Apple iPad - ideal aviation companion?
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Apple iPad - ideal aviation companion?
Am I the only one thinking that the iPad may be an ideal candidate for use in aviation?
I'm thinking E6B, flight planning, moving map*, charts and approach plates etc. Screen brighness, sunlight readability and battery life seem to be getting thumbs up, and the form factor seems ideal for a lap or kneeboard...
*Unfortunately, whilst the cheaper "WiFi" version includes a compass, only the "3G" model includes a GPS chip.
I'm thinking E6B, flight planning, moving map*, charts and approach plates etc. Screen brighness, sunlight readability and battery life seem to be getting thumbs up, and the form factor seems ideal for a lap or kneeboard...
*Unfortunately, whilst the cheaper "WiFi" version includes a compass, only the "3G" model includes a GPS chip.
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Sure, it requires software to have been developed using Apple's iPhone OS SDK, but with more than 3,000 "non Apple" iPad apps available at launch, it won't be long before we have aviation-based ones! Heck, with airspace data available from the CAA and Ordnance Survey data going public, I might even have a go myself...
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It's funny you should mention this. I was discussing this with a friend last night, we didn't see the point in having an iPad. None whatsoever.
Then, as I'm at Gatwick atm, I mentioned that it might be quite a good companion in the cockpit - viewing charts and all that. So, when some clever individual decides to make an effective moving map out of the iPad I might just think about buying one.
Saying that, Google 'iPad aviation' . See where that gets you
Then, as I'm at Gatwick atm, I mentioned that it might be quite a good companion in the cockpit - viewing charts and all that. So, when some clever individual decides to make an effective moving map out of the iPad I might just think about buying one.
Saying that, Google 'iPad aviation' . See where that gets you
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As always, the key will be the screen. To be useful in the cockpit the screen must be "sun light" readable and while some claim they are, it can only be under a very dim Russian sun in mid winter.
If the screens are up to scratch then I have no doubt applications will appear in time that could be useful.
If nothing else the ability to display a PDF file will enable plates to be displayed which some will find useful as there are very few computers or book readers that are currently up to the job. Mind you unless a solid state drive is used even that might be an issue.
In short I have not studied the spec. but a true sun light readable screen and a solid state drive would potentially make the iPad a very useful companion - without these, particularly the first, it is just another notepad and without the software, just another notepad some way down the pecking order.
If the screens are up to scratch then I have no doubt applications will appear in time that could be useful.
If nothing else the ability to display a PDF file will enable plates to be displayed which some will find useful as there are very few computers or book readers that are currently up to the job. Mind you unless a solid state drive is used even that might be an issue.
In short I have not studied the spec. but a true sun light readable screen and a solid state drive would potentially make the iPad a very useful companion - without these, particularly the first, it is just another notepad and without the software, just another notepad some way down the pecking order.
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This:
Aviation Mentor: iPad: First Impressions
might be interesting to those so inclined. Apologies for the url, it's a blogsp*t post, and I know pprune will mangle...
Aviation Mentor: iPad: First Impressions
might be interesting to those so inclined. Apologies for the url, it's a blogsp*t post, and I know pprune will mangle...
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As featured on Tech Log a while back...
http://www.pprune.org/tech-log/40522...-aviation.html
I find my £15 AFE Kneeboard much more useful myself
Smithy
http://www.pprune.org/tech-log/40522...-aviation.html
I find my £15 AFE Kneeboard much more useful myself
Smithy
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As Fuji says, sunlight readability will be a key factor.
Otherwise, the "I-tampon"
might make a good display device for approach plates - once you find a way to generate or download them in bulk, appropriately sorted.
If Memory Map make a version of the program that runs on it, that will open up UK-only VFR moving map usage. But there is ample choice of 80x86/windoze tablets already which run MM right now, and which can be used to run everything else out there of relevance e.g. Navbox.
IMHO, and having spent WAY too much time playing with this stuff, the best thing for all ground based tasks is a decent lightweight laptop. One with GPRS/3G. Chuck it in your backpack on every trip. Touch screens are hopeless for anything serious. And if you can get a convertible tablet/laptop, that will do fine too.
A pure tablet like the Apple is hopeless for any stuff involving significant user input. It is OK for reading e-book type material, for web browsing (hopefully without too much interaction), and (in the aviation context) for running a hands-off GPS moving map. I know there are people posting on forums with fancy phones; they tend to stick to one-liners
But there is no GPS moving map application for the Apple, right now.
Otherwise, the "I-tampon"
might make a good display device for approach plates - once you find a way to generate or download them in bulk, appropriately sorted.If Memory Map make a version of the program that runs on it, that will open up UK-only VFR moving map usage. But there is ample choice of 80x86/windoze tablets already which run MM right now, and which can be used to run everything else out there of relevance e.g. Navbox.
IMHO, and having spent WAY too much time playing with this stuff, the best thing for all ground based tasks is a decent lightweight laptop. One with GPRS/3G. Chuck it in your backpack on every trip. Touch screens are hopeless for anything serious. And if you can get a convertible tablet/laptop, that will do fine too.
A pure tablet like the Apple is hopeless for any stuff involving significant user input. It is OK for reading e-book type material, for web browsing (hopefully without too much interaction), and (in the aviation context) for running a hands-off GPS moving map. I know there are people posting on forums with fancy phones; they tend to stick to one-liners
But there is no GPS moving map application for the Apple, right now.
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The iPad does not have true GPS in either version, as I understand it. The "Assisted GPS" seems to use the mobile network to fix psoition. Somehow I dont' think that will work in the air!
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For a moving map product for in-cockpit use, a built-in GPS is no good anyway.
The sky view is too poor for reliable reception.
One needs a bluetooth-connected GPS which is stuck to the top of the dash... one like this tiny one for example.
The sky view is too poor for reliable reception.
One needs a bluetooth-connected GPS which is stuck to the top of the dash... one like this tiny one for example.
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@Justicar - this is a common misconception. The GPS chip in the iPad, like the iPhone, does *not* require a data connection. If a data connection is available, however, then an approximation can be made very quickly, and time to first fix can be decreased. Detail.
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The iPad does not have true GPS in either version, as I understand it. The "Assisted GPS" seems to use the mobile network to fix psoition. Somehow I dont' think that will work in the air!
There is a lot more info here but in a nutshell, A-GPS enables the GPS chipset to get a lock more quickly by downloading the almanac and various other bits of data rather than waiting for a conventional lock.
It doesn't need a mobile signal to work, rather the mobile signal helps it work more quickly and potentially more accurately.
If there is no mobile signal, the chipset will behave just like any other.
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For a moving map product for in-cockpit use, a built-in GPS is no good anyway. The sky view is too poor for reliable reception.
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@Justicar - this is a common misconception. The GPS chip in the iPad, like the iPhone, does *not* require a data connection. If a data connection is available, however, then an approximation can be made very quickly, and time to first fix can be decreased. Detail.
