and XM WX on my 496.
 
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