Gold plated kneeboard ?

[SJP]

I was looking at Sportys today - I'm not happy with my Pilot Plus kneepad (it's just unwieldy, never seem to be able to get it comfortable and so on) and figured I would get a basic flat knee board for VFR type flying.

$20 !!

Ok, it's not a lot of money, but seriously, it's a clipboard with an elastic strap !! Staples have a 6" x 9" Clipoard for $1.09. A piece of elastic cant be more than another couple bucks ? Is it crash rated or something ? Fire Retardent anti-magnetic Mil-Spec aviation grade aluminum ?

And we wonder why aviation is so expensive sometimes...

 

[tonycondon]

no its just a jacked up price, go buy the clipboard, some elastic and velcro, fabric if you want some pockets on the side and have fun!

 

[ScottM]

I was looking at Sportys today - I'm not happy with my Pilot Plus kneepad (it's just unwieldy, never seem to be able to get it comfortable and so on) and figured I would get a basic flat knee board for VFR type flying.

$20 !!

Ok, it's not a lot of money, but seriously, it's a clipboard with an elastic strap !! Staples have a 6" x 9" Clipoard for $1.09. A piece of elastic cant be more than another couple bucks ? Is it crash rated or something ? Fire Retardent anti-magnetic Mil-Spec aviation grade aluminum ?

And we wonder why aviation is so expensive sometimes...

is the staples one TSO'ed?? I think not. The Sporty's one is FAA super secret approved for inflight use and withstand 900g's

Seriously though. I used just a regular clipboard for the longest time. I switched to the ASA folding desk a couple of years ago and I like that a lot .

 

[rmciottijr]

You said the magic word "aviation" don't you know all us aviators are rich so they can charge what they want. It is just like firefighting equipment if it is NFPA approved they can charge 4X the amount it's really worth.

Bob

 

[fgcason]

You said the magic word "aviation" don't you know all us aviators are rich so they can charge what they want. It is just like firefighting equipment if it is NFPA approved they can charge 4X the amount it's really worth.

The difference is that the average firefighting equipment isn't typically found at your local arts and crafts store. Half the aviation trinket stuff is readily available at the hobby store and they even sell the glue to assemble it with.


{Edit} Think about this: Do you actually really honestly need a kneeboard at all? Single Pilot hard IFR, ok sure because you're busy writing while trying not to crash when you can't see where you're going. But just to fly VFR even if it's across the country, do you really really honestly need it? After digging past all the fluff, the actual answer is "no, you do not really need it."

 

[SJP]

is the staples one TSO'ed?? I think not. The Sporty's one is FAA super secret approved for inflight use and withstand 900g's

Seriously though. I used just a regular clipboard for the longest time. I switched to the ASA folding desk a couple of years ago and I like that a lot .

Given that the majority of our flights are VFR 2 pilot operations, I'm not even sure I need the velcro strap

I may just try a regular clipboard for those missions, and borrow my buddy's ASA board for a couple trips and see how it works out.

Don't even get me started on GPS Mounting brackets...

 

[rmciottijr]

The difference is that the average firefighting equipment isn't typically found at your local arts and crafts store. "

I agree that you can't find firefighting equipment in your local art store but you can find exact duplicates that are not NFPA approved for a lot less.