Aviation GADGETS

Rebel Lord

Rebel Lord

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Rebel Lord
I can spend hours on amazon and sportys looking at all the interesting gadgets tool and accessories there are to buy for flying. So I was wondering what are some of the most useful (or useless) things you have bought.

I'll go first and this is a no brainer. Ipad + Foreflight + stratus.
 
Most useful is definitely the Firelight.

Most useless is the Flight bag. Now that I have a hangar I don't use it at all.
 
steingar said:
Most useful is definitely the Firelight.

Most useless is the Flight bag. Now that I have a hangar I don't use it at all.
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There certainly is a sliding scale on the usefulness in of a flight bag. If you rent or are in a club, you carry a lot back and forth to the airport. If you own and tie down, you carry less but still carry somethings. If you own and hangar it, you carry very little to nothing back and forth to the airport.
 
Piece of string to tie to my pen and loop it around my neck
 
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I have a $200 Sporty's card as part of a rebate I got. I can't find anything to spend it on. I must have already bought everything I needed and then some. I'll be watching this thread carefully for ideas.

For what it's worth, the gadgets I most appreciate having in the plane with me are:
* iPad Mini
* Stratux
* Yoke mount for iPad Mini
* Fuel Hawk gauge
* Pulse oximeter
* Pilot Pocket to store a notepad and pen for clearances as well as my cell phone
* Pilot Blu-Link to listen to audiobooks in the air
* Plastic emesis (barf) bags, one of which I finally got to use to catch kerosene when my compass developed a leak
 
If you have a Bose headset, Sporty's sells a mount for the controller for $40 or so. It is 3-D printed by a pilot and keeps the control mounted wherever you like rather than hanging down or clipping it to your shirt.
 
Not exactly a gaget but if you need a new pair of foggles anytime soon www.certifiedfoggles.com has some pretty cool ones (i got the american flag one but also kinda want the custom airspace one)
 
The more I fly the less stuff I bring. Logbook, medical, license, leatherman, Foreflight, iPad.. that's about it

I laugh when people show up with a $100 DELUXE FLIGHT BAG PRO with 40 lbs of gear in it... I'm like dude, "you're flying a Cessna 50 miles up the coast in San Diego??" but it makes people feel good and I was one of them also. I'm still probably overkill compared to some of the more seasoned people I fly with

I've bought plenty of useless things, really too many to name
 
Tantalum said:
The more I fly the less stuff I bring. Logbook, medical, license, leatherman, Foreflight, iPad.. that's about it
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Why the logbook? That's only required to be in the plane for sport and student pilots.
 
asicer said:
Why the logbook?
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It's part of a paranoia of losing it (I get it, then leave it home!) but I like having that with me, in my condensed little folio, along with an electronic copy courtesy of Foreflight. It's good to have if I ever have to prove currency, etc. Plus I enjoy updating it when I land with the times, etc.
 
Sporty's device which combines a little telescope and a level to ascertain if that cloud over yonder was above/below/same altitude as you. I did look for this in the current on-line catalog and I didn't find it. Maybe reason has prevailed?

-Skip
 
Most useful gadget in my plane?...this:

9235a_5.jpg
 
Shawn said:
Most useful gadget in my plane?...this:

9235a_5.jpg
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That's odd. That picture is obviously a G1000 plane which would mean it's a 182T and I'm pretty sure those already all came with cupholders.
c182t-483obt.jpg


IMG_7729-768x1024.jpeg
 
asicer said:
That's odd. That picture is obviously a G1000 plane which would mean it's a 182T and I'm pretty sure those already all came with cupholders.
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Yeah...maybe...but my 182P sure did not!

They also don't model swimmer on saggy t#t told ladies but that is who they are trying to sell to!
 
I started using my iPad after my PPL ride (had it prior to that for school). Easily the most important thing besides required items (ID, Certificate, Medical) that I fly with, and I won't fly without it on board. Other than that, my phone with FF/GP.

I accumulated about 5 E6Bs, a few other styles of plotters, a Jepp flight bag, a GATS jar, a 172 fuel stick, and a Leatherman as a student pilot. And being the typical student pilot, I always loaded that bag with everything, even the GATS jar and fuel stick when the planes I was renting all had them inside.

Now I generally just carry my required documents, the iPad, my phone, the Leatherman, and maybe an E6B for long (150+mi) XC trips. I do keep my logbook with me, although I don't need to, and after every flight I log both on paper and MyFlightBook's app. Less is really more, especially once you fly enough to know what you need vs what you can have.
 
In my flight bag, I have my pulse oximeter, my co2 detector, extra batteries for my head set (my Zulu PFX eats them like candy) and my wife’s headset, two flashlights and a head lamp, a “brick” that will recharge my IPad and IPhone in flight if needed plus my log book. I hangar my plane and have lots of other stuff - small tool bag, chocks, tie-downs, first aid kits, cover, etc. store in the baggage compartment. Most of my flying is XC over usually pretty rough terrain. I feel almost naked if I don’t fly with all this stuff.
 
asicer said:
That's odd. That picture is obviously a G1000 plane which would mean it's a 182T and I'm pretty sure those already all came with cupholders.
Click to expand...

