Ppl iPad question

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FutureFly

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FutureFly
When choosing to learn from an freind of mine, elderly independent CFI of many years, has his own 152, will fly to where he leaves, told me he would teach he the basics for ppl during my week stay. Upstate NY. At what point during flight lessons do most people start learning to use an IPad during flying? In this digital age, Is it practical to NOT want to use one at all during PPL and only choose to if one progressed through IFR and beyond? Asking since I don’t have an iPad and to me it would make sense to focus on flying basics first then incorporate iPad operations comfortably and safely.
 
These days, an EFB is so prevalent in flying that you can expect to learn the basics well before your PPL. Exactly when depends on the instructor but, generally speaking, I think it should be done at about the same time you would be learning paper charts in the old days. It even varied with paper. Some instructors began early to start making simple connections between what's depicted on a Sectional and what you are seeing out the window gong to and from the practice area; others will wait until closer to solo. The same is going to be true of an EFB. Plus, some instructors will want to start with paper charts; others will go right to the EFB. There are advantages to both methods.
 
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sourdough44 said:
So you are talking of a first week of basic flying, initial? If so, I wouldn’t be thinking one second about needing an iPad. Of course an iPad can be handy for checking stuff/weather, download some helpful free training aids, etc..
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Correct. I’m currently in ground online school now. Will complete it before heading to fly with him, not sure how much flying we will be able to accomplish due to weather. But his offer was very generous to want to teach me the basics.
 
Back in the day, one started with flying. Of course an iPad is very helpful, but back up to this one week of ‘seemingly’ free instruction, as weather allows.

Go fly.
 
I would venture to guess that one could progress past PPL and just short of IFR without ever having to use an iPad/EFB. The main barrier is that charts expire every 28 days therefore keeping them updated gets tedious and expensive.
 
I got my PPL without ever using an ipad and still don't have one. I did paper flight plans and used sectional charts for cross countries. I filed flight plans through the internet or called using my phone. The plane I flew had a GPS, and I used that as back-up nav on cross countries, but got through PPL just fine sans ipad/EFB.

If this is your first week of flying, I can't think of a single reason you'd need one. I'm going to guess that almost all of your flying will be within the traffic pattern or a very small radius of the airport. Have fun!
 
I hope you get in the air twice a day for an hour or so each

Did he give you a flight training syllabus? Usually it gives you a goal for each lesson, allowing you to prepare a little bit
 
Maybe not initially but in a small cockpit EFBs make life easier. Especially, in the cross-country phase. If you’re ever wrestled a sectional chart in a 150 with your instructor in the right seat, you know what I mean.
 
An ipad, tablet, or EFB is not required at any point in PPL training or checkride.
 
asicer said:
The main barrier is that charts expire every 28 days therefore keeping them updated gets tedious and expensive.
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Aviation sectional charts expire every 56 days. They cost about ten dollars or so. When you take your checkride, if you are using an iPad or other electronic device, don't be surprised if the examiner tells you your battery has died or the device overheated, so what's your backup? Paper charts may expire, but they are still very useful and it is advised to have a current sectional when you take the checkride. The examiner may allow you to use a tablet, but will want to know what you have for backup if it fails.

For your first week of training, you will be focusing on airplane controls and simple maneuvers, and no chart will be required until much later in the training.
 
Gilbert Buettner said:
Aviation sectional charts expire every 56 days. They cost about ten dollars or so. When you take your checkride, if you are using an iPad or other electronic device, don't be surprised if the examiner tells you your battery has died or the device overheated, so what's your backup? Paper charts may expire, but they are still very useful and it is advised to have a current sectional when you take the checkride. The examiner may allow you to use a tablet, but will want to know what you have for backup if it fails.

For your first week of training, you will be focusing on airplane controls and simple maneuvers, and no chart will be required until much later in the training.
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If I were a DPE, I KNOW I would do that. :D
 
Gilbert Buettner said:
, don't be surprised if the examiner tells you your battery has died or the device overheated, so what's your backup?
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I tell my students that for the most part the examiner doesn’t have to do anything for distractions or to make things more difficult. I have seen way more EFB die, overheat, glitch out, just not work, on checkrides than examiners ever saying it failed, now what do you do.

To the OP No requirement for an EFB unless you just want one. If you know how to use paper charts then using EFB’s is quite easy and helpful. If you can’t use paper charts very well, you will struggle with the EFB on the checkride, because the examiners know how to put you in situations where you need to know how to get information that EFB’s don’t do very well.

