iPad vs. iPad mini poll.

iPad vs. iPad mini.

  • iPad

    Votes: 18 29.0%

  • iPad mini

    Votes: 44 71.0%
  • Total voters
    62
rmciottijr

rmciottijr

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Sorry if this question was already posted.

I am looking to get a new iPad for FourFlight, and I was wondering what the pros and cons are for the standard vs.the mini iPad. Also which iPad would you prefer?

Thanks,
Bob
 
I voted Mini, but a lot depends on cockpit real estate.

If I had more, I might go full-sized. In my Sky Arrow the Mini is just right.
 
Since you are using FourFlight, I'd recommend the larger unit.
 
Yes, if you go with the mini you will have to use ThreeFlight. :D

I personally like having the bigger screen since I'm an older guy that has to use readers. I have mine on a yoke mount in my Cherokee and it works great for me. If space is an issue for you, then the mini would be the way to go if reading the screen is not an issue for you.
 
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Buy the iPad pro 9.7 now if its a need. If you can wait till April, we should see some new/revised iPads and price drops on the older models. I'm in the market and waiting to see what Apple dumps then. My iPad 3 is now unsupported by Apple, those Commies, and is slower by the day.
 
+1 on the cockpit real estate. Can be a big part of the decision.
The other consideration is age. I like the screen real estate of the full size iPad, but if I had younger eyes the mini might be enough. ;)
 
iPhone "plus" size replaced my iPad mini for regular flying. If I saddled up for a long trip across the continent I'd put the mini back in but shy of that the iPhone 7+ does more than I need and is a more convenient/less obtrusive size.
 
Mini all day long, I use mine in everything from my 185 to turboprops, it's the ideal size to sit on your lap, especially if you mod a fabric flip open case with a small legal pad on the outside of the lid and have it sit longways on your lap.

I'd love to get a iPad pro, but the mini form factor is a non negotiable for me, sadly that ain't the pro.
 
Another vote for the mini. I like the way it fits in my lap and when I yoke mount it. It is almost the exact size of the approach plates you use to have clipped to the yoke (if you're old enough to remember paper :)).

This is the best pic that I have on my phone that shows the setup in the Saratoga I fly. A full size wouldn't work for me with this setup.

IMG_3253.PNG
 
Obligatory Sky Arrow, iPad Mini combo:

17717764660_c64289dea5_z.jpg


Before the Mini, I did use a full-sized and it really got in the way. Even with the Mini, I have to reach around it to access the flaps.
 
Stewartb said:
iPhone "plus" size replaced my iPad mini for regular flying. If I saddled up for a long trip across the continent I'd put the mini back in but shy of that the iPhone 7+ does more than I need and is a more convenient/less obtrusive size.
Click to expand...

I have an iPhone SE (which is the size of the iPhone 5). I typically use it in the airplane with WingX. On longer trips, I'll take the iPad Mini to give the right seater something productive to play with. My vote is iPhone, then Mini.
 
I say Mini. I haven't used a full size since the Mini was released. I actually just got done buying three Minis for the school's aircraft last week.

I'll be using a full size at my new job since it's an actual EFB. Hopefully the iOS FliteDeck Pro is the same as the Windows version. If not I'll be disappointed.
 
I switched to the mini years ago and will not go back. You can hold it comfortably in one hand, takes up less room in the cockpit, etc. Just an all around good size. I feel like if I need a bigger screen for something, I really need the functionality of a laptop/desktop computer at that point.

All that said, I found the mini bigger than what I wanted to deal with mounted in a cherokee cockpit. I use it more like a sectional, leaving it in the map pocket(full size doesn't fit) until I need it. However, since getting one of the new "plus" sized iphones I found that is just the right size for a suction cup mount. So now I fly with that and the map display up. When I was doing IFR training it was also ideal for approach plates.
 
Mini as it fits the yoke.

It is also not polarized and I were polarized sunglasses. I can rotate it 90 degrees and still see it when it is not in it's mount.
 
I you search the site for past threads, you will see comments by me expressing concerns about the size of the Mini. I was using full-sized ones, thought they were just perfect, and figured the display on the Mini, especially for approach charts, would be way too small.

Then, as my 3rd iPad (yeah, I adopted in the later parts of ForeFlight and WingX's first year) began to show signs of age, I borrowed a Mini just to see for myself. Wasn't even from a pilot. To say I was hooked would be much to conservative.

