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Thread: Charts or iPads?

  1. #31

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    Quote Originally Posted by Scoot25 View Post
    Hi everyone, I noticed that this thread seemed to get a little off topic with the legality aspect of using tablets in place of physical charts. Now that we clearly know its legal, does anybody use one to actually replace your charts? Also I think there is some misunderstanding with the original question about batteries 'failing.' Failing and dieing are two different things. While lit-ion have been know to 'fail' (not to ever work again) it is rare. While your battery will generally die within 4 or so hours of heavy use. So in other words do you have auxiliary power for your pad? Thanks
    Replace paper? Yes. Aux power? Yes.

  2. #32
    MickYoumans's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scoot25 View Post
    bdoes anybody use one to actually replace your charts? do you have auxiliary power for your pad? Thanks
    Yes, I use WingX to replace all of the paper in my cockpit except for a small notebook that I use to jot down notes. I do have one current paper sectional of my home area and an out of date airport directory in my glove box. I haven't used either in years. I do have a USB power port I can hook my iPad and iLevil up to if needed. So far I have not needed that either, but I can potentially see needing it for longer than normal cross countries. (The bulk of my flights are one to two hours) I also keep a 12v to 120AC inverter in my glove box but have not used it since I transitioned from a NetBook PC to an iPad back in 2010.

  3. #33

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    Quote Originally Posted by Scoot25 View Post
    does anybody use one to actually replace your charts?
    Yes, for the last two years. No paper. Foreflight and Avare as backup.

  4. #34

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    In the end it really comes down to this:

    Use what you are comfortable with!

    I became interested it this as it evolved from panel mounted to portables.
    I also look at this as a progression and a completed shift in the way we fly and teach aviation…

    I use both an iFlyGPS (720) as well as their new iPad App (Android coming) and do not have any paper anything in my bag!

    I taxi out with every Sectional – WAC – TAC – Low Enroute – Approach – Airport Diagram or Photo – TFR’s - Airport/Facility Directory - METAR – METAF – Winds Aloft for the entire US, Alaska & Hawaii.
    I omitted the other Pacific Islands and Possessions as I don’t have the need.

    All of this would stress the rotator cuff of any pilot and create a serious challenge to stow it on board. Yet it fits nicely on my kneeboard or many temporary or even permanent mounting options…

    I don’t even carry an E6B anymore as there is No Need for ETA calculations at all, when all I have to do is touch a point on the screen and it that info is presented…

    But I DO have an E6B APP on my phone and iPad as my systems do not calculate estimated ground speed which you do need for FUEL calculations!!! (it estimates No Wind fuel burns for leg & trip)

    I toiled with all of the “problems” that most do when considering moving to the electronic versions and as I played and learned more about HOW to use them I found all of these “problems” were only in the mind of the beholder…

    At least with this system I will never have to fly pilotage using a Road Map when no Sectional was available as I have in the past!

  5. #35

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    Folding paper takes too much time while glancing at glass especially driven by a GPS is safer. But there is one huge mistake in this Paper VS Glass debate. It says IPADS! Turns out, Windows has had tab letPC's for over 15 years along with numerous folks supplying charting and moving map software for PC's. Then most of us doing that also had Android versions LONG berfore the idiots at the AOPA and the FAA declared and I quaote, "The iPad is a new and revolutionary device for aviation!".
    So pilot went out and spenct $700 for an iPad while you could get the same glass in a TabletPC for $200. In fact, now you can have sectionals, wacs, plates, on your cell phone for 1/10th the cost of an iPad. Don't get me wrong, the iPad is good, just too expensive.

