Bad Elf and iPad

drgwentzel

drgwentzel

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Kobra
Flyers,

I have an iPad2 3G, ForeFlight HD and I just purchased the Bad Elf GPS module. I also bought Sporty's thigh strap for the iPad which works great BTW.

My reason for buying the Bad Elf GPS was that I heard it is more accurate then the 3G's GPS and I thought it was WAAS enabled. I also was under the impression that if I put the iPad on standby the Bad Elf would continue the monitor my position.

Here are my issues with this GPS, the iPad, kneeboard strap and ForeFlight:

1) The Bad Elf module is at the bottom of the iPad and I feel that I am going to break it when I lift the iPad to see the display better.

2) The Bad Elf also just has to touch anything and it pops right off and usually hits the floor and leaves me scrambling with a flashlight to find it. Therefore, the Bad Elf and iPad has become more of a distraction than a help. I wrote to Bad Elf and John wrote me back and said they make it this way because Apple demands it to be an Apple Approved Device. They don't want a 3rd party accessory breaking the iPad jack...they want it to pop off easily. I don't get that...the charging jacks make a very satisfying CLICK and gets a good bite. What's the difference?

3) I can not rotate the iPad because I also use ForeFlight's Checklist Pro. This is NOT designed for the iPad. How stupid is that!? It is designed for the iPhone and it is not engineered to rotate and THAT is more short-sighted engineering. Therefore, if I rotate the iPad my checklists will be upside-down! Personally, Checklist Pro once purchased should be incorporated inside ForeFlight HD as touchable link just like the Map or Airport screens. But that's just me I guess.

4) The Bad Elf people wrote me about these issues and suggested that I purchase a 4 foot 30 pin extension cord (which has a powerful jack connection) This would upset me! Understand we pilots have many portable devices in the cockpit now. These include headsets (up to 4), GPS with traffic, weather, XM music and electronic flightbags. The problem with this is that each one of these requires wires, wires and more wires. One for the GPS power, on for the GPS antenna, one for the GPS XM/weather, sometimes one for traffic and at least two wires *for each* headset! I am literally sitting in a web of wires!! Now the iPad (if fully charged) at least requires no wires! So adding yet another wire is *not* desirable and that wire would have to go forward toward the dash so the Bad Elf can see the sky. This is why I bought the Bad Elf over others that required wires or at least it did not require charging like the Bluetooth options, which gives yet at least two more failure points (Bluetooth and charging).

Bottom lines are these:

1) The Bad Elf's jack is under-engineered. It does not make a solid connection with the iPad's jack and falls out VERY easily

2) ForeFlight needs to get off their butts and port Checklist Pro to the iPad and make it rotatable. At LEAST they need to provide an update to the iPhone app that allows it to rotate.

Anyone else find these frustrations?

Gene
 
Everyone I've talked to is using a cable. It gets the Elf up on the glareshield so it can see more of the sky.

But I see way more folks using the on-board GPS.

Cable management in cockpits with lots of gadgets is a challenge. Trying to keep them clear of egress paths as well as the fire extinguisher is a pain. Those Velcro cable ties work pretty good when I remember to bring 'em.
 
Gene, use internal GPS and all frustration will go away. I'm flying C182 and have never had a problem with iPad internal GPS. If you have WiFi only iPad buy Bluetooth GPS. No physical connection with iPad is required. Check out other threads on this forum for details.
 
The Bad Elf is MUCH better and more GPS reception capable and signal stable than the internal GPS.

I don't use a cable because I want to be able to position the ipad without moving the cable around...just turn the ipad so the Bad Elf is at the 'top' of the unit while you hold it and lock the screen there for whatever program you use in flight.

The ipad turns on and boots up in the normal way, and my Foreflight loads and displays with the Bad Elf at the top. BTW the Bad Elf has never fallen off of the ipad while using it in the plane YMMV
 
Your frustration with Bad-Elf is the reason I purchased one of the bluetooth alternatives.

I frankly don't care at all about the availability of a checklist within FF. I still use my own - still generally like them printed but have begun to use them as pdfs in GoodReader.
 
DutchessFlier said:
The Bad Elf is MUCH better and more GPS reception capable and signal stable than the internal GPS.

. . . YMMV
Click to expand...

Are you using an Ipad 1? Do you fly a high performance plane?
I ask because my Ipad 2 in my pokey little Cessna 172 has no problem with the internal GPS. Even with the high wing and at ground speeds almost 150knots (with tail wind of course) I get good GPS response. The only problem comes when someone in the back seat is using it and does not hold it near a window. But anywhere in the front works great.

My only problem is that I don't have a good mount for the Ipad so it does get in the way at times. But my back seat is usually empty, so I just set it on the back seat next to my binoculars so that I can easily reach for them when I want them. But I realize this could be a hazard under some situations. I might rig up a floor basket to contain them.
 
