I Pad Use - Overheating Protection Needed, other Tips?

WDD

WDD

Final Approach
PoA Supporter
Joined
Oct 16, 2019
Messages
6,166
Location
Atlanta / Marietta
Display Name
Display name:
Vintage Snazzy (so my adult children say)
Hello - now that we're into summer, would welcome tips on using I Pad on summer days.

I'll be flying either a Skyhawk or Tiger - both have a solid "top", unlike a bubble canopy that would let in more heat. When I use the I Pad I have it taking power from the USB power outlet on the plane.

Have you ever had an I Pad over heat when attached to window via a Ram mount?

I'm wondering if the battery driven fan cooling ram case is worth it / needed.

Also, any other hot weather tips on using I Pad?

Thanks!
 
I have had an ipad overhead left on the right seat in the sun. You cannot put them in direct sunlight. I have a cover on it, so I flip that over and/or put a cloth over it to help shade it.

If you have a mount, I'm not sure what to tell you. Fly west in the morning and east in the evening?
 
Maybe then a small white dish towel draped in back of the mount / back of the I pad? When it's mounted, the face will never be in the direct sun BTW.
 
I keep a cheap Android tablet as a backup for WHEN the iPad over heats
 
I've got a Sportcruiser, so the same bubble canopy (aka: oven). My iphone AND ipad overheated due to direct sunlight. Keeping them shaded helps quite a bit as the glass absorbs a lot of heat. I also changed mounts, away from the RAM mount (that you can drill large holes into to help with heat) to a Lycan series universal tablet holder you can get off of Amazon for $20.

I am contemplating a AA battery powered computer fan or USB powered fan to add to the back of either the mount or phone/ipad to see if that helps with heat control. That would certainly be a lot cheaper than $200 for a dedicated iPad mount with build-in cooling fans.83DE08FE-8D2C-4032-8E3C-38FBCDE86AA4.jpeg
 
I wish there was a 'Pro' version with reasonable temperature specs.
 
I've had mine overheat.

honestly I leave it off and in the shade unless I need to reference it for a frequency or an airport diagram or approach plate or something

Is there any reason to leave it on the whole time and plugged into the USB? It seems that is when it gets the hottest, when it is on and when it is charging

just leave it charged at home, it should easily last any one to two hour flight even if you leave it on the whole time
 
Mine will overheat from about May to September here in Massachusetts if there is sun on it. I use it on a knee board. What I do is point an eyeball vent directly at it and make sure it is wide open, blowing lots of air. That prevents it from overheating. Fortunately my IPAD is back up for charts in info in the airplane I fly.
 
I fly out of Inyokern in the middle of the Mojave Desert with an iPad Mini 4. In my work plane where I keep it on a knee board, it overheats regularly even though The plane is climate controlled. In my personal plane (a Debonair), I have an xNaut cooling mount on my control arm in the center of my cockpit. Even though my Debonair is not temperature controlled like my work plane, I have never had my iPad overheat in the xNaut. The xNaut cooling case, though very expensive, is completely worth it and prevents my iPad from overheating, even on the hottest summer days.
 
I had a brand new Pro 10.5 get so hot flying here in Texas that it shut down and the screen cracked! Apple gave me a new one. They told me the screen cracked because the battery swelled up.
 
I also use the XNaut cooling holder for my iPad mini 4. It allows me to run full screen brightness and even when charging it stays cool. I use a 5 VDC converter to run the XNaut fans thus saving the internal AA batteries.
 
I also use the XNaut, works great except when you forget to turn it on. But it will cool down an overheating ipad fairly quickly.
 
Well. Looks like I’ll see about getting an X Naut. Do the older models allow for usb power or is that only the newer models
 
I once saw a page where someone modified a RAM mount to add a fan, but I cannot find it now.
 
+1 for X-Naut. I have the one with both batteries and USB power - works really well.
 
WDD said:
Well. Looks like I’ll see about getting an X Naut. Do the older models allow for usb power or is that only the newer models
Click to expand...
I don’t know if there were any differences in old ones. I got mine new from Sporty’s about three years ago and it had the USB power. I also got a dual USB charger That goes in a cigarette lighter from them- use one plug for the xNaut and one to charge the iPad. It is a great combo- you will love it.
 
WDD said:
Hello - now that we're into summer, would welcome tips on using I Pad on summer days.

I'll be flying either a Skyhawk or Tiger - both have a solid "top", unlike a bubble canopy that would let in more heat. When I use the I Pad I have it taking power from the USB power outlet on the plane.

Have you ever had an I Pad over heat when attached to window via a Ram mount?

I'm wondering if the battery driven fan cooling ram case is worth it / needed.

Also, any other hot weather tips on using I Pad?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Mine is on a Ram mount to the upper left above the glare shield. Will overheat if the sun is on it.
I have a kneeboard as an alternate in those situations. Has never overheated when I have it there no matter what.
 
