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5 Answers

Which iPad for flying

Asked by: 5008 views Student Pilot

What iPad is best for flying?

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5 Answers



  1. Shyam Patel on Feb 24, 2013

    Personally love the iPad mini! Small and compact in the cockpit!

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  2. Elliot Block on Feb 24, 2013

    I have both iPad and iPad mini and prefer the iPad mini to the regular iPad. It is much lighter and more convenient to lug around.

    ForeFlight runs smoothly and never freezes or slows down.

    Also, if you fly helicopters (as I do) or if you fly an airplane with a stick (opposed to a yoke), the mini will not interfere with the flight controls. With the regular iPad, I had difficulty getting full control deflection with it strapped to my knee.

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  3. Mark Kolber on Feb 24, 2013

    If you’re talking about full size vs. mini, it’s very much a personal preference. In general, though, those who are interested in mounting it tend to favor the mini; those who like it in their lap, the full-size.

    If you’re talking about generation, although my original iPad still functions well, it would be a mistake to get anything less than an iPad 2. Personally i’d go with a gen 3 or 4. How long that platform will be enough is always open to question but since the mini is a gen 2 iPad, it will probably be functional for a while.

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  4. Sam Dawson on Feb 25, 2013

    As with Mark I have the original iPad. I have flown with students who have the mini and personally I do like the mini better, but not enough to shell out the extra money.
    The only issues I have had with my original iPad has been:
    1. Overheating. This was really only an issue in the Southwest US and only when I first started flying with it and would leave it open in direct sunlight while flying. I learned quickly not to do this.
    2. Loss of GPS signal on rare occasions. Normally this occurred in the same locations. I took care of this issue by purchasing an external GPS. I did fly with a student who had an iPad 2 and he ran into the same problem in the same locations.
    3. I use Cloudahoy to debrief at times and my iPad keeps running into a memory issue with this software.

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  5. BEM on Feb 25, 2013

    Google’s Nexus 7, running Garmin Pilot, is awesome for flying.

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