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iPad Micro

n5lp

fugio ergo sum
I am one of those guys that tends to like the Apple stuff but it has never worked out that well for me in the cockpit. The iPad is way too big as is the iPad Mini and the iPhone is way too small. I have used the iPad Mini some in the cockpit, mostly on a kneeboard, and had screen visibility problems and didn't like the fact of always having to remember to bring it and then there is worrying about the state of charge.

The other day I installed a mount in my RV-6 for the iPhone 6 that I own. It showed promise. Still too small but the more vertical angle seemed to make the screen much more visible.

I always thought the iPhone 6 plus was too big to carry but I started thinking it might work out real well in the cockpit as an iPod micro so I ordered a used and unlocked one for way less than one would pay for any airplane avionic thing and activated it with the SIM from my phone, took that SIM out and had a small device with no contracts and no monthly expense of any kind.

I get the inflight weather from my Stratus I and ForeFlight and get it on the ground by tethering from my phone or by an inexpensive ($10/month) data only SIM. I have the flexibility to use Weathermeister and many other apps.

Boy, I loved the Garmin 496. Inflight weather through XM and many other terrific features. Things started to go bad when I got crosswise with XM. For the 496 I had a cable going back to the XM weather receiver, a cable for power, a cable to the necessary external antenna and a cable for audio. It seemed worth it but I hate cables running everywhere.

Now I have a simpler installation with a dual power cable from the 12V outlet to the iPhone 6 Plus and the Stratus. I may plug in the external audio cable for music. No more power worries and the iPhone 6 plus fits very nicely and way more neatly in the space vacated by the Garmin.

The Garmin had some features that ForeFlight doesn't and vice versa. It is pretty much a wash there. The iPhone will be much cheaper to run.

I was a bit worried about screen size but took the photo below to show how it is. I still think buttons may be a bit easier to use in turbulence, but the actual screen size is very satisfactory. When I took the photo below I had both units inside the house. The iPhone got an immediate GPS lock and the Garmin with the little stub antenna never did lock until I took it outside for about 5 minutes.

Oh, I still have the regular iPhone mount for what I always carry, for a backup.

DSC06460.jpg

 
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Larry, nice overview. I am not thrilled carrying an iPhone 6 Plus as my "phone" but tolerate it because it makes a good device when flying - flight planning, weather brief, flight plan transfers, inflight backup, etc.

Funny how an activity which makes up about 0.85% of my life drives so many decisions :D

(For non-apple fans, I am a fond proponent on the Nexus 7)
 
(For non-apple fans, I am a fond proponent on the Nexus 7)

Again for non-Apple fans, I have a Nexus 7 tablet which I find more than adequate for cockpit use and have recently acquired a Nexus 6 phone. The Nexus 6 is actually a bit bigger than an iPhone 6Plus with better-than-Retina display specs. I've found both Nexus devices to be quite suitable for running FltPlan Go. The Nexus 6 is a nice size for "near the panel" mounting while the Nexus 7 fits nicely on a kneeboard mount.

My choice of the Nexus 6 was driven by a desire to have a "pure" Android device and to have a device which would be adequate to display aviation apps. As it turns out I like it for just about all the other typical cell phone uses. Yes, it's big to carry, and my kids hate that my phone is bigger and better than theirs are... :p
 
Larry,

Thanks for the observations on the use of Apple products in the cockpit.

I've been thinking about getting the iPhone 6 for use with my Foreflight subscription as the iPad mini is to darn big to mount in my RV8 without interfering or obstructing the rest of my panel. Right now I store the mini in the rear passenger foot well, not optimal.

I love my Samsung 5 phone but it won't run FF. I will take a look at the used market for iPhones 6 and see if that's inside my budget.

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

I need a Stratus also. Or maybe just try different software and use android like others suggest

Thanks gain,
 
Screen Protector

You might want to look on Amazon for a "Fosmon Anti-Glare" screen protector to help with the display (especially in sunlight). They may or may not help you, but after getting one for my Nexus 7, I liked it so much I replaced all the screen protectors on my devices (3 Nexus 7's for ths kids, 2 iPhones, iPad). And $5 won;t break the bank if it doesn't work out for you.
 
Firmware?

If you haven't updated the firmware on the 496 in a while (years), it could solve the reception delays. And it is free.
 
That's the first time anyone has called my 6+ a micro. I love my ram mount for it in the cockpit and I have yet to have a readability problem.
 
I'm planning on doing the same thing and just got a 6 plus. There's only one problem. I think, but haven't tested yet, that ForeFlight lets you use a subscription on 1 iPhone, 1 iPad and 1 iPod. I like to use it on my phone (iPhone 6) for preflight, checking weather, etc.

Do we need to have two ForeFlight subscriptions or can we get an exception from ForeFlight to use the Plus in lieu of an iPad?

Lenny
 
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
 
image-13.jpg


mark, get a ram mount and get the iPad up to eye level. it should work much better there. :)
 
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
 
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iPad Mini, Ram mount, External power battery

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.
 
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
 
image-13.jpg


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
 
696 vs. iPad Mini?

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
 
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.
 
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.
 
The iPhone got an immediate GPS lock and the Garmin with the little stub antenna never did lock until I took it outside for about 5 minutes.
I believe that the Iphone uses A-GPS, or Assisted GPS, The Garmin uses GPS and requires a view of the sky to see the Satellites, where the Iphone uses cellphone towers and Satellites. If out of cell phone range the Iphone takes longer to lock on using only Satellites.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GPS
 
510 and GDL39

Larry, I used my 510 and GDL39 for weather and some traffic before I installed my G3X and really liked it, no monthly fee. I also hate exposed wires in the cockpit, so rather than use an ipad, I decided to put in the G3X system and I love my new panel. Just replaced my 327 with a 330ES and will be installing a GPS20A in a couple months to complete my ADS-B 2020 compliant.

The 510 has a better GPS receiver and can lock on while sitting on my coach in my living room across the room from windows, the 296 with the stubby would not do this.

Everything in the panel with no exposed wires. That's just the way I like it.
 
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