iPad Mini vs. iPad Air?

Lachlan said:
Having to look down at the yoke for the ipadgets old fast. Suction cup mount in front of A pillar on window = awesome.
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Looking down at the yoke is not too bad, but the higher the better, so your peripheral vision has a better chance of spotting traffic.

Absolute worst is on one's lap, just waiting to fly up if unexpected turbulence is encountered. Next worse is strapped onto a kneeboard or as a knee board. In either case one's eyes are way down in your lap and unlikely to spot traffic. And in IMC that much head movement up and down can easily induce vertigo.

For me, the iPad Mini close to eye level, but only minimally blocking a small wedge of sky, is right in the sweet spot.

Big That's Just Me! (tm) Use whatever method works best for you.
 
midlifeflyer said:
That would block my passenger's view.
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It looks higher in the pic than reality. My wife is 5'0" and sees over it and around it just fine. The top is at the same height as the glare shield. Full range of control movement without touching the FlyPad. It's all about what you prefer when it comes to mounting locations.
 
Lachlan said:
It looks higher in the pic than reality. My wife is 5'0" and sees over it and around it just fine. The top is at the same height as the glare shield. Full range of control movement without touching the FlyPad. It's all about what you prefer when it comes to mounting locations.
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Of course it is :)
 
Make a cardboard cutout of both and play with different mounting locations in the plane you fly.

I personally use an IPad 2 with cell/Wi-Fi, FF, and Stratus 1. Either leave it on the glare shield or in my lap for when I need to reference it. BTW- I fly a Grumman Tiger.
 
I am also trying to decide whether to get the mini. I am currently using an iPad 1 with 16 Gb and Foreflight Pro, and it works fine, although sometimes it crashes but starts right up again, and it is just a little slow. I loaded about 1/3 of the country and that covers my needs. I also wonder about WingX, so maybe I will try a trial if available. I use a ram yolk mount with the extra piece to wrap it around the yolk from underneath, so no gauges are covered. In an Archer it fits neatly into the yolk opening and I can follow the approaches and maps up close. You know, you really do not move the yolk so much so it is pretty easy to follow the map/plates etc. I just include it in addition to my regular scan. I tried a knee strap, but didn't like the sensations of having to look down and up constantly... my knee is for a clearance pad and a checklist. So still not certain about that Mini ( 2 or 4).....
 
SkySpy said:
I am also trying to decide whether to get the mini. I am currently using an iPad 1 with 16 Gb and Foreflight Pro, and it works fine, although sometimes it crashes but starts right up again, and it is just a little slow. I loaded about 1/3 of the country and that covers my needs. I also wonder about WingX, so maybe I will try a trial if available. I use a ram yolk mount with the extra piece to wrap it around the yold from underneath, so no gauges are covered. In an Archer it fits neatly into the yolk opening and I can follow the approaches and maps up close. You know, you really do not move the yolk so much so it is pretty easy to follow the map/plates etc. I just include it in addition to my regular scan. I tried a knee strap, but didn't like the sensations of having to look down and up constantly... my knee is for a clearance pad and a checklist. So still not certain about that Mini ( 2 or 4).....
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I went from an iPad 1 to a mini three years ago and never looked back. It's much better in the cockpit. I'm impressed your iPad 1 is still limping along.
 
iPad mini is the way to go
 
Brad Z said:
I went from an iPad 1 to a mini three years ago and never looked back. It's much better in the cockpit. I'm impressed your iPad 1 is still limping along.
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Me too considering my iPad 3 takes so long to load stuff or change pages in Foreflight that I probably won't ever fly with it again. It's the backup to a Mini 3 that performs "okay" with Foreflight but I wouldn't write home raving about the speed or overall performance.

After going to the Mini, I wouldn't go back to the large format iPads for in-flight use. You still have to zoom either one of them to read the fine print on an approach plate.
 
