Kneeboards

[CYHeli]

Knee boards, who uses them?

Knee boards, does anyone actually use them in helicopters?
(I know our fixed wing cousins love them)
Any feed back on good bad or otherwise.
VFR vs IFR?
Any brands stand out?
Or basically have the modern fleet of GPS choices made them redundant?

[birrddog]

CYHeli, If I am doing cross country or going through multiple frequencies or flying somewhere new or havn't flown a while, I'll take along a strap-on

Depending on how organized I am feeling I create a template on the computer with the details and put the frequencies (or ATIS if I'm really feeling organized and at a computer at the airfield).

I have a Pooleys HB-1 which has foam padding and as quite comfortable, I also have another one which is metal and has clips that takes slide out plastic folders so that you can slide in paper, maps, approach plates, etc.

The latter is definately the way to go if you have a lot of information so you don't have to faff arround, you can just flip over to the next section.

It also has a need pen and pencil holder.

Doing the google thing, I think the kneeboard with the flip charts is a Jeppesen 3 ring knee-board. It is buried in another flightbag somewhere... clearly I don't use it that often.

[choppadan]

I do!

I fly as a glorified taxi driver in Sunny England. I wear mine mostly out of habit. I find it handy because you never know when you might want to jot something down. Normally just thinks like T/O time just before I lift, or landing time, what fuel I bought where, etc...

My map never lives on it but I do find it useful to clip my map/airfield map on for cross country or unfamiliar airfield stuff, it just keeps another hand free.

Moral of the story; I never know when I'm going to use, sometimes it doesn't even get used. But it can free up a hand, normally when your trying to think about serveral things at once.

What to look for? Biggest thing for me in a helo, would be one that isn't too wide. Most plank ones are pretty fat. If you have high collective and need to apply back/left cyclic it can get in the way (which is not useful!!!). Apart from that, make sure the pen holder is on the side not along the top because it makes it a pain in the ... to clip anything onto it with one hand.

Hope thats useful

[sunnywa]

Always have used one and never without. It has all my 'stuff' in it - ranging from whiz wheels, copies of relevant IAL plates for the area, aircraft timing log sheets, make up, etc. And with my current a/c, a BK, I have it on my right thigh to lift my wrist up to hold the cyclic better. No set type, used hard and soft ones. Having one that you can easily view the plate is better in my opinion.

[800]

YEP!

Its all a personal preference.

I always use one.

I admit you can't use a wide one in say an R22 or H269, but the bigger the aircraft you fly is when they certainly come in handy.

[HOGE]

I don't use a strap on kneeboard, it just gets in the way. Just use a small clipboard to hold the paperwork, cost $1.94 from Wal-mart, and holds things just as effectively as all the fancy expensive pilot ones.

[NotHomeMuch]

Don't use one either found that they get in the way and that the ink runs when your sweat drips onto it. As per HOGE a cheap clip board does the trick or just a note book in the pocket.

[bleepup]

I'll take along a strap-on

Hmmmmm sounds interesting, now thats taking customer care to the max!

[BedakSrewet]

Check out the Electronic Flight Bag ( EFB ) on www.navaero.com

Soon to appear in helicopters.

[kevin_mayes]

Hmm runs on widows, so it'll take ages to boot and crash just when you need it most...

[misterbonkers]

I'll stick with my good old kneeboard and pen - although they sit on the floor whilst flying.

[ReverseFlight]

When I first started to fly navs in my heli training I used an A5-sized kneeboard but since maps, flight plans and other reminder sheets were often of different sizes, I was later taught to ditch my kneeboard altogether - just clip everything together in one bundle and put it between your back and your seatback when you are busy taking off, then retrieve it later for map reading or log recording. That works surprisingly well.

[B Sousa]

I have to have one as I have to do a lot of writing on each leg of the flight. Best one out there and one I have used for years is found here.

Deluxe Lighted Kneeboard - Sporty's Pilot Shop

[bast0n]

I wear two rubber ones when pruning roses.....................

[Mr Grimsdale]

...that's an interesting mental image.

[Gomer Pylot]

I use one, because I need to write down times, coordinates, and other stuff, and I need a pad handy. I see no need for anything fancy, though. I have a cheap clipboard cut down to size, with some elastic and a fastex buckle attached, run through slots I cut in the sides. Most of the time it's slid to the side of my leg, but I can get it back on top quickly when necessary. It's a convenience more than a necessity, but I'm all for convenience if it's not at the expense of utility.

[gnow]

I do not need to use kneeboards now as my machine comes with a map/chart holder on each side. When I was using kneeboards I find that those sold in the market are cumbbersome and at times can restrict the collective movement. I had actually made a homemade cloth strap(about 2 inches wide) from an old uniform trousers and on top of it is a transparent plastic to slot the map / chart in.. The ends are held together by velcro. By far, I find my "invention" (patent pending) to be the best. If anyone needs more details, PM me for some photos! It is still free of charge!

[windowseatplease]

I used to use this when I flew onshore. Very good.

Wings Aviation Products

Most fixed wing kneeboards are too big for small heli cockpits (esp the R22)

[B Sousa]

I wear two rubber ones when pruning roses.....................

Or when asking for a pay raise.

[Trans Lift]

I use the reversible soft-G kneeboard. Pretty handy, hold everything you need. I'd also recommend the flip pockets for extra bits of info, etc.