Keep Your Cockpit Gear From Going Rogue

Unsecured EFBs and personal items aren’t just distractions—they’re potential hazards.

Meg Godlewski

Tuesday, July 07, 2026 at 11:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Keeping the cockpit of your aircraft organized is vitally important for safety. [Credit: FLYING Archive]

Key Takeaways:

Pilots must ensure Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) are appropriately sized, securely mounted, and reliably powered to prevent them from obstructing controls/views, becoming unstable, or posing a projectile hazard.
All items in the cockpit, including checklists and personal belongings, must be properly secured as unsecured objects can become dangerous distractions or projectiles during flight.
While EFBs are valuable, pilots should avoid over-reliance on them and maintain proficiency in traditional navigation techniques like pilotage and dead reckoning, as DPEs often test these skills when electronic means are simulated to fail.

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The learner showed up early for his IFR lesson with his tablet EFB (electronic flight bag) and spent the next 15 minutes trying to secure it in the aircraft. The tablet measured 8 by 11, and he wanted to use a yoke mount he had before in a Mooney.

I don’t know if it was the yoke on the Cessna 172 or the tablet, or the mount, or a combination—but it just didn’t work. The tablet was too large and heavy, got in the way of the controls, and blocked the view of the instrument panel.