You should see the panic in some student’s eyes when the examiner says, Plan a flight to XYZ, Calculate with the winds at 340 @ 22 kts at your cruising altitude. (Instead of using the actual forecast winds)

One examiner I use says he actually had this happen when a reporting station somehow glitched and was reporting inaccurate winds (or no winds) showing up on the EFB. A call to Flight Service basically said the winds were so unusual that the system had shut down, but the winds were really something like 230@45kts.


Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
 
First, congrats on having a friend offering to take you up for initial training! Sounds like a good guy to know.

I'll echo what everyone said about not needing or wanting to deal with a tablet in the first week of training. I'll add that in upstate NY, you won't need one to know where you are. There are plenty of hills, rivers, water and other landmarks that you should easily be able to keep track of where you are. My advice - keep your eyes outside as much as possible, and enjoy yourself. Get a logbook, and make sure to get the time you spend up in the air logged. Weather up here has been pretty good so far this spring, if a little windy. Enjoy that, and you might get some experience in crosswind t/o and landing while you're at it.

Have fun, listen to your CFI, and I'd suggest being the guy to buy lunch every day.
 
FutureFly said:
When choosing to learn from an freind of mine, elderly independent CFI of many years, has his own 152, will fly to where he leaves, told me he would teach he the basics for ppl during my week stay. Upstate NY. At what point during flight lessons do most people start learning to use an IPad during flying? In this digital age, Is it practical to NOT want to use one at all during PPL and only choose to if one progressed through IFR and beyond? Asking since I don’t have an iPad and to me it would make sense to focus on flying basics first then incorporate iPad operations comfortably and safely.
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Like what everyone has already said, you surely don't need an ipad at during training, especially your first week of training.

The first few weeks will be like drinking out of a fire hose. Plenty to think about and to learn. You won't have time to think about the i pad at first.
If you only have a week, pay attention to the flying and get a ipad down the road some.
 
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Get the flying down ,have some fun after solo,then worry about an I pad. Also get familiar with steam gauges so you have an out if your battery on the I pad dies.
 
M2C Get an I Pad and ForeFlight. Dig into it and become very familiar with its features. You'll teach yourself to become very aware of the weather forecasts and winds as well as "almost current" weather. You'll get into a habit of looking out for TFR's, MOA's, classes of airspaces you'll fly in and around. Got to read those NOTAMs. Runway lengths and conditions?

And that's just things on the ground. Used in the air you'll not only have situational awareness but also be able to see other traffic via ADSB.
 
A lot of the fun of learning is spreading out a sectional on a table and learning how to read it. Pinching, zooming, and panning aren’t nearly as fun. There’s usually a way to fold it so it doesn’t take up a lot of space, even in a 150. Tuck it under your leg if you need to keep it out of the way. Draw on it, mark it up. Note the 10nm landmarks around your field. There’s nothing wrong with learning how to use old school technology.

Do students still learn how to use protractors and E6Bs for calculating magnetic headings an courses?
 
PaulS said:
Learn how to fly the plane, then figure out how to integrate the IPAD into the cockpit. Too much to learn while training to be screwing around with an Ipad.
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This is spot on, too much to learn to be playing around with an iPad. Learn how to fly the airplane. You can preflight on a computer and print out some charts. The iPad is helpful with instrument training but even my DPE didn’t really want me to use the iPad, sometimes they prefer the paper charts.
 
Matthew said:
Do students still learn how to use protractors and E6Bs for calculating magnetic headings a courses?
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The ones that never used a protractor often don’t really understand the concept of true north and magnetic north. Not to sure how to answer the knowledge test questions without a manual or electronic E6B. I find the manual ones easier to learn and understand. The Electronic ones are more complex, but more accurate which can be a bit helpful of the knowledge test, but not so much in practical application. But phone apps work quite well in most practical situations, but can’t be used on the knowledge test.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
 
I just got my license last October and took my test in the summer. If I had had this, I would have gotten 2 questions correct I missed. It is very easy to use. Much better than the other EB-6 I had. ASA CX-3 Flight Computer
 
brcase said:
The ones that never used a protractor often don’t really understand the concept of true north and magnetic north. Not to sure how to answer the knowledge test questions without a manual or electronic E6B. I find the manual ones easier to learn and understand. The Electronic ones are more complex, but more accurate which can be a bit helpful of the knowledge test, but not so much in practical application. But phone apps work quite well in most practical situations, but can’t be used on the knowledge test.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
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Interesting. I found the Sportys calculator much easier to use and understand vs the paper wheel. I guess it’s what you’re used to - using calculators, spreadsheets, etc. To each their own.
 
Yes and no. But I’m assuming he’s not flying a Jenny LOL :).
 
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