What iPad?

Ventucky Red

Ventucky Red

Pattern Altitude
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Jon
So I am going to upgrade my iPad (kicking and screaming I might add) to comply with the new ForeFlight requirements. I am doing this more so for the battery, as the one in my iPad Air (circe 2013) is not holding the charge it used to - think I go 40 minutes over the weekend..

I am thinking of sticking with the iPad 10 as they will fit the RAM mounts I currently have.

So my question here is, anyone using the iPad 10? Do you like it? If not the 10, what are you using?

I don't need all the whiz-bang stuff... just Foreflight, personal Gmail, and eBooks...
 
Ventucky Red said:
I don't need all the whiz-bang stuff... just Foreflight, personal Gmail, and eBooks...
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It's not about the whiz-bang stuff. The thing to consider is how long you want to go before ForeFlight forces you to upgrade again. The mini 6 uses a chip that is 1 generation newer than the iPad 10, so presumably you'd get an extra 1-2 years before you have to repeat today's upgrade exercise. The Air 5 is 2 generations newer so that could be 2-4 years. The Pro 6 is 3 generations newer so that could be 3-6 years.
 
I just bought a mini 6 for the first time. I'm not an iPad user, though there are a couple around the house that the wife mostly uses. My mini 6 seems to me to be short on battery life, but I'm neither an expert nor experienced in it.
 
The screen on an iPhone pro max is almost exactly the same size as an Aera 660. I bought the big phone and hardly ever use the an iPad in the cockpit anymore.
 
I also prefer the 9-10" models. I do use mine for everything, especially documentation when doing ground instruction, like ACS's, POH's, TCDS, FAA and other Manuals, as well as Videos and some Ground Courses, and a fair amount of web surfing.
I think I would like to try using a pencil with my next Ipad, I think my currently one would support the V1 pencil, but since I am going to upgrade soon I think I will wait a go with the V2 pencil. I probably need educate myself more about pencils, been a while since I looked.

I am thinking a pro version might be good just to get the longest life span, but if I recall the latest Ipad Air's and Pro's (which are a bit older) are now very similar. The review I recall reading, was currently that there was very little reason to go with Pro model, They speculated a new version Pro may be coming out soon, so I am waiting until the spring product releases to decide what I want to do.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
 
Half Fast said:
Or switch to iFly and run on Android (or whatever).
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This too is a strong consideration. I am also looking at the Garmin Pilot. I got iFlight when they offered two subscriptions for the price of one. That said, I have not seen much in the way of an interface update. Maybe I need to play with it more..

One of the reasons I am looking to upgrade is I think the battery on this thing is toast. At best, it can hold a 45-minute charge with the Stratus 3 running, and the better part of half a day to recharge... it is 10 years old and has seen some use.
 
Ventucky Red said:
This too is a strong consideration. I am also looking at the Garmin Pilot. I got iFlight when they offered two subscriptions for the price of one. That said, I have not seen much in the way of an interface update. Maybe I need to play with it more..

One of the reasons I am looking to upgrade is I think the battery on this thing is toast. At best, it can hold a 45-minute charge with the Stratus 3 running, and the better part of half a day to recharge... it is 10 years old and has seen some use.
Click to expand...


For about the same price as a new iPad, which has its attendant overheating problems and somewhat dim screen, iFly will sell you a ruggedized Android tablet (5 hour battery at max brightness) that's made for cockpit use:

If/when my 740b ever dies, that's probably what I'll go with.
 
I have both an iPad 9th Gen and a iPad Mini6.

I use the iPad when flying CAP C-182 with a RAM yoke mount setup. I have also used a Mini with a suction cup mount to the left side windshield.

I used the Mini for flying my Mooney with a yoke mount. There is not enough room to use the bigger iPad in the Mooney. Although a former GF enjoyed it for watching in flight movies. :D
I have never had an overheat shutdown on either iPad.

I primarily run Fore Flight, but also have Garmin Pilot. I am going to an all Garmin panel, so my move to GP as the interface is similar, but I had a lot more time with FF.

For upgrading, I normally skip 1 - 2 generations. So with an iPad 9, I will wait until the 11 or 12 come out to upgrade. I use my Mini more everyday, and they update less often, so I might not skip or just skip 1 (go to 7 or 8)
 
Just jumping in to say that Avare runs on any current version of Android OS, and lets you pick your desired hardware upgrade cycle. They're generally inexpensive enough that you can have a couple of them in different form factors.
 
Both the mini and air are due for upgrades soon. Picking the exact date is hard but if you aren’t in a hurry waiting a couple months will likely pay off in newer hardware or cheaper pricing on current models.
 
I still have a highly functional iPad, but since switching to Max sized iPhones, I find myself using the iPad for flight stuff less and less.

I really love having one device, instead of two. The iPhone max is a little too big to be great as a phone. The iPad is a little too big to be convenient in a Maule sized cockpit. The max is a little too small to show everything in foreflight conveniently, but the worst of it is solved with an extra swipe or two on occasion.

I think this is one of those times where there just isn't a perfect solution. Well, at least one that doesn't cost me a panel upgrade and eliminate the need for portable electronics completely. But, like I said, I find myself increasingly using the max in the cockpit and the iPad stays home. I will probably always have an iPad, I use it for a lot of other stuff, so I don't get out of the expense of two devices. But when I'm flying/camping, having a single device to care for is working out very nicely.
 
masloki said:
if you aren’t in a hurry waiting a couple months will likely pay off in newer hardware or cheaper pricing on current models.
Click to expand...

I have done that a number of times, mainly with phones. Wait until the new one comes out, and the previous gen drops a LOT.
 
rwellner98 said:
I still have a highly functional iPad, but since switching to Max sized iPhones, I find myself using the iPad for flight stuff less and less.

I really love having one device, instead of two. The iPhone max is a little too big to be great as a phone. The iPad is a little too big to be convenient in a Maule sized cockpit. The max is a little too small to show everything in foreflight conveniently, but the worst of it is solved with an extra swipe or two on occasion.

I think this is one of those times where there just isn't a perfect solution. Well, at least one that doesn't cost me a panel upgrade and eliminate the need for portable electronics completely. But, like I said, I find myself increasingly using the max in the cockpit and the iPad stays home. I will probably always have an iPad, I use it for a lot of other stuff, so I don't get out of the expense of two devices. But when I'm flying/camping, having a single device to care for is working out very nicely.
Click to expand...

Sounds like the perfect place for an iPad Mini
 
Why not both? I have a 660 and an iPhone. Software monoculture is bad mmkay.
 
My iPad mini was great but I don't have the cockpit real estate for it anymore. The iPhone version of ForeFlight is crippled and doesn't have a CDI, but the aera does.
 
wellknow said:
thx. what does aera have that ipad doesnt?
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If panel mounted, the Aera 660 fits perfectly in the radio stack. And when panel mounted you can use it to transfer radio frequencies to a 255 nav/com for example. The 660 can only have 1 Bluetooth connection, so hardwired it can talk to 2 additional boxes.
If not panel mounting, clearly the IPad has more functionality.
 
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