  6. #36
    Sam Buchanan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Hardin View Post

    I toiled with all of the “problems” that most do when considering moving to the electronic versions and as I played and learned more about HOW to use them I found all of these “problems” were only in the mind of the beholder…
    And that, my friends, is probably the most succinct statement thus far in this discussion.
    Sam Buchanan
    The RV Journal RV-6 build log
    Fokker D.VII semi-replica build log

  7. #37

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    We switched to ipad + foreflight over two years ago for our corporate flying. With the current addition of the Stratus II gps/adsb in, it is even better. For less than $2,000 total investment we have complete chart coverage of the USA, gps positioning for taxi charts and maps, and no time wasted updating 16 Jepp binders of charts every two weeks.

    I see NO downside to replacing 30 pounds of paper charts with two ipads!

    Pat

  8. #38
    Anymouse's Avatar
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    The main reason I got an iPad was for aviation use. As others have mentioned, all my charts are on there. In addition, I also have the FARs (all of 'em), the AIM, several pertinent ACs, POH for each aircraft I fly, and the user manuals for every piece of avionics equipment that are in those aircraft. Oh yeah, my logbook is on there as well.
    Someday I'll come up with something profound to put here.

  9. #39

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    An observation on how it was in the last century.


    The base Ops at Mcguire AFB at times was jam packed with a dozen or more Second lieutenants planning and filing flights. They were C-141 navigators heading out to various continents and each had a huge canvas bag filled with pubs & charts. I estimate At least 65-70 lbs. You know the big bags labeled "Kit bag, Aviators." A tablet for each navigator would have replaced almost a half ton of paper. (12 young LTs X 70 lbs = 840 lbs)



    Bob

  10. #40
    MickYoumans's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KevinPHD View Post
    there is one huge mistake in this Paper VS Glass debate. It says IPADS! Turns out, Windows has had tab letPC's for over 15 years along with numerous folks supplying charting and moving map software for PC's. Then most of us doing that also had Android versions LONG berfore the idiots at the AOPA and the FAA declared and I quaote, "The iPad is a new and revolutionary device for aviation!".
    So pilot went out and spenct $700 for an iPad while you could get the same glass in a TabletPC for $200. Don't get me wrong, the iPad is good, just too expensive.
    While I can fully agree with you that PCs led the way, they certainly did not revolutionize the cockpit. I first started with PC Avionics MountainScope running on my laptop and eventually purchased a NetBook to run it on because the laptop was simply too large for the cockpit. While MountainScope is a great program with awesome terrain and synthetic vision graphics, it is much more difficult to use than WingX running on an iPad. I never could find a really good place for the NetBook nor a good way to mount it in my cockpit, not to mention it was a pain to manipulate in the air since the NetBook did not have touch screen. My wife is not a technical type person. I tried so hard to teach her to use a PC but she really struggled with navigating around using a mouse or touch pad. I spent 5 to 10 minutes showing her how to navigate on an iPad and use the pinch to zoom gestures and she was off to the races. After that she was asking for an iPad for Christmas, prior to that she could care less about computers. While the NetBook and iPad were close size wise, half of the NetBook was keyboard while the iPad is all screen. The iPad has essentially no bootup time where as the NetBook was slow to boot. Battery life was pretty short on the NetBook and would require me to plug it up to a power port in the plane, whereas I never have to do that with my iPad. Laptops and NetBooks did not have built in GPS receivers like the iPads do. While you can couple an external GPS to the NetBook or PC, on the NetBook/PC you had to manually create the bluetooth connection each time. The combination of awesome easy to use apps like WingX and ForeFlight running on a platform with a good size touch screen, built in GPS and long battery life, coupled with a good variety of mounts like the RAM yoke mount where they would actually fit in the cockpit pretty nice, really did revolutionize the cockpit. Those $200 PCs you mentioned do not have touch screen and have the other drawbacks I have already mentioned. At the time the iPad came out, the only touch tablet PCs ran about double the cost of the iPad. My $300 NetBook coupled with the $500 MountainScope program is roughly the same cost as my iPad/WingX combination. The AOPA/FAA comment is right on the money. There has never been another device so widely accepted and used by pilots as the iPad. It really has revolutionized the cockpit.
    Last edited by MickYoumans; 01-11-2014 at 10:15 PM.

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