The takeaway is not that the Mini is better; it's that you need to get a friend or two who has both and try to fly with them. See which works for you, not a bunch of poll answers that tell you what other people like.
 
FastEddieB said:
Obligatory Sky Arrow, iPad Mini combo:

17717764660_c64289dea5_z.jpg


Before the Mini, I did use a full-sized and it really got in the way. Even with the Mini, I have to reach around it to access the flaps.
Click to expand...
Nice pic ! I've always wanted to take a hop in the Sky Arrow.
 
I prefer the Mini and I have had both. I do carry it around a lot and the Mini will even fit in some of my jacket pockets. The full size ones have gotten thinner and lighter, though.
 
Whichever you choose, be sure and check the refurb versions at the Apple website. Usually 10-20% off and with the same warranty as new. I've gotten all my Apple Stuff there, except my phones since they don't offer them refurbed, and never had a problem.

I use an iPad Air with ForeFlight in the Cherokee solo and the mini when the right seat is occupied. (Also have it on my phone as a backup.). I'll probably panel mount a mini in the Onex I'm building.

Cheers
 
Bestbuy has the iPad mini 4 64gb with cellular on sale for $449. Best price I have seen for the Cellular version.
 
X3 Skier said:
Whichever you choose, be sure and check the refurb versions at the Apple website. Usually 10-20% off and with the same warranty as new. I've gotten all my Apple Stuff there, except my phones since they don't offer them refurbed, and never had a problem.
Click to expand...
This. I got my mini2 with cellular and 128 gb from the refurb store a couple years ago. I don't use it much in the airplane except to figure w/b and performance, but if I did, I'm sure I would prefer it over the full size.
 
I pad ,the older you get the bigger the screen you need
 
I got an IPadPro 9.7 for Christmas to replace my IPad 2. I'd always used the ipad 2 on a kneeboard but I'm using the pro with an Allan Ramsey mount in my Cardinal RG. It's mounted to the yoke in portrait mode, doesn't block any instruments or gauges like I was worried it would, and it's easy to scroll or zoom as needed to see everything on an approach plate. Based on my experience I'd get the IPad Pro.
Gary
 
I like the Mini, because I'm a renter, and it fits the combination knee-board/iPad holder that straps to my leg. It also fits easily in my flight bag.
 
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FastEddieB said:
but a lot depends on cockpit real estate.
Click to expand...
This. Personally, I like the full size iPad, but when I got my Twin Beech, there just wasn't any room to mount it without blocking something important and they don't make a yoke mount for the Beech 18. So I picked up a mini. Same for the biplane. There is no room to mount an iPad and the full size one is a little too big for a kneeboard (interferes with stick on landing).
 
I've got both a mini3 and a newer pro 9.7 they both have their pros and cons. I've used each of them on the yoke and they both fit (although the 9.7 is tight between the rams horns).

I haven't yet formed a final opinion on which one is best and I think the answer to that is really determined by what you're doing. If you're using it for basic VFR flight then the mini would probably be my choice. For IFR plate referencing robe additional screen real estate is pretty nice, though the mini does suffice.

Full size iPad. No thanks.
 
iPad Air2 mounted on Cherokee yoke, fits fine (portrait orientation).
 
Just depends on what you're flying and how much real estate you have to work with. If you want the bigger iPad, I've heard good thing about the 9.7 iPad Pro being better to see in bright sunlight.

I'm currently using a Mini in the Bonanza, but had enough space between the yoke handles in my previous Mooney to use an iPad Air in landscape mode. Photos of both below.

Cheers,
Brian

Previous iPad Air:

IMG_5065.JPG

Current iPad Mini:

IMG_6685.JPG
 
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MacRumours is predicting new iPad models in March or April.

They also say Apple is likely to update iPads on a two-year cycle.

So it seems to me that it's worth waiting a few months before buying.
 
Another vote for a mini here. I often fly a DA40 and a regular iPad would make getting at the TPM nearly impossible. There are times I wish I had more real estate but the mini is really ideal for what I fly.

I use it with the iPro Aviator kneeboard. Its a steel kneeboard with a hinged cover that flips open. You can have all your paper on the outside and have the mini on the inside. Works pretty slick.

http://www.sportys.com/pilotshop/ip...s/ipro-aviator-kneeboard-for-ipad-mini-4.html

I have a 64gb mini 2 and it's slow AF. So, I'll need an upgrade. And yes, Android is better but you know, Foreflight....
 
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