G1000 doesnt mean its a 182T? My flight school has G1000s in multiple 172S
 
I have a small backpack made by Igloo as my flight bag. It carries my survival gear and I can throw my tablet in outside pockets. The main bag is a cooler and I can take a few drinks along with a frozen water bottle for the flight.
 
I think sometimes people gadget out when it comes to flying. At most I carry my headset, ipad, and sunglasses.
 
midwestpa24 said:
I think sometimes people gadget out when it comes to flying. At most I carry my headset, ipad, and sunglasses.
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Upon starting training I inquired of the old rec.alt.aviation (I think that was it) usenet group as to what I should buy. One response was "Get a Sporty's catalog and order one of each." It did have a smiley with it...

That said, as a renter in a series of clubs, I carry a flight bag with 2 headsets (unless I know I'm going to have more passengers) charts (yes, I still carry paper sectionals) and assorted flashlights, pencils, portable etc. If I had my own plane, I'm sure a lot of that would stay in the plane.
 
jsstevens said:
Upon starting training I inquired of the old rec.alt.aviation (I think that was it) usenet group as to what I should buy. One response was "Get a Sporty's catalog and order one of each." It did have a smiley with it...

That said, as a renter in a series of clubs, I carry a flight bag with 2 headsets (unless I know I'm going to have more passengers) charts (yes, I still carry paper sectionals) and assorted flashlights, pencils, portable etc. If I had my own plane, I'm sure a lot of that would stay in the plane.
Click to expand...

I still carry paper even as a new pilot with iPad and iPhone(albeit expired). I dropped and shattered my iPad and my iPhone XR over heated 3 seconds after takeoff. I had to pull the paper out to find the frequency’s I needed
 
Rebel Lord said:
I still carry paper even as a new pilot with iPad and iPhone(albeit expired). I dropped and shattered my iPad and my iPhone XR over heated 3 seconds after takeoff. I had to pull the paper out to find the frequency’s I needed
Click to expand...

I work in military simulation and training. One of our retired military SMEs had a sign on his office door that read "A map with a bullet hole in it is a map. A computer with a bullet hole in it is a door stop." Sometimes paper trumps all. I don't bother with subscribing to paper approach charts anymore, but I do print and carry those I'm likely to use even though I have a G-530 and an iPad with charts on them.
 
Skip Miller said:
Sporty's device which combines a little telescope and a level to ascertain if that cloud over yonder was above/below/same altitude as you. I did look for this in the current on-line catalog and I didn't find it. Maybe reason has prevailed?

-Skip
Click to expand...

Is it bad that I want one of these? :D
 
schmookeeg said:
Is it bad that I want one of these? :D
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Skip Miller said:
Sporty's device which combines a little telescope and a level to ascertain if that cloud over yonder was above/below/same altitude as you. I did look for this in the current on-line catalog and I didn't find it. Maybe reason has prevailed?

-Skip
Click to expand...
 

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Jumpmaster said:
In my flight bag, I have my pulse oximeter, my co2 detector, extra batteries for my head set (my Zulu PFX eats them like candy) and my wife’s headset, two flashlights and a head lamp, a “brick” that will recharge my IPad and IPhone in flight if needed plus my log book. I hangar my plane and have lots of other stuff - small tool bag, chocks, tie-downs, first aid kits, cover, etc. store in the baggage compartment. Most of my flying is XC over usually pretty rough terrain. I feel almost naked if I don’t fly with all this stuff.
Click to expand...

Leave the logbook at home. That's wasted weight (unless you're a sport or student pilot, or flying with a CFI for advanced instruction or a flight review, or a DPE) most of the time. :p

I belong to a club, so I fall in the category of needing to lug a flight bag each time. I've taken items out over the years, and I'm sure there are others that could be taken out now. I'd have to go dig through it to see.

BTW, I love that quote by jsstevens about maps and computers. I still carry paper (TAC, Sectional, Low Altitude Enroutes and Chart Supplement) for the PNW, simply because paper never fails. I've had batteries die and display hybrids crap out on electronic toys, but paper keeps on working. Not horribly expensive backups.
 
Skip Miller said:
@schmookeeg Only if you intend to use it in public!

I see from @Rebel Lord 's later post that the Sporty's high quality device has been made obsolete by an iPhone App. People will think you are just taking a photo of the clouds....

-Skip
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Hehe. You rascals have cost me $0.99 Today. There's even an Android version!

This seems like the perfect thing for when I have the Alt Hold set, I'm seated sideways watching a movie on the iPad, and I see upcoming cumulo-nuisance that may force me to sit up and choose a different altitude. This is quite frequent in Oregon.
 
 
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