There's been a lot of hubbub about the Apple iPad. For a lot of folks, it's hard to see what the fuss is about. The iPad is, Apple says, a revolutionary new device. If that's true, it's apparently a revolutionary new device that does things that a number of other devices have been doing for years.
But that misses the point. If we've learned anything from Apple over the years, it's not necessarily what something does but how it does it.
My iPod Nano music player is a case in point. It's a nice little music player that's stylish and easy to use. When we bought our son a Christmas present, however, we bought him a Sansa Fuze, a player that does everything the Nano does plus has a built in FM radio and voice recorder, plays a lot more file types than the Nano and is a lot cheaper to begin with. The Nano, for the record, is a huge sales success. The Fuze does just okay. That's because people want the Apple product more, not so much for what it does, but for how it looks and how easy it is to use.
And in all fairness, the way that Apple integrates features is pretty cool. The iPhone is a case in point as is, to a lesser extent, the iPod Touch, a very cool, underrated device that shares much in common with the iPad.
Indeed, its style and its usability will be the iPad's main selling points. Based on the video--Steve Jobs must have forgotten to send me a demo unit--it looks as though the iPad is a paragon of silky smooth software/hardware integration. Unlike a computer, which it essentially is, you don't have to wait for it to get started. Turn it on and you're doing something. It's got wifi and Bluetooth and will be able to make use of 3G on some models, too, so you can be online even when you're not near a wireless internet connection. That's a huge plus for aviation use. For the record, though, my netbook will do all those things, too, with the addition of a plug in 3G card.
But the iPad will make it all easy and seamless. That ease of use and overall optimizing of the product's functions, I'm certain, are going to be enough to guarantee its huge sales success despite the fact that it doesn't do anything new and it won't be able to do a lot of things that existing devices can already do. It won't have a camera, at least not on the first go around, it won't have expandable memory, and it won't have a user replaceable battery (though its 10-hour-life lithium cell sounds great). Lots of folks will bitch about all these omissions, but when push comes to shove, most of them will still pony up the dough to get one.
For non-aviation use, I'll probably stick to my netbook--the virtual keypad on the iPad looks awful. But for flying, the iPad sounds like a dream chart reader. It's going to be quick to turn on, it's going to have a brilliant display, and it's going to be supremely easy to use. Charts, especially IFR approach charts, are a natural.
And don't discount the unit's potential as a moving map unit too. It's already got built in GPS and accelerometers, though details on them are still lacking. Something tells me it won't be long before somebody's making moving map/flight planning apps for it. In fact, I'd be shocked if it weren't already happening.
Note: The illustration is a quick and dirty Photoshop mockup based on Apple's press release image.
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Submitted by Recordo on January 29, 2010.
And you'll be able to read Moby Dick after you switch on the autopilot.
Submitted by Hogey74 on January 29, 2010.
I agree. Like a Porsche it will be over-priced but will perform well and the design will be well thought out. You can already pick up a much cheaper and more capable tablet version of an Asus netbook but Apple well understands that the extra money spent on design and branding can result in hugely better sales.
Submitted by RMichael on January 31, 2010.
There is ambiguity from Apple whether the iPad has a GPS receiver or not.
The non-3G models certainly don't, but the spec for the 3G models says 'assisted GPS'', which on some devices has come to mean a cell tower triangulation scheme, without an actual GPS receiver. If that is the case, it will only navigate on your drive to the airport.
Submitted by Recordo on February 02, 2010.
Cell tower triangulation is called "tri-lateralization." It's not GPS. However Apple plans to offer limited OEM deals on the tablet and adding a GPS chipset is only limited by the space between the air cleaner and the fan belt.
Submitted by highmoor on February 04, 2010.
I'm an Apple ACSA and I would LOVE to know if there is a moving map/flight planning package in development for ANY Apple hardware. As far as actually using the device for this purpose however, it's screen resolution is pretty low for the level of detail required for approach plates and VFR charts. I already have Seattle Avionics Voyager (on my MacBook Pro) and an AV8OR so I can't see that I really would need this...especially given that I will need my laptop anyway for my work and my digital logbook.
I bought an iPod Touch when they first came out too, and it mostly sits on a shelf in my office and never gets used. I think I'll keep my $800 for when I need to upgrade my laptop again.