SkySpy said:
I am also trying to decide whether to get the mini. I am currently using an iPad 1 with 16 Gb and Foreflight Pro, and it works fine, although sometimes it crashes but starts right up again, and it is just a little slow. I loaded about 1/3 of the country and that covers my needs. I also wonder about WingX, so maybe I will try a trial if available. I use a ram yolk mount with the extra piece to wrap it around the yolk from underneath, so no gauges are covered. In an Archer it fits neatly into the yolk opening and I can follow the approaches and maps up close. You know, you really do not move the yolk so much so it is pretty easy to follow the map/plates etc. I just include it in addition to my regular scan. I tried a knee strap, but didn't like the sensations of having to look down and up constantly... my knee is for a clearance pad and a checklist. So still not certain about that Mini ( 2 or 4).....
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I have a long history of questioning the real utility of a Mini in threads. My first and second iPads were full sized and I had no issues with blocking gauges. My mounting setup was similar to yours, worked well, and I though the Mini would be too small, especially for briefing approaches in instrument flight.

That ended the day I borrowed one from a friend to give it a try. Used it on an instrument currency flight and was immediately converted.
 
I already had a full sized ipad so that's what I use. What I know now, I would mount my iphone on the yoke to chase the magenta line and keep the ipad close for charts, frequencies, etc. In my opinion, I would definitely get the cellular version. If nothing else, it's nice to be able to update weather on the go and it's more useful outside the airplane.
 
Capture.PNG Cellular, iPad Mini in the Cardinal for me, on the yoke. Tried the regular size, and it just blocked a little bit too much of the panel for my tastes.
 
midlifeflyer said:
I have a long history of questioning the real utility of a Mini in threads. My first and second iPads were full sized and I had no issues with blocking gauges. My mounting setup was similar to yours, worked well, and I though the Mini would be too small, especially for briefing approaches in instrument flight.

That ended the day I borrowed one from a friend to give it a try. Used it on an instrument currency flight and was immediately converted.
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Thanks for the responses. Yours is exactly what I have experienced. Any iPad, combined with the mount will probably take upi the same space in my bag, so more uncertainty. Except for the mini 4 comments, they all seem to be a bit slow like my iPad 1. I tried a mini 2 in a sim session, and it was OK, a bit small, but very sharp screen. Hmmm what to do,,,
 
SkySpy said:
Love a clean panel. You use yours landscape, I have been using my iPad 1 portrait and it blocks very little and doesn't seem as clunky.
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I got into that habit before I got the 650 in the panel, because landscape mode let me drop another data label along the bottom. With the 650, that's not as critical. I'll try portrait mode next time up.
 
TulsaWeather said:
I got into that habit before I got the 650 in the panel, because landscape mode let me drop another data label along the bottom. With the 650, that's not as critical. I'll try portrait mode next time up.
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Portrait allows me access to the either hand on the yoke plus PTT button as well as trim.. I will try landscape next time.
 
TulsaWeather said:
View attachment 48979 Cellular, iPad Mini in the Cardinal for me, on the yoke. Tried the regular size, and it just blocked a little bit too much of the panel for my tastes.
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I can do landscape mode like that VFR, but reading approach plates in landscape mode drives me batty.

Most of the time I've found just using the iPad in my lap works for 99% of flights. If the weather is bumpy, the ram mount goes on the side window now.

I haven't used the yoke mount in a long time for the same reason. Fighting turbulence means the yoke is rotating the iPad constantly, making it harder than necessary to read anything on it.
 
Update: I have been using the iPad Air 1 on a yoke count in portrait mode and it has been great for charts and general usage. Using a window suction mount blocked too much visual and the charts need the portrait view. Thanks for everyone's advice and thoughts.
 
petrolero said:
I use the iPad Air 2, using the RAM yoke mount, but flipped upside down so the button is at the top. It doesn't block as much panel that way. It only covers up the carb temp pretty much.

I use my iPad for approach plates so I want it front and center.
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Exact same set up for the Arrow, but I do have to look over the iPad and down to view MP.
 
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