iPad choices, small single engine GA

For small aircraft, which size ipad/tablet do you use/like? (pick the closest size if other)

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Brad W

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Please respond in mind referencing primary use in small typical GA planes
and choose based on what you prefer, not necessarily what you have (if you own a mini but really wish that you instead had a 10.9 inch, then choose 10.9)

I'm thinking about buying an ipad soon. I know I've seen tons of thread on this general tablet topic, but I don't recall any recent...and I don't recall any polls that would give a nice statistical graphic showing what SIZE "most" folks tend to like

I just pulled the sizes/choices from the apple site listing all models. I recon if you're using android, just pick the closest size)
I've been out of the Apple world and have been using android stuff for many years now. My last idevice was a iphone 3G and my last macs were replaced by Chromebook many years ago now...so I'm not really up to speed with pros and cons of the current lines, even though my kids all have iphones....

A few years ago when i was flying, I tried running Garmin pilot on an android tablet, and while the tablet seemed fine, I was un-impressed with teh experience. It seems that a lot of folks like the foreflight thing, so I'm thinking of giving that a try...but I also understand that Garmin pilot was (still is?) better on IOS
 
Where do you want this mounted? That makes a big difference in the desired type, IMO. For instance, on my 182 I have a yoke mounted I-pad...therefore I chose a mini to avoid obscuration of panel instruments. If I were to mount one on the panel I would choose the largest that will fit in the designated area.
 
IPad Mini 6. Used a mini 4 for years but the screen on the 6 is much improved. I like it so much I ordered a second one for the other plane a few days ago and built a mount for it yesterday.

PS- I also have an iPad Pro. Too big for my space. If I had room I’d have used it but I spent another $600 for another Mini. That’s a pretty good testament to my liking them. The Mini is plenty big for a flight app. If you need to see detail? Pinch it open to zoom.
 

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ateamer said:
Mini. It’s big enough to read accurately, and takes up less space. Even in my buddy’s Lance, I wouldn’t want anything bigger than a Mini.
Click to expand...
ha ha...I should have somehow figured a way to stipulate if that's based on young eyes or old ones that require granny readers :)

robin ardoin said:
Where do you want this mounted? That makes a big difference in the desired type, IMO. For instance, on my 182 I have a yoke mounted I-pad...therefore I chose a mini to avoid obscuration of panel instruments. If I were to mount one on the panel I would choose the largest that will fit in the designated area.
Click to expand...
valid point. My initial thought here though was what do most folks use or like...as an aggregate only limited to smaller GA type aircraft, not really drilling down so much...but yeah, I'm not entirely sure for my case. Most likely I recon I'll use mine as a knee board...but since I have little experience with all of this, that could very well change!
 
I fly with trifocals. The mini on the yoke is perfect for the near vision lens, the panel is perfect for mid range the vision lens. However, on the panel the mini would be a little small for my eyes.
 
The iPad size is more about fitting on the yoke, the larger ones can be more difficult to fit and they tend to get in the way.

I have an iPhone and iPad and I just use my iPhone. It’s a bit small but it has what I need. My buddy uses an iPad Pro and that looks pretty nice and he has a mount that is easy to use and fits.
 
As an older pilot the 10.9 works fine for these old eyes. I’m flying a C150. I also used it in a liberty xl2
 
10.9 inch iPad Air 4. It's roughly the same size I've been using for years, since the original iPad came out.

It mounts in the same place I used to mount my sectional charts - in my lap.

In the King Air it mounts on the yoke, but it would be took big for that in other GA airplanes.
 
I'm using a mini 5. As others have said, big enough to work, small enough to fit anywhere (I keep mine on the yoke). I considered upgrading to the mini 6 but for now, the 5 works great.
 
I actually have two - an iPad Pro 10.9 in a mount in front of my copilot's seat. Plus an iPad Mini that stays on my knee. I like having the route of flight and numbers on the larger one - and then can use the smaller one to look stuff up or consider what if scenarios if I want to change my routes.

Dean
 
It depends. I have both a Mini 6 and an iPad 9.

In CAP C-182s, I use the larger iPad on a yoke mount. But have flown with a Mini on a suction cup to the left lower windshield.

In my Mooney, I use my Mini, yoke mounted. My ex-GF did use the larger iPad in the Mooney, but to watch movies downloaded from NetFlix. :D
 
I have a mini on a kneeboard that I used when renting. Now I use it as a backup to the 740b on my panel. The size is fine but the screen is too dim. Make sure whatever you get is bright enough. Glare can be pretty harsh on a kneeboard, and direct sunlight can easily make an iPad overheat.
 
iPad mini, perfect size for most yokes or map pockets.
 
What kind of airplane? What kind of panel? I have both an ipad mini and an ipad pro. The pro is mounted on the panel and the mini is in the pilot side window. I fly a 182 with a Dynon/Garmin panel.