My iPad overheats when it gets direct sunlight, big problem. Usually I just turn it off, put it in my lap out of the sun and turn it on a few minutes later. I've always carried a backup, right now I have a second iPad I keep out of the sun that I can turn on. I always load my route on it when I fly.
 
I’ve used an iPad with Foreflight since 2011 without ever experiencing an overheat. What I believe has allowed this is simple:

Both of them have been white.
I have used a light blue rubber case that makes it sticky on the back.
I simply set it on my lap and it doesn’t slip around.
The last thing is that I make a point of not walking off and leaving it setting in the direct sunlight.

Easy Peasy!
 
I've had the problem once. It overheated, after being in the sun, on the way home from lunch. Fortunately, I'm in Nebraska, where they drew the lines indicating north/south and east/west roughly every 1/60 of a degree on the ground. I also noted my course and the distance before I left. I just flew the course, and counted squares on the ground. I needed 72 squares to get to the intersection of the Platte River and I-80. If I went too far south, I'd see I-80 and follow it home. I also know I would cross the Platte before then and I could follow that, too.

After about 10 minutes in cooler air, I tried again- the iPad worked, and I was only 1 square off from where I expected to be.
 
The first time I had that joy was departing out of Teterboro into the Hudson river corridor. A bit disconcerting, but in reality you are so busy switching frequencies and looking out the window to not hit anything solid that the map isn't all that important.
 
Direct sunlight on the screen will shut one down even in cold weather. Cap'N Jack was lucky...we don't have those squares in the Southeast.
 
Similar to others, I have a yoke mount for my iPad pro. It's on until cruise, then on as needed, then on again for approach briefing and all the way to landing. The time in between I leave it by the side of my leg so that it can get cool air. I also have a backup battery for charging and my iPhone will all the same info/capabilities just in a smaller version.

This works for me now, but if I end up doing more long trips in IMC then I may get an iPad mini or something as a backup (well, primary backup).
 
Doug Reid said:
Direct sunlight on the screen will shut one down even in cold weather. Cap'N Jack was lucky...we don't have those squares in the Southeast.
Click to expand...
Good to know it can absorb that much heat in winter. Kansas, Eastern CO, and Iowa also marked out those squares, too
 
They sell window film that blocks heat from sunlight...I am not sure if they would work as a screen protector...if they are not too reflective, maybe.
 
Duct tape, a zip lock bag, mini gel ice packs, a good insulated coffee mug.
 
I built my own fan-cooled Ram mount. It is designed to run off of a USB outlet in the plane, but you could easily use a USB battery "brick" instead. I've used it many times while running Foreflight, and never has the iPad overheated.

cooler mount 1 (rotated).jpg cooler mount 2 (rotated).jpg
 
SoCal 182 Driver said:
I built my own fan-cooled Ram mount. It is designed to run off of a USB outlet in the plane, but you could easily use a USB battery "brick" instead. I've used it many times while running Foreflight, and never has the iPad overheated.

View attachment 86563 View attachment 86564
Click to expand...

Nice - how did you do that, what materials did you use, where did you get them? Standard PC fans? How did you wire? THANKS!
 
WDD said:
Nice - how did you do that, what materials did you use, where did you get them? Standard PC fans? How did you wire? THANKS!
Click to expand...

Pretty simple. They're standard 5-volt computer fans that can be bought just about anyplace that sells computer components. I think I may have bought those on Amazon, IIRC. Simple wiring...red to power, black to ground. If you cut the end off an old USB cable, you'll see black and red wires. I connected the black fan wires to the black USB cable wire. The red fan wires were connected to the red USB wire. Heat shrink tubing was put over all of the connections. The mount is a standard Ram Roll'r mount (the one shown is for an iPad Mini 2). I used a Dremel with a cutting wheel to remove one of the Ram base mounting points. The holes for the fans were cut with an appropriately-sized Forstner bit, but a hole saw would probably also work. The mounting holes for the fan screws were countersunk.

Totaled up...I think I have about $30-ish in parts (including the mount) and it took me about an hour to assemble. I built a larger one for my iPad Air 2, with four fans, but I don't have any pictures. Same principles, however.

HTH.
 
I use an iPad 4 mini for my drone flying and without fail every day it will overheat, sometimes in just the ambient air temps walking around outside.
 
X Naut looks to have set ups for drone operations BTW.
 
Ipad or iPhone, turn off everything not essential to flight. here's a good place to start.
 
I run 2 IPad Mini’s in my Bonanza and have installed both with G-Force suction mounts. I tried every imaginable device out there, including an X-Naut, and the IPads still overheated in the Summer. I think the G-Force mounts simply allow the IPads to “breath” as unrestricted air is allowed to circulate around them. YMMV, but this approach works for me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top