School me on pilot kneeboards and mini ipads

[Builds By Baz]

Paper and pencil, or electronic device on the knee? Why? Pro's/cons? 

 

What do you use it for? How much does it really help?

 

Also, like dashboard phone mounts in the car, I've bought several that are just crap and let go of my phone, or break. Is it the same with kneeboards for Ipads?

 

Recommendations? Experiences?

 

Baz.

[BurnieM]

I have kneeboard but I only used it for the cross country training.

I have a A5 notebook I use for writing things down which I put either on the seat or left side pocket.

 

Do not now use papercharts just a EFB (electronic flight book) on an iPad mini.

I have a RAM mount with suction cup (about $130) for the iPad.

 

No rush to get an iPad or pick a EFB.

Maybe ask around after you do your cross country (6 months plus).

 

[sfGnome]

Is your instructor suggesting that you use something now, or are you just thinking ahead? I would have thought that until you’re a fair way further down the track, you don’t need anything. A pad and pen become handy to note down call signs that you hear (I find it helps with situational awareness and knowing who to address if you want more information from another aircraft), but until you get to your cross country training, I can’t think of a reason to use anything beyond that. Maybe others might know something that I’ve missed. 

[rgmwa]

Ask your instructor what you need at this stage. Pen and paper plus maps and an E6-B flight computer would probably be his/her recommendation to learn and understand the basics of navigation. Later on an iPad Mini or regular with OzRunways or AvPlan would be the way to go but don’t rush into it. 

[T510]

I use a FlyBoys knee board for cross country flights with a CASA flight planning notepad and run an Ipad Mini with OzRwy for my EFB with it installed on my phone as a backup.

 

I have charts relevant to my area and recently upgraded to a Jeppesen CR-3 flight computer as I was struggling to read my old CR-2.

 

I found a Flight Rule Scale ruler and Navigation protractor great for cross country flight planning pre flight.

 

Personally I like to plan on paper maps and confirm it using OzRwy. In flight I use OzRwy for my maps but I don't follow the magenta line. I prefer to only pull up the maps when I want to confirm my position

[skippydiesel]

Did my PPL long before iPads / GPS.

When the above started to come in, I combined GPS (hand held) with traditional paper flight planning and flying. 

Its taken quite some time but I now fly the "magenta line",  print out maps of the flight In addition to Ozrunways, I have two GPS systems & a whisky compass for old time security.

I have always enjoyed the flight planning process - probably fly (imagin) the rout at least 3-6 times before the actual event.

I print out the ERSA entry for all airfields (including alternates) along the rout.  My flight plan chart is printed with additional space for enroot notes, eg differences from plan in heading, altitude & ground speed. Often include a satellite view of an airfield, for better visual concept of taxi/ parking/etc.

I still use a home made knee pad and pencil (on a string) to make notes.

😈

 

[Neil_S]

Hi Baz,

 

Until you do cross country flying you don't really need anything sophisticated.

At the point you start to plan cross country flights I believe it is best to learn using charts, pen and paper, and E6B, so you learn from first principles what is involved, and why.

It will help you learn about magnetic variation, the difference between heading and track, selecting a route avoiding "tiger country" underneath you, and avoiding Restricted Areas, etc.

Once you are familiar with the above then use of an EFB makes planning a lot easier.

 

Personally I fly with an iPad Mini on a kneeboard using AVPlan, and a paper plan on a kneeboard on the other leg where I have radio frequencies, hemispherical levels, airport flyover heights, and I can jot down notes and keep my fuel log. The EFB also shows the ADSB-IN information from my Skyecho - very useful for situational awareness about other traffic.

The EFB highlights upcoming ATC zones and if you are at a level where you will go into active airspace. It also shows active Danger Areas, and Restricted Areas in red etc. 

 

I believe the EFB complements the paper plan and charts, and of course there is no hardware or software to fail with paper charts so they are the ultimate backup.

I used to work in IT so I know it is not a matter of IF but WHEN a failure will occur. I have been flying in hot weather when the iPad overheated and went blank. No big deal, I just moved it out of direct sunlight for a while, but it reinforced that having a backup was a good idea.

 

HTH - good luck with your training.

 

Cheers,

Neil