iPad/iPhone/ForeFlight questions

Camera's, GPSs and other Gizmos (please let me know if you find an existing thread to be moved into this NEW section)
Mountain Doctor
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iPad/iPhone/ForeFlight questions

Post by Mountain Doctor »

I am not tech oriented so thought I may get some advise here.

My home PC (10 year old Dell) has caught it's last virus (Ebola? :lol: ) and I'm thinking of not replacing it. I hardly ever use the internet at home anyways, and it still works for pictures and music and stuff so I won't replace it at present.

My iPhone is more than 3 years old so I can get a new one. I want the big one so I can actually see it with my 50 year old eyes...

I was thinking of getting an iPad to run ForeFlight. I have see the app and I was impressed with it.

Should I get an iPad or just use the larger iPhone? Will that work? Is there a yoke mount I can use?

Thanks in advance for your help,

Bill
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gbarrier
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Post by gbarrier »

I've used the full sized IPad at work since ForeFlight reared it's wonderful head nearly 5 years ago. Of course the Citation cockpit has plenty room. Many times my Co Captain and myself both have one on the knee.

The full sized one works in the Maule but wonder if a mini which would mount on the yoke might be better. Of course then I would have to hold the yoke by the left horn like one is suppose to.

It may depend on whether you are IFR or VFR. Just for enroute charts, perhaps the big phone might be enough. IFR, well I might just appreciate the big IPad for approach charts.

Guess it all boils down to whether you need the Minipad or the Maxipad.

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Jon
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Post by Jon »

I use the "iPro Navigator" yoke mount with an iPad mini and am mostly happy with it. My only issue is that there's no built in way to keep the clipboard from flipping up when the yoke is turned far to one side or the other.

I've seen the new larger iphone, and think it's too small for yoke-mounted use still, but the ipad mini is just about right (fits easily on the yoke and is big enough to see and use). If there's a nearby apple store, you might want to mosy down and compare the two in person, though -- what's right for me may not be for you.

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Post by Mountain Doctor »

Thanks guys. I should mention I'm VFR.
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gbarrier
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Post by gbarrier »

Sounds like you're ready for a phone anyway. Go ahead and get the big one. You can downsize in two years if you don't like it.

If that doesn't work for you then pick up a mini. It's probably big enough if you aren't looking to use instrument charts. You just can't fly by holding the center of the yoke with it there.

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captnkirk
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Post by captnkirk »

Doc I have to echo what gbarrier said I use an iPad and having the screen space is just easier on the eyes. Fore fight is pretty robust an I find I don't really need much else in the cockpit. I do keep a local chart and notepad as backup. At work I can reference just about any manual I need in seconds, it does take time learning the software but it is much easier to deal with. I'm sure you can borrow one to give it a little spin around the block to see how it fits. I keep mine in a simple cover loose on the glareshield or on the seat next to me I've thought about a knew board set up but just haven't bitten the bullet.
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Post by st8cop166 »

I have tried the full size ipad and the ipad mini and the mini fits perfectly on a RAM mount on the yoke. You can see around it and if turned vertical, there is plenty of room to get your hand on the yoke. I sometimes turn it horizontal since I'm a little vertically challenged anyway and my hands still are able to grab both sides of the yoke if needed. It flattens out well and if you are "barrel chested" there is still plenty of room for a hard pull back on the yoke for those times you need to. :)

The full size Ipad in my humble opinion is just to big and at 61, I'm not sure I could see even the Iphone 6+.
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TomD
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iPad

Post by TomD »

I went w/ the iPad Mini and a ram mount for the yoke. The mini sits between the "horns" of the yoke just fine. Had to monkey w/ the attachment bolt so it did not interfere w/ one of the knobs on the bottom of the instrument panel.

You really want to get a aviation bluetooth GPS like the Garmin Glo since the ipad gps sorta sucks.

