screen size iphone 6 or 6 Plus for SkyDemon
 

I'm going to get an iPhone 6.I will use it to run SkyDemon. Having previously found the iPad to be too large for use in the cockpit, I'm wondering if an iPhone 6 Plus would be just the right size, or maybe even the iPhone 6. Any experience or views on whether to go for the bigger screen of the 6 Plus from the perspective of using Sky Demon? I'm thinking the 6 Plus would have enough screen real estate to show a good amount of mapping without loss of detail. But, maybe the standard iPhone 6 would be just as good, and less bulky to handle in day-to-day use as a phone. Hard to assess in the store without having SD actually loaded.

I wouldn't be able to stand a 6+ for day to day use. At the same time I wouldn't feel comfortable running SD on an iPhone 6, I think it would be just a bit too small.

For the last year or so I have been using an iPad Mini and found it the perfect size for cockpits ranging from C172 to Jet.

Personally I find SD and an iPad mini the perfect combination.

I've recently got an iPhone 6 plus and I tried it out yesterday with Skydemon on a jolly into Denham. It worked very well and the screen size is adequate for flying. I usually use an iPad Mini with SD mounted on the main panel and in my opinion that's the perfect size. I'll probably keep SD on the iPhone as a backup in case my mini goes u/s.

On the iPhone 6 plus size front, I was initially unsure about how big it was but after a month of ownership I'm totally sold. It can be a little unwieldy one handed, but generally is excellent. It also has a much better battery than the iPhone 6 and optical image stabilisation too. It easily fits in my pocket too!

Sent from my iPhone 6 plus still with 45% battery after a full days usage...!

To throw in another thought I use a 5 and I find it very effective with SD. I have a mini but often i just use the 5.

Get the 6 plus
 

Got the 6 plus specifically for SkyDemon.

Fantastic, was going to buy an iPad mini but don't need to now.

I use an iPad Mini with Skydemon and my iPhone 5 as backup.

Experience this year has shown the iPad Mini has a battery life of 5 hours when navigating (no Sim).

Earlier in the year I flew just over 5 hours in one day - and completed the flight with the iPhone 5 when the iPad packed up towards the end of the final leg.

Battery life can be extended by reducing the brightness and/or switching the iPad display off in flight and then continuing to fly ded reckoning for a while.
The app will continue to run in the background with the display switched off, such that you can switch on again and resume electronic navigation once the inevitable "uncertainty of position" has set in.

I find an 8.4" tablet to be ideal with SkyDemon.

What is this stuff?
 

I still use a map, and some DR planning. It's served me well for years.

Having said that, I have started to wonder what all this electronic stuff is about. So far it appears that it's mostly about spending lots of money.
If I wish to move into this e-world, it seems like I need to buy a computer that has a 3 year life span, subscribe to a mobile contract, and subscribe to a software provider. That's going to be a big annual bill.
What's gob smacking is the cost of a panel fit GPS. Now that IS eye watering.

SO if it's not the lawyers making the money, who is squeezing us dry?

One of the main reasons to use a tablet is that they are way cheaper than a panel mounted GPS.

And they are cheap compared to flying costs in general. For 1 or 2 hours rental rate you can buy everything you need. It reduces planning time and adds safety IMHO as it reduces workload and warns you of airspace changes (planned or accidental).

The iPhone 6Plus is no fish no meat ... I had one in hand a few days ago and had a similar question in mind: would an iPhone 6Plus replace my 5S and the iPad Mini? My personal answer was simple: No.

I have an iPad Mini Retina mounted to the yoke and the iPhone as backup at the side of the cockpit. The bigger screen of the Mini is almost perfect in size, even though the mount at the moving yoke is not the best solution.

When I looked at the iPhone 6Plus, my first impression was positiv for a possible replacement of my two devices by one. But, after a while I weighted requirements and came to the opposite conclusion.
First, at the iPhone 6Plus you can not disable the mobile network without killing the GPS (same as now with the 5S). Consequence, if you have a problem with electrocoupling in a cockpit you can not switch the mobile net off, second consequence, you could heal it by an external GPS, but then you just replaced two devices by two.
Second, redundancy. If something goes wrong with my iPad, I can switch to the iPhone Backup, or other way around. There are two almost identical devices doing the same. Maybe this is over redundant, as there is a GNS430 also in the plane I usually fly, but I got used to the relaxing knowledge of three independent options (GNS on board power, iPhone and iPad standalone - even Skydemon on both and for additional safety a copy of AirNavigation Pro as well, just in case SD encounters a principal problem). Consequence, I would not replace the two devices by an iPhone 6Plus, but keep the Mini.
Third, carrying. The iPhone 6Plus is big and if you have it not mounted to the plane, but carry it somewhere else, it is too big for convenience. I am not even quite sure I like the iPhone 6 with its increase compared to the 5S. I am not wearing these sloppyjeans with oversized pockets, so the Plus is really something you have to start thinking how to store it. I don not like that Bigness.

So, short. If I am going the route I will just replace 5S by 6 and not go Plus.

Can you not disable the mobile network and retain the GPS by removing the sim card? That's what I used to do on my old 3GS.

In an emergency you might want to make a phone call, and searching for the SIM at such time might not be preferred :)

Redundancy is one thing, my Nexus 5 with SD is also on hand if need be, but the best redundancy is a good old paper map in the bag in case the whole GPS network is down (solar flares, terrorist attack, space debris, whatever). A third GPS device won't do you any good when that happens.

On the iPhone ripping off the sim card will not disable frequent scan for a network provider.

On all phones... It's always possible to call emergency numbers on any phone

Removing the sim card certainly got rid of that irritating chirp in my earphones, and I wouldn't have thought that even an emergency call would have been possible without the sim card in situ.

Removing the sim card certainly got rid of that irritating chirp in my earphones, and I wouldn't have thought that even an emergency call would have been possible without the sim card in situ.

So it is good we talked about it ;).

From reality: a friend just made the transition from iPhone 5 to 6+ and had the plan to exchange his iP5(SkyDemon)+iPad2(SkyDemon+JeppFD) combination with only the 6+. He went wrong, because his JeppFD subscription is not supported on iPhones. Jeppesen does only Tablets (yet) and a Phablet is treated as phone - bad thing, but thought to spread this a a warning.