JOhnH said:
Are you using an Ipad 1? Do you fly a high performance plane?
I ask because my Ipad 2 in my pokey little Cessna 172 has no problem with the internal GPS. Even with the high wing and at ground speeds almost 150knots (with tail wind of course) I get good GPS response. The only problem comes when someone in the back seat is using it and does not hold it near a window. But anywhere in the front works great.

My only problem is that I don't have a good mount for the Ipad so it does get in the way at times. But my back seat is usually empty, so I just set it on the back seat next to my binoculars so that I can easily reach for them when I want them. But I realize this could be a hazard under some situations. I might rig up a floor basket to contain them.
Click to expand...

I bought a BT GPS when I got my iPad2 but I haven't used it since the first time I flew with the iPad. The GPS in the iP2 has no problems locking on and maintaining an accurate position from anywhere inside the cockpit of my slightly less pokey B55 so I've just never felt the need for an external one and wish I hadn't wasted the money.
 
I have a bad elf, but haven't used it since I bought the 3G iPad. Well, I take that back. The internal GPS doesn't acquire well at 30,000 ft in a human mailing tube...so I plug it in to track my commercial flights. Other than that, I've never had a problem with the internal GPS. I would suggest you ditch it. Accuracy isn't a problem with the internal GPS.

FWIW, Jesse dropped his last iPad right on the GPS with the bad elf plugged in and it damaged his jack. Apple replaced it...but his jack did get damaged.
 
I use the bad elf -- and mount the iPad on the upper windshield via RAM mount. Never had a problem under that setup.

If I was using the iPad as a kneeboard, I'd totally go with a bluetooth GPS, for the reasons you cite. If I used the bad elf, I'd attach it to the iPad via a string so that I could reattach it without looking down.
 
Too late I know, but I you probably should have opted for on of the two blue tooth GPS options which you could just set on the glare shield.

As far as checklists go, you can type out your checklist or scan in as a pdf document and then import into ForeFlight on your iPad using their BYOP method.

http://www.foreflight.com/byop
 
John,

You said mounting the iPad is an issue? I use Sportys thigh strap and it works great in my Cessna Cardinal. It does not get in the way of the yoke.


http://www.sportys.com/PilotShop/product/16151


Gene Wentzel

JOhnH said:
Are you using an Ipad 1? Do you fly a high performance plane?
I ask because my Ipad 2 in my pokey little Cessna 172 has no problem with the internal GPS. Even with the high wing and at ground speeds almost 150knots (with tail wind of course) I get good GPS response. The only problem comes when someone in the back seat is using it and does not hold it near a window. But anywhere in the front works great.

My only problem is that I don't have a good mount for the Ipad so it does get in the way at times. But my back seat is usually empty, so I just set it on the back seat next to my binoculars so that I can easily reach for them when I want them. But I realize this could be a hazard under some situations. I might rig up a floor basket to contain them.
Click to expand...
 
I use Bad Elf with a Sporty's kneeboard, not the strap only. I rotate the iPad 180 degrees, to keep the Elf towards the panel. ForeFlight rotates just fine, I do not use their checklist. AOPA/ForeFlight A/FD does not rotate. But now that ForeFlight has incorporated the AFD into the Nav program, that is not an issue.
 
I had an iPad without the internal GPS using the BadElf and it was a highly annoying unreliable setup. I was constantly knocking the bad elf out of the iPad. I couldn't make it through a single flight. Finally one day it slipped off my lap onto the floor of teh airplane and hit GPS first which busted the iPad.

Apple replaced my iPad and this time I paid to upgrade to a model with the integrated GPS. It has worked flawlessly and always gets a lock within a few seconds. Even if I have the iPad off and turn it on mid flight it locks on without issue. Works great. Absolutely no reason to be messing with an external GPS.
 
I went with the Bad Elf because I opted for the WiFi-only iPad after reading complaints about the internal GPS. I've since flown with the 3G version and the internal GPS worked fine (on the only flight I've tried it.)

I, too, rotate the ipad inverted so the Bad Elf is at the top. I opted to use a RAM mount and stick it to a window rather than have it down low, so have never had an issue with it popping off. But you're right, it does slip off easily if bumped. Overall, I'm very satisfied with my setup and love the RAM mount for it.

I also agree ForeFlight should either make the checklist app native to the iPad or integrate it into ForeFlight. That's why I haven't bought it. I think I am going to integrate the checklists into a PDF and go that route, since

I've setup iBooks collections for all manuals for any aircraft/avionics that I or any of my students have in their airplanes. That way I have a quick reference available anytime, anywhere.
 
I am working on a holder the hold my bad elf on my iPad 2. I'll show the results when I am done. (I am having the same problem). The holder will be attached to a speck case then the bad elf will slide into the holder. It should keep it from getting knocked out so easy. I was going to have something made but after looking at the cost decided to do it myself. If it works well I am going to make a mold of it so I can reproduce them.

Keith
 
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