The IPAD pro stays on the moving map showing traffic and weather from my Dynon HDX. I think it's great to get my passenger involved in traffic spotting and situational awareness.

The mini mounts on my window near the glareshield. I use this as a general do it all, but now that I'm used to the Dynon screen I use it less. I'm starting IFR training in the next few months so I expect it will gain new use cases.
 
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Brad W said:
ha ha...I should have somehow figured a way to stipulate if that's based on young eyes or old ones that require granny readers :)


valid point. My initial thought here though was what do most folks use or like...as an aggregate only limited to smaller GA type aircraft, not really drilling down so much...but yeah, I'm not entirely sure for my case. Most likely I recon I'll use mine as a knee board...but since I have little experience with all of this, that could very well change!
Click to expand...
Oh, trust me, I know. I have to use readers, too.
 
IPad mini. Anything bigger is too big in the cockpit IMO.
 
I mount on the yoke. Stays out of the view of the avionics. So for me, a mini is perfect.
 

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Another vote for the mini. I use a yoke mount in a variety of airplanes. You may not like it as a knee board if you can't get full movement of the yoke without hitting it... depends on your seat position and perhaps the airplane.
 
I put my I pad with a RAM mount on the windshield by the left door pillar. A few inches from my face, perfect glancing to the left and getting what I need to know. 1) I have "old" eyes, and 2) I voted for the mini.

BTW - you could save some money by buying used from Gazelle.
 
Brad W said:
Please respond in mind referencing primary use in small typical GA planes
and choose based on what you prefer, not necessarily what you have (if you own a mini but really wish that you instead had a 10.9 inch, then choose 10.9)

I'm thinking about buying an ipad soon. I know I've seen tons of thread on this general tablet topic, but I don't recall any recent...and I don't recall any polls that would give a nice statistical graphic showing what SIZE "most" folks tend to like

I just pulled the sizes/choices from the apple site listing all models. I recon if you're using android, just pick the closest size)
I've been out of the Apple world and have been using android stuff for many years now. My last idevice was a iphone 3G and my last macs were replaced by Chromebook many years ago now...so I'm not really up to speed with pros and cons of the current lines, even though my kids all have iphones....

A few years ago when i was flying, I tried running Garmin pilot on an android tablet, and while the tablet seemed fine, I was un-impressed with teh experience. It seems that a lot of folks like the foreflight thing, so I'm thinking of giving that a try...but I also understand that Garmin pilot was (still is?) better on IOS
Click to expand...
1693256271626.jpeg
 
seems like lots of you are yoke mounting them. Now that I'm thinking back on it, yeah, I used to have a little clip that would attach to the yoke for paper charts...and yes that was a better choice for instrument approach plates...having them closer to the line of sight. I guess I was thinking more about VFR use.... but if it fits well on the yoke, yeah I get it.

& I guess I'll have to assume that a lot of you mini users are using foreflight..... I was thinking just now that how the software lays out the screens would have a huge role in how well the screen size works
 
Centered. iPad mini compared to an Aera 500. Hard to see? I’ve never thought so.
 

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Another option is to use your iPhone, especially if you have a bigger (max) version, I mounted mine on the glare shield in line with the windshield post. I still use the iPad for planning purposes.
 
Brad W said:
seems like lots of you are yoke mounting them. Now that I'm thinking back on it, yeah, I used to have a little clip that would attach to the yoke for paper charts...and yes that was a better choice for instrument approach plates...having them closer to the line of sight. I guess I was thinking more about VFR use.... but if it fits well on the yoke, yeah I get it.

& I guess I'll have to assume that a lot of you mini users are using foreflight..... I was thinking just now that how the software lays out the screens would have a huge role in how well the screen size works
Click to expand...
I have a mount a mini to the yoke thing, don’t remember the manufacturer. At Staples I got some ‘clips’ that I could put on the mini that let me clip paper Charts onto it. Right there in my scan without swiveling my head around (can you spell vertigo boys and girls.)
 
Having my Ipad on the yoke was just ok for me during VFR flight. It is constantly moving when it is on the yoke and you have to look down to use it, not so good for IFR flying, like said VERTIGO.
Mini is the best size for me.
My buddy who is a airline pilot carry's his larger I pad and asks me to hold it in my lap when I fly with him in his cheerokee or arrow. It is too big and bulky for comfortable use in a smaller GA aircraft.

I like mine on a ram mount on the left windscreen right in my face. I have well over 1300 hrs with it now in this spot. It is still a mini 4 from 2015. Works good for me. I also use it update my GPS with garmin database concierge.
IMG_7576.JPG

It does not block much of my view out the windows in this spot for me.
IMG_9321.JPG

Here's how I did it back in the olden days... lol
004_28.jpg
 
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A lot of where you want to put it depends on how you intend to use it. Are you treating it as an extra display screen, or are you treating it like a kneeboard, to reference occasionally, look stuff up, and make notes on?

