Android Pilots guidance

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Tony R

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Hello Pilot community, I've never been a apple dude, so please don't try to convince me. Now I have in the cockpit (rental plane) GDL50 and I'm using FltplanGo. I would like a good Android tablet, but not some monster screen that doesn't fit it a Piper Cherokee 140.

Thank you for your experience/suggestions.

-Tony
 
Tony R said:
Hello Pilot community, I've never been a apple dude, so please don't try to convince me. Now I have in the cockpit (rental plane) GDL50 and I'm using FltplanGo. I would like a good Android tablet, but not some monster screen that doesn't fit it a Piper Cherokee 140.

Thank you for your experience/suggestions.

-Tony
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Use your phone. Screen size and res are plenty, and you'll have more mounting options.

If you have your previous phone, use it as dedicated with your current phone as backup.

Consider trying Garmin Pilot. I think you get some extra functionality with the GDL.
 
I'm using my phone now and the screen is a bit small. Something about the size of a mini would be perfect. And yes, Garmin pilot is a must. I was just trying Fltplan go with my recently purchased GDL50.
 
Tony R said:
I'm using my phone now and the screen is a bit small. Something about the size of a mini would be perfect. And yes, Garmin pilot is a must. I was just trying Fltplan go with my recently purchased GDL50.
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Samsung Tab S6 Lite (sm-p613). Get a trial of Garmin Pilot and see if you prefer that over FPG.

I get it’s free, but GP is a much better alternative and I’m fairly certain you can’t get a GDL50 to pipe into iFly EFB.
 
I find the 8" tablets to be the sweet spot between big enough and too big, just the right size for a kneeboard. Currently I'm using a Lenovo TB-8705F, using Avare. If I'm just flying local I use my phone if I use anything at all but take the tablet for longer trips.
 
I've been an Android guy for as long as it has existed ("Drrrrrooooiiiiddd"). I had pretty good luck previously with Samsung tablets and concur that something in the region of 8" x 5" is probably the sweet spot for a yoke mount or suction cup mount.

I fly with Garmin Pilot, which does a really great job of integrating with my avionics (sending the flight plan to my GNX 375 and getting a highly detailed engine monitor report post-flight is wonderful). All that said, I fly with an iPad Mini, as the experience with Garmin Pilot on that device is light years ahead of the Android version (which I have on my Pixel phone). I'm not a fan of Apple's UI (or ethos, for that matter) and don't buy any of their other products, but for flying you'd need to pull that iPad Mini from my cold, dead fingers.

Lots of other good options out there. But not better options, I think.
 
I'm an Android-only guy and have been using iFly EFB since before it was a tablet app. I fly a Cherokee 180. An 8" tablet is probably the best compromise between "big enough to read a whole approach chart" and "small enough to not block the panel too much", though I have most recently opted for a 10" tablet and just lean a bit to peek around it to check the engine instruments when I need to.

In my experience, pretty much any Android tablet is usable. Paying more for a tablet might get better specs that might be useful for things other than an EFB, but even cheap tablets can run EFB software just fine. The most useful spec for in-flight EFB usage is screen brightness.
 
I recently bought a Hugerock X7. It has a brightness of 2600 nits (and that is not a misprint). It is about the brightest tablet on the planet. On top of that the battery life is pretty amazing. It's running the latest windows software as well. It is the size of an 8" tablet so it doesn't take up a huge amount of real estate.

Here's a pic from my flight yesterday.

Even in the brightest sunshine this thing is fully readable.

Price is decent at $499
 

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I will add I have a Samsung tablet and it is unreadable in many sunlight conditions in my cockpit. I just don't see them as being a proper tool when you can lose the ability to read it at a critical time - such when you are using it for traffic.
 
AvNavCom said:
…All that said, I fly with an iPad Mini, as the experience with Garmin Pilot on that device is light years ahead of the Android version (which I have on my Pixel phone)...
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No kidding, GP on droid is trash compared to iOS. One thing I like about iFly EFB is the parity between droid and iOS. Same exact experience no matter the device and the iflightplanner integration makes desktop web-based planning easy peasy.

I’d like to have a better experience around document and trip management, but that’s kind of picking at nits.
 
I started flying with an Android tablet around 2011 when 7" tablets first became available. This size fits neatly into most kneeboards. At that time the best Android EFB app was "Avilution" which is still around today, now called "Droid EFB". It's not the best anymore because so many other good apps have appeared, but it's still among the best.

Other apps I've tried: Avare is free and it works, but I find it clumsy to use compared to Droid EFB. And Avare won't use the device external SD card for storing charts and other data. FltPlanGo is also free, and it has Canadian charts (!) but it is bloated and slow, and crashes a lot not just on one device but on all of them. Naviator used to be a great app, but disappeared from the market and is no longer supported.
Back in 2016 I built a Stratux to get ADS-B "in" traffic and weather with a faster updating more accurate GPS. Nearly 1000 hours later including flights to Canada & Alaska it's still working. I still use a cheap old Android tablet having an 8" screen, fits in my kneeboard. Droid EFB is lightweight & efficient, runs fast even on old slow devices, and its low CPU demand also gives it long battery life.

Also, Droid EFB works with XPlane so when I'm flying the PC at home in crappy weather, it's like being in the plane - which is cool.

If you are renting, you never know how the airplane is equipped. If it has a Stratux, your tablet can connect to the WiFi and you get everything. Otherwise, it can use the tablet's internal GPS so you at least have your position on the moving map.

To answer your question, any decent but cheap Android tablet will do. Make sure it has an internal GPS - most do, but not Amazon tablets. 7-8" size is best for fitting into a kneeboard.
 
Lndwarrior said:
I will add I have a Samsung tablet and it is unreadable in many sunlight conditions in my cockpit. I just don't see them as being a proper tool when you can lose the ability to read it at a critical time - such when you are using it for traffic.
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That’s interesting - which one? I’ve had three over the past 10 or more years and sunlight readability was always a strong suit. I had an old Tab 7 and now have two 8” Tab A’s. By contrast (and a great comparison for me), my cheapie ONN one from Walmart is a decent tab but not nearly as good as the Samsungs - and it is REALLY dark with polarized sunglasses on - not true w the Sams
 
Chip Sylverne said:
Samsung 8" SM-T 295 and Avare works just fine for me. Can't beat the price.
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That’s been my go-to setup in my Warrior for over 10 years and I love it (except mine is the Samsung 8” Tab A from Costco - typically goes on sale for around $130 every so often). Just don’t forget Avare won’t get ADS-B support from the GDL50. My FreeFlight RANGR provides it for me. Without that, something like a StratuX (not StratuS) would be needed.
 
samsung galaxy tab s9 with garmin pilot is awesome, absolutely gorgeous. screen is better by FAR than an ipad also the samsung products dont' overheat as readily. as for features gp android is only slightly behind the apple version, all features i never bother to use. Downloads actually work better and more reliably

this is from my experience, i run Garmin Pilot on an ipad mini6, ipad air and either my galaxy tab or my samsung ultra s24. Note samsung products are also easier to charge, my ipad mini with the brightness up, requires my anker high power charger, the others change just fine on normal usb/usb c
 
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