Accessory review: new kneeboard, flight bag, and battery pack

A good iPad and a good aviation app makes for a powerful combination, turning a consumer tablet into a full electronic flight bag. But to get the most out of our EFB, a few additional accessories are worth considering, like ADS-B receivers and charging products. There is always something new in this market, and in this post we’ll review three products we’ve been testing recently.

Flight Gear Organizer Kneeboard

The Organizer Kneeboard from Flight Gear has flexible storage options.

Keeping your iPad secure and easy to reach is essential for safety in flight—if you’ve ever seen your beloved tablet go flying to the back seat after hitting turbulence, you know what we mean. That usually means either a mount (suction cup, yoke, etc.) or a kneeboard. If you prefer kneeboards, a new option from Flight Gear deserves a look.

The Flight Gear iPad Organizer Kneeboard is a bi-fold style kneeboard with an iPad stand on the left and pockets on the right. Attaching the iPad is simple: place your tablet on the sturdy base (which includes a cut-out for charging your iPad), then use the elastic straps to hold down the top corners. These straps attach to the back of the kneeboard with velcro, which means you can adjust the position so they don’t block the screen or a button. Once the iPad is in place, it can be tilted up to reduce screen glare, using a built-in kickstand.

On the right side of the kneeboard you’ll find two storage pockets, one of which includes a flap, plus an elastic loop for your pen or stylus. The outside of both pockets is made from a soft, Velcro-compatible material that makes it easy to attach accessories. We like the Small Accessory Gear Mod from Flight Gear, but the kneeboard will accommodate anything with Velcro.

If you don’t need all that storage, you can fold the kneeboard in half and pass the leg strap through a small slit in the fabric. This makes the two-panel kneeboard into a single-panel design, taking up less space in the cockpit. The Flight Gear Organizer Kneeboard is available in two sizes, for either 8″ and 11″ tablets, and at under $35 it’s a great value.

Watch our video review for more details:

Flight Outfitters Lift 2.0 Bag

The Lift 2.0 flight bag has plenty of quick-access external pockets.

In addition to a kneeboard, another essential for organization and protection is a flight bag. There are hundreds of options to choose from, but one of our longtime favorites is the Lift from Flight Outfitters. The company makes a wide range of bags, kneeboards, and jackets that have a great mix of modern style and useful aviation features, so we were excited to fly with their whole new line of flight bags, released at Oshkosh this year.

The standout, in our opinion, is the updated Lift Flight Bag, which the company calls Lift 2.0. It retains the same basic size and shape of its bestselling predecessor, but with some nice updates to both functionality and style. There is a dedicated pocket for your iPad that features thick padding to protect the screen from bumps, and the top-access design makes it easy to pull out in flight. The bag even fits between the seats in many Cessna aircraft (measures 10″l x 7.75″w x 15″h). Other helpful features include the front organizer pocket, with plenty of room for charging cables and battery packs, and the multiple mesh side pockets.

The Flight Outfitters Lift 2.0 Bag has the same $99.95 price as the original—a welcome example of keeping the price unchanged with a new product. It’s just the right size for a modern iPad pilot, with enough organization to secure all the essential gear, but without taking up too much space.

Emergency Backup Battery

This tiny battery pack from Flight Gear has built-in Lightning and USB-C cables.

We find ourselves carrying more and more battery packs as time goes on. They are useful for all kinds of devices (phone, tablet, ADS-B receiver, video camera, flashlight) and in all kinds of situations (flying, camping at air shows, airline travel), so it makes sense to have one close at hand any time you travel.

The newest option is a keychain-sized battery pack from Flight Gear. At only 2000 mAh, it’s not large enough to power your iPad all day, but it’s enough to buy you an extra 30 minutes when you don’t have access to a cigarette lighter plug. It’s also perfect for less power-hungry phones: in our testing it took an iPhone Pro from 50% to 80% before running out of juice.

Best of all, this tiny battery pack has built-in Lightning and USB-C charging cables, so it’s a complete charging solution. No need to bring along messy charging cables—just clip it on your flight bag or stick it in your pocket. Tap the button on the bottom to check battery level (indicated by four small blue lights) or tap and hold to turn on the flashlight on the bottom of the battery pack.

The Flight Gear Emergency Backup Battery is only $14.95, so we quickly bought four and stashed them all over the place. It’s a great complement to its big brother, the 20,000-mAh Flight Gear Battery Pack.