I broke down and joined the ranks of iPad owners. I wanted to have all my low enroute charts, VFR sectionals and approach plates handy without having to maintain a subscription along with the ability to brief and file flight plans. I think of it as going green, yep, saving paper thus saving trees! I had been taking my mini Dell on all our trips and it worked great, the only problem was I could not read the plates or charts very easy. Even though it is small it was still awkward with the flip up screen. I will continue to use the mini Dell around the house since it does the Wi-Fi thing very well.
OK, on to the new toy. I purchased the 32GB Wi-Fi + 3G unit at Best Buy along with the Zagg anti-glare screen and the rubber grip protective cover. I figured Happy birthday and Merry Christmas to me but Mary said Santa may still have other thoughts.The applications are indeed endless! I hooked up with Jeff last night on the phone and he walked me through most of the 
apps and showed me some very good shortcuts. I purchased ForeFlight and it truly is an amazing application. The information available is almost endless. Click on the link, take a tour with the videos provided and just take a look what this thing can do.
apps and showed me some very good shortcuts. I purchased ForeFlight and it truly is an amazing application. The information available is almost endless. Click on the link, take a tour with the videos provided and just take a look what this thing can do.I also downloaded all my regular weather favorites, AOPA version 2, Skyvector, my favorite forums (it's an addiction) and FltPlan.com to name a few. I did not activate 3G, I am working off the Wi-Fi only. I hope to provide an in flight video of the iPad in action very soon.
4 comments:
Have fun with the new toy! My flying and gadget budgets are pretty constrained at the moment but the iPad does look like a really useful device, especially for IFR pilots like yourself.
Did some right seat safety pilot last night and since i needed to be "eyes out" I didn't get to play to much. However, the pilot had his iPad and I did sneak a few peaks. The GPS does track very nice as an extra back up but the best feature I think is the approach plates. I love the easy viewing with the adjustable brightness, sure beats having a small flashlight or the strap on head light to deal with. The zoom feature is pretty nice too for this old dudes eyes. :)
I just got mine too! This thing is awesome! Take care and have fun.
If you are a Jeppesen fan, the Jeppesen Mobile TC app is also really nice. I just did a review on my site. If someone wants to share a JeppView subscription of the Northeast, let me know.
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