Submitted by Dick Baker on February 04, 2010.
"I'm an Apple ACSA and I would LOVE to know if there is a moving map/flight planning package in development for ANY Apple hardware."
I'm pretty impressed with a nifty $10 iPhone app that I now use as my backup GPS. It shows your location on a moving sectional (or IFR or TAC) chart, along with ground speed and heading. If you plug in a destination, it shows a line to the destination and displays bearing, distance and ETE to that destination.
Way too small to use as a primary GPS, but if my Lowrance should fail, this could easily serve as a backup.
Look for SkyCharts at the Apps store or skycharts.net on the web.
Submitted by Anonymous on February 04, 2010.
I, too, use Skycharts on the iPhone, along with Pilot Wizz and several nice E6B programs. They work very well, but the display's not quite big enough for me for single-pilot navigation. (Still, it's bigger and much less complicated than most of the standard GPSs found in GA airplanes. ) For situational awareness, though, it's sweet to have your airplane bopping along on a VFR or IFR chart. Running these programs in the larger iPad format should provide the missing link.
Since I have to carry two AFDs and two set of approach charts just to do local flights, the functionality of having all those charts available seamlessly, with my airplane scrolling across them, is pretty enticing.
Submitted by highmoor on February 04, 2010.
Alas, where I live only "real" aviation GPS products work, as Nav Canada has yet to see fit to allow anyone to use any useful data in a product. In Canada, if you need a secondary GPS or a portable VFR GPS, it has to be something that gets Jeppesen-supplied updates. No one else seems to have access to Nav Canada's data. I was thinking more of Voyager-type product that runs on Mac OS X, since I really would rather do my flight planning on a laptop and use my AV8OR in flight.
That and I use a Blackberry because the plan was better.
Submitted by flyguy1 on February 04, 2010.
I am an aviation professional as well as an Apple certified Apple Expert. I personally believe the new iPad is a jumping off point to some really great forthcoming technology over the next months and years. I think we well see the iPad offer some really neat options and capabilities as this technology evolves like a USB connection, upgraded GPS technology, improved flight planning apps ect..
Right out of the box the iPad supports the use of all 3rd party apps that are currently used on iPhones and the iPod touch and that in itself will prompt 3rd party vendors to up the stakes to build new and better apps in order to respond to iPad users demands which is already a huge market now.
Apps like SkyCharts will become even better now that more pilots will be using them on the iPad's much bigger 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology and 1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi).
With the 3G model pilots will be able to access the internet anywhere there is a cellular signal and thus be able to check weather and make, adjust, or close flight plans via DUATS right in the cockpit or where-ever you are.
I think its only a matter of time before we start seeing approach plates via apps by Jeppensen (and you know they've gotta already be thinking about this) and when this happens then the sky will be the limit in terms of aviation usage!
Submitted by hiltongoldstein on February 04, 2010.
WingX already has a GPS-Enabled Terrain-Aware Moving Map on the iPhone. We just submitted Version 3.5 (awaiting Apple's approval) that adds Class B, C, D airspace (already has SUA), excellent zooming, and very very nice animated weather graphics. Apple say that iPhone will 'just work' on the iPad, but we do plan of releasing "WingX for iPad" soon after the hardware is available.
WingX for iPhone with Moving Map is available now on the App Store. Version 3.5 will be a free upgrade when it becomes available.
Submitted by PerryReed on February 04, 2010.
I think ForeFlight for the iPhone also provides a moving map functionality. I'm not positive, because I use an iPod Touch which only provides Location services when connected to WiFi and therefore cannot act like a GPS in flight.
I would think that the iPad would make a decent moving map platform, provided that it does have GPS, independent of 3G data access, and a screen that is bright enough to be visible in bright sunlight.
Submitted by hiltongoldstein on February 04, 2010.
BTW: WingX's home page is http://www.hiltonsoftware.com if you'd like to see some screen shots.
Thanks,
Hilton
Submitted by dgreicius on February 04, 2010.