If it's something you're going to use mostly as a static display (meaning the same moving map showing most of the time), then mounting somewhere on the panel or on a pillar/etc., seems reasonable. It's easy enough to pinch and zoom to look at traffic or airspace and so on.

If, however, you plan to use it to look a lot of stuff up, and take notes (like clearances), then at least for me, that's hard to comfortably do with my arm extended to reach one mounted on the panel. For that purpose, yoke or lap is likely better. Of course, it all depends on your exact situation, size, airplane, and comfort level.

As a CFI, my iPad is often in my lap. It works great there as a CFI to take notes and look things up. And for me, the 10-11 inch iPad works great for that. However, the limiting factor in "lap mounting" is, shall we say, the belly-to-yoke distance. If you have short legs or, ahem, a "long belt", then this won't work.

In the King Air, we have yoke mounts. These seem to work okay, although they do still block views of some of the switches. This position is good enough for writing on (except when the other pilot turns the yoke, as we do operate a two-pilot crew). These mounts are removable, and I will sometimes fly with it in my lap, which works better in many ways, for me.
 
MooneyDriver78 said:
Another option is to use your iPhone, especially if you have a bigger (max) version, I mounted mine on the glare shield in line with the windshield post. I still use the iPad for planning purposes.
Click to expand...

A guy in my CAP squadron does this. It works well for him.
 
8" android tablet, on a kneeboard. Can't put it on the yoke because my plane doesn't have a yoke, can't put it on the panel because it affects the compass. I also have a mount for my phone to the right of the panel, using a bicycle handlebar mount clamped to a frame tube for backup. Same software (Avare) on both.
 
wow, the poll numbers say something for sure....no hint of a bell curve forming!
 
iPad mini 5 on the yoke for me. Having to look all the way down to a kneeboard to see the approach plate is not my idea of a good time.
 
mini is the way to go - often I mount it on the co-pilot yoke and yaw it towards me. Assumes aircraft already has a GPS in the panel.
 
Guess I'm in the minority: I prefer the full sized (10.9") iPad up front.
Only thing is that I have to lean 1-2" forward to see are MP/RPM. Aside from that everything is better with the full sized iPad IMHO (checking IAP, navigation, airport info, and def if you use the scratchpad feature to take down ATIS and things). Whether iPad Mini or full size, just be sure to get ForeFlight. It's the best.

1693501416141.png
 
I'm thinking I might go to an apple store some day and see if I can load foreflight on it as a trial...just so that I can see it for my self before I commit. Hard for me to imagine with such a small screen size, but I recon how it's presented on screen makes a difference.

I have an android tablet I bought a couple years ago, with a 10.1inch screen size and it seems pretty small to me...but I haven't used it in flight much at all. I tried it with garmin pilot but was focusing on air and pattern work with a CFI at the time so didn't really use it. I did not like Garmin Pilot on android though... I know that much. My tablet has got an odd case with a speaker bulge on one side, so its weird. A Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab. Thinking about trying iFly on it for a bit...but it really seems like the general consensus is Apple iPad rules for this application because of foreflight. Anyway, trying iFly on my android will at least give me a better feel for size in the cockpit.
 
MooneyDriver78 said:
Another option is to use your iPhone, especially if you have a bigger (max) version, I mounted mine on the glare shield in line with the windshield post. I still use the iPad for planning purposes.
Click to expand...
For VFR its more than enough. Currently an iPhone 12 Pro Max. It also shows traffic and WX via ADSB in. Key is to have is as close to your eyes as possible.

38529655302_f727d7791e_b.jpg
 
I have a mini in a knee board but I’d much prefer a mounted 12” pro. I guess it matters how you use it too.
 
I dislike anything on the yoke. I use a stanard iPad (10.2/10.9) and it sits on the seat (if solo) or in my lap or my wife holds it.
 
re the phone
well, yes...that's a thought...especially for just VFR use
except I'm still running with Android. Haven't had an iphone for many years (since the 3G model)
14 Pro Max is a 6.7 inch screen. A healthy step down from my 10.1 inch tablet...but 1.6 inches smaller than the ever so popular iPad mini....and only a hair bigger than my current phone, a 6.55 inch screen.
Pros would be a true multitasker and I'd get a lot of use out of it
and I have been thinking that maybe my next phone whenever it becomes time might maybe be an apple
but huge cons.... or is it a small con?....it's awfully small and would require a ton of zooming in an out.... and pretty much requires reading glasses
 
Guess it depends how you plan on using it, I don’t use it often for maps since I already have several options, so don’t have to change the zoom. I agree to having it higher and closer to your eyes is better. But yes, I need to use glasses these days.

e7851e23765434536f4f1e657cf40134.jpg
 
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