I am running the Garmin Pilot application since it has been free to me for going on 8 months (got free six months w/ Glo purchase). I may try ForeFlight when my Garmin subscription runs out in January.

TD

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rjb
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Post by rjb »

Foreflight does more when used on the IPad than the IPhone - I don't know whether that is true with the new bigger IPhone - and I don't know that accessing the features I see my buddy using on his IPad just require a different technique on the IPhone.

When used on my IPhone, the battery goes down FAST! I have a case that my IPhone 4 slips into that triples the capacity which is just right for a day of flying and still being able to use the phone in the late afternoon.

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Post by Mountain Doctor »

I appreciate your thoughtful replies. I may just get both. I just leave the iPad on the copilot seat or his/her lap if the seat is occupied. Funny it does not seem like I need a home computer any more. Times are changing.
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Mog
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Post by Mog »

I have the iPhone 6 plus and I love it. That said it still might be a shade small for really using Foreflight

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flyusn99
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Post by flyusn99 »

MD,
I have the Ipad mini with Foreflight and thus far have no complaints. I bought the Bad Elf GPS with Bluetooth since I had been told by several people the Ipda Mini's GPS was a bit intermittent in remote locations. Thus far that hasn't been the case for me. Keep in mind thought that you need to get the mini with Cellular, even if you don't activate it since the cellular capable one has the GPS capability. From what I was told by apple the WIFI only Ipads don't have a GPS receiver and therefore you'd need an external GPS to make Foreflight work. Anyhow, I flew with it from Oshkosh back to Seattle through MN, ND, MT, ID and WA and never had to break out the Bad Elf because the GPS was always spot on.
I fly on an M-5 on straight floats and with the old adage that everything eventually ends up in the water when flying floats my Mini is encased in a Lifeproof waterproof case with the buoyant Orange Lifejacket so it floats. I find that this setup fits perfectly on my knee while flying. Then before coming in for landing I just toss it in the back seat and with the lifejacket I don't have to worry about it getting damaged (because its a big squishy shock absorber). Also, depending on where you're going and how many charts you plan on downloading I would recommend getting one of the Ipads with a little more memory, I think mine is 32gig, but I'm amazed at how many charts you actually get with foreflight. I have the pro-version so I have all of Canada as well but between half the US and half of Canada VFR and IFR I'm almost half out of memory. Well, hope this helps and good luck.

James

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Andy Young
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Post by Andy Young »

I use an iPad mini, mounted on the yoke. I have had great luck with the internal GPS, and have never seen the need for an external one. I fly around the western U.S., western Canada, and Alaska, and never had it drop out.

I use Foreflight Pro, VFR and IFR.

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VH-MEU
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iPad/iPhone/ForeFlight questions

Post by VH-MEU »

Like Andy I've found the iPad mini a brilliant piece of navigation/flight planning hard ware. The two software programs I use (NB:both have their good & bad points) are AvPlan & Ozrunways with both software companies continually improving functionality & ease of operation. I also purchased the Bad Elph model1008 and up until a couple of months ago it worked well but its 30 pin lightning connector began to fail intermittently, not ideal! The ipad appears to work just as well without it so I'm not convinced it's a necessary item if your iPad is GPS capable. I'd also recommend to purchase as much memory as one can afford.
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gbarrier
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Post by gbarrier »

I second the Bad Elf GPS as a companion to the IPad. We use the Bad Elf Pro. In the Maule I hang it on the headset hook. We usually see accuracy between 3 to 5 meters. You can fly all day without a need of charge.

Not an issue in the Maule but the Pro will feed several IPads at the same time. It's pretty comforting to see the little blue airplanes move over a couple of IPads over the North Atlantic. With only one IPad in our airplanes I feel more comfortable with a little backup. The Garmin 430W does that for me. Without that at least an old chart might be comforting.

As far as capacity. We have the 32g model and are running Foreflight, the Jepp application and some personal suff on both pads. With that they are almost full. Without the Jepp app think there would be plenty space left.

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