Understanding the iPad’s controls
The iPad is not completely button-free, and knowing how to use the four physical controls on the tablet can help you get more out of it. Let’s review all they can do.
Coming from an aviation family, John grew up in the back of small airplanes and learned to fly as a teenager. Ever since, he has been hooked on aviation of all kinds and regularly flies a Citabria, a Pilatus PC-12, and a Cirrus SR22. He is a 4000-hour ATP and also holds ratings for multiengine, seaplanes, gliders, and helicopters. He has written for Flying magazine, AOPA Pilot, and Plane & Pilot, and is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Air Facts and the host of the Pilot’s Discretion podcast.
The iPad is not completely button-free, and knowing how to use the four physical controls on the tablet can help you get more out of it. Let’s review all they can do.
To support those pilots who want a panel-mounted iPad, flyPad has introduced their new panel mount, a flush mount docking system for the iPad Mini, Air and iPhone 5/5S.
Most pilots have a favorite tip or two when it comes to flying with the iPad, and we always learn something when we fly with another pilot. So we asked four Sporty’s pilots who regularly fly with the iPad to share their top tips.
At iPad Pilot News, we often get asked for our sense of the aviation app market–who’s on top, who’s growing and who’s new. We have reviewed a number of resources to compile this report.
CloudAhoy has been a popular app for years, allowing pilots to record each flight’s track, groundspeed, altitude and many other details. Now the app is available in a free version.
Even with all of our modern aviation databases, sometimes you just can’t beat a lat/lon coordinate. Let’s review the basics of latitude and longitude and the different types of coordinates. Which one works on your iPad?
Sporty’s recently hosted a webinar on ForeFlight Mobile that offered a detailed look at the app and walked pilots through two different real world scenarios. The recording of the presentation, packed with over an hour of tips and tricks, is now available for review
In previous articles, we’ve covered the theory behind ADS-B traffic and how it works. Here, we’ll offer seven practical tips for actually using the service in ForeFlight, including some advanced settings to consider.
RAM is well-known for making some of the best iPad mounts for pilots, but most of them include custom-molded cradles that fit the iPad snugly. That’s a problem for pilots who fly with a case on their tablets, so RAM has introduced a series of universal mounts called the X-Grip.
For our latest Behind the Apps profile, we visited ForeFlight’s offices in Austin, Texas. We sat down with CEO Tyson Weihs to talk about the company’s quick rise, the pilots who work on the app and how they approach software development.
In a rare case of a government agency hitting a deadline (well, almost), the FAA announced this month that the nationwide network of ADS-B ground stations is complete. Check out the final map in this article.
NFlight Technologies has become the leading supplier of aviation video accessories, with a variety of solutions for the GoPro and Garmin VIRB cameras, but also for the iPhone. At Sun ‘n Fun this year, the company unveiled some new products and a new app that just might make the iPhone a legitimate contender for the best cockpit video camera.

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