Robert, if your son isn't familiar with Rhapsody you should introduce him to it. With his Sansa Fuze he can download as much music as he wants for a small monthly subscription fee... I have the Sansa View and have been a subscriber to Rhapsody for years. You can also run a $16 cord from your computer to your stereo system and listen to Rhapsody that way. It's great stuff!
I hope to get the iPad. I was seriously considering a Kindle or a Sony Reader as a Christmas gift for the whole family but I reasoned that somebody will be coming up with a color version soon. I believe iPad is the answer. Hopefully I can get a flying subscription for the iPad.
Dan
Submitted by robert goyer on February 07, 2010.
The iPad is going to have a brilliant display, one that looks great in the dark and in the light. Electronic paper's limitation, as shown on the Kindle, is that it needs an outside light source. The iPad won't. And it has a great claimed battery life and is big. And the apps will be certainly much cheaper than most commercially available charts, Jeppesen or NOS. The GPS moving map comment was an aside. If the iPad doesn't have true GPS built in, that's not a realistic possibility.
And the iPad will be an awesome book reader, too, with color, unlike the current Kindles.
Submitted by Recordo on February 12, 2010.
If you (Apple) build it, they (moving map mfgrs) will come. The Windows hegemony is over and everyone is writing in Linux anyway. The core of your evolved Windows OS is still MS-DOS! How's that for longevity?
I know for a fact that at least one leading developer is working on an iPad app. The iPhone is just a wee bit too small but the iPad (or a clone successor) will land with panache. The only drawback is Apple's developer rules which are a little strict, to say the least. But as they say in Hong Kong, We Shall Overcome.
Consider a tablet with built-in WAAS GPS, a WiFi link to Approach Plates, and a chipset/API to receive XM weather! Pie in the sky? I don't think so...
Submitted by KL7IVK on February 15, 2010.
Does anyone know if the Jeppesent approach charts will work on the Ipad or is this going to be a letter attempt for some time down the road. The problem with using the Iphone or any cell phone is shooting an approach these units are to small and you would have to pan through the charts to see the entire thing and zoom to read it. To much bother. I noticed they had the low altitude enroute chart and the approach plate displayed on it. In the article they did not say it could be done and I think that was just done for a picture. Is anyone out there familiar with this.
Please let me know
Submitted by rufust on March 10, 2010.
Foreflight will probably be functional on IPAD. All of the current IPhone Apps are supposed to run and will double in size by a screen gesture. I suspect the people at Foreflight have already ported their stuff over which includes moving maps, weather, approach plates, vfr and ifr plates, aopa airports etc..
Cool stuff and I will be testing it in May when I get my new IPad 3g.
Submitted by write-stuff on April 21, 2010.
It didn't take long. Aluminum kneeboards for the iPad are here. Pictures at www.forpilotsonly.com. Flip over "door" gives you a writing surface and is short enough not to get in the way of the yoke. Inside is padded with an opening for the iPad controls and charger. It fits comfortably on your leg with a standard elastic strap.
Submitted by write-stuff on September 22, 2010.
Update: ForPilotsOnly is now releasing a new molded kneeboard for the iPad. Pictures and pre-order special pricing is at:
www.ForPilotsOnly.com/iPro-Aviator.htm
Submitted by Anonymous on November 10, 2010.
MyGoFlight.com launches a website for everything iPad in aviation. There is information on the apps for use on the iPad organized by phase of flight - pre-flight, in-flight, post-flight and in education.
Check it out at www.mygoflight.com.
Submitted by kunathi on February 14, 2011.
You can do just about anything on your iPad. With multitasking, you can do even more. All the great media on your iPad — your music, photos, and video — can now stream wirelessly to your HDTV and speakers via the new Apple TV.
Discount Pilot Supplies
Submitted by nitsua01 on March 20, 2011.
This is so wrong, Ipad can't be an EFB, it is totally internet based, we civilian pilots don't get internet above 800. The biggest lie that is going on with Ipad is that it has GPS, no it doesn't, the new one has GPS assist, and that is a locator for cell phones. On Wikipedi it mentions there is only one EFB for us civilian pilots, and it has GPS, the VFRpad. Apple and its sellers don't care that when we get it home from the store it doesn't work, they just care about their sales. The marketing is just out of control on this one, just stop pushing the thing on us, it doesn't do what we need it too!
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