Improving pilot weather briefings has been a focus of aviation apps since the iPhone was first introduced. With the variety of sources and the often unreadable ALL CAP text formats, some good data visualization can have a powerful impact. The latest example of this trend is the wx24Pilot app, which aims to make text weather a thing of the past.
Sometimes it seems like pilots specialize in old wives’ tales, like: “Well, that fancy iPad app doesn’t count as an official weather briefing. You have to call Flight Service or the FAA will nail you.” It makes a great story, and it plays to pilots’ innate paranoia, but it’s completely false. It’s time to bury this old wives’ tale once and for all.
In Apple’s latest new product update, a relatively modest event, the company introduced a number of product revisions. While there was a lot of news about a lower cost iPhone and some Apple Watch updates, the biggest news for pilots is the new 9.7″ iPad model. It might be the best tablet for flying yet.
As the old saying goes, “train like you fly, fly like you train.” If you fly with an iPad, don’t hide it during your training flights. Better to make it an integral part of your proficiency program, whether you’re on your own or with an instructor, including what to do if it fails. Here’s a suggested list of topics to cover.
Flight Outfitters made quite a splash last year when it introduced two new flight bags specifically designed for the iPad. Now the company has added an iPad kneeboard to the mix. Here’s why it’s different from the others we’ve flown with.
ForeFlight has an interesting but little-known feature called Cockpit Sharing that allows pilots to quickly share and load flight plans from one device to another when on the same WiFi network. Here’s how to use it.
A few carefully chosen accessories can make the iPad so much more powerful and easy-to-use. Here’s our list of the accessories you should consider, and our top recommendations.
If you fly the G1000, sometimes all you need is a basic simulator on your iPad that allows you to push buttons and turn (simulated) knobs. To fill this need, we’ve recently been using two apps from Simionic, a small company that’s more for simulator pilots than Cirrus or Cessna pilots.
The iPad is an engaging visual tool, but many pilots forget about its many audio uses. Especially for those pilots who worry about spending too much “heads-down” time with the iPad, it’s worth understanding how apps use audio to make flying more efficient and safe. Let’s look at some of the options, and how to set up an audio connection to your headset.
Many pilots may be wondering how there can possibly be another ADS-B product, what with a slew of options from Garmin, L-3, Aspen, Appareo and Freeflight. Isn’t the market full? It’s certainly crowded, but Garmin’s introduction this week of a new series of 1090 MHz ADS-B Out transponders is noteworthy for a few reasons.
A kneeboard remains one of the most popular ways to secure an electronic flight bag in the cockpit. Two of the most popular iPad kneeboards, from Sporty’s Flight Gear collection, were recently updated with some small but welcome changes.
Everyone knows how to open an app on the iPad–just tap the icon and it’s off to the races. But what about closing apps–do you know the difference between sleeping an app, shutting down an app and deleting an app? It’s an important distinction that comes into play when an app starts misbehaving.
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