Electric reality?
Smarter iPad use Technical
After a few hours flying with iPads, Peter Steele shares some ideas on the best ways to use one in the cockpit…
T
hree notable events happened on 3 April 2010: Cambridge beat Oxford to win the 156th university boat race by one and a third lengths in 17 minutes 35 seconds, Matt Smith made his first appearance playing the 11th Doctor in Doctor Who – and Apple released the iPad. One of these would make a significant difference to my life, including my flight planning and navigation. Three other notable events happened two years later: my Garmin 496 died, SkyDemon released their iPad version and I bought my first iPad. I’ve been flying ever since with an iPad. Here are my experiences so far…
38 | FLYER | May 2021
Above A first generation iPad running the Airspace Aware app
iPad type
There are three types: Pro, Air and Mini The Pro is, at 13in, just too unwieldy to use in the cockpit, which is a bit of a shame as it’s the only one with a non-reflective screen. The 11in Air is better, but I find the Mini’s eight-inch screen is fine. It’s not too big to be a handful in the cockpit but big enough to use easily. Another advantage of the Mini is that an iPhone 1 amp charger (or a back-up portable battery) will be sufficient to charge the iPad Mini. An Air, on the other hand, needs a hefty 2.1 amps. Speaking to other pilots, I’ve found there is still some confusion over what device is suitable for navigation. An iPad is either Wi-Fi only, or Wi-Fi
