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Portable GPS units becoming obsolete! Replaced by Iphone and Ipad!

OVEREASYGUY

SPONSOR
New Gloucester, Maine
I got the latest Ipad - it's REALLY COOL. Now I find for $800 you can get this gadget which downloads accurate GPS data plus weather and all kinds of other stuff! see link:
http://www.sportys.com/PilotShop/pr...ampaign=none&gclid=CJXSqIngza8CFYUc6wodfB6lZw

On my Iphone I downloaded the Garmin App for $29 a year - now I can unload the two auto-GPS units I own. When lost my Iphone comes to the rescue. I have three Aviation GPS units - Garmin 195, 295 & an old old one.

I think the Ipad and Iphone can now replace all of these! This is amazing technology coming on line!

I imagine the super cub of the future will have nothing more than an Ipad velcroed to the panel- everything wireless! Someone will come out with a wireless oil pressure sending unit, another with a wireless temperture system, etc - everthing will just feed wirelessly into the Ipad.

So I need an Ipad anyway, sell my GPS units, buy the gadget above which feeds weather data to the Ipad - all with no monthly subscription, and i'm off flying!

I'm sure excited about all this stuff! I hate monthly fees - they add up. My dad always said keep your overhead low - i've always done that and never regretted it. I think Sirrius Satelite made a very poor marketing move by not allowing occational fliers to hook up cheaper now we have NO use for them -me anyway!

I think I read that Foreflight even has synthetic vision coming online - you just need another $1000 gadget to make it work! I'm sure that price will come down.

Cliff in Maine
 
Will the APP show obstacles?
Regardless, make sure you have an accurate wet compass with up to date correction card for backup ... Not.
 
Roger - it says Garmin Streetpilot on Demand - works great! No complaints. Then Foreflight on the Ipad.

calculators are becoming obsolete too - my brother had to take a financial exam and could not find his HP - 12C calculator - so he downloaded the app - for like $29. The calculator usually sells for $90. So why in heck would anyone with an Iphone want to spend $90 to have another gadget to haul around!

I had an MRI the other day - you wait - they will turn the Iphone into a portable body scanner before you know it!

cliff in Maine
 
Check new iPAD GPS at flight speeds against a certified unit if posible. The antenna construction and placement is a hugh factor in fast vehicles. How many satellites does it track and CPU refresh rate?

Does iPAD have:
* WAAS ?
* LNAV, VNAV, LPV?

iPAD have been know to have memory leaks and bad background apps which slow GPS and foreground processes TOO!
 
I have an iPad with a remote GPS that seems to talk to the pad. Quite accurate, but way too big. Foreflight seemed to be fairly expensive, so I opted for AvMapGPS, for under five bucks.

Personally, i prefer the 295, unless I am running thunderstorms. I can literally shoot an emergency approach with the 295, an airspeed indicator, and an altimeter.
 
Does anyone know if they plan to have traffic data on these things ? I have trouble with speech on radio (losing my hearing) and would like visual traffic data on the app.
 
I have three Aviation GPS units - Garmin 195, 295 & an old old one.

Cliff in Maine

Older than the 296 and 196??? I think that one is called a sectional :)

Cliff, can you set up the iPad on the panel and Skype your approach to the beach? We can all sit back and enjoy in real time.


Rene
 
Fly with it for a while Cliff before you sell your Garmin units. Doesn't like heat and some other draw backs.
 
Not an Apple to Oranges comparison. Dedicated GPS as others mentioned, is designed for greater accuracy (time refres between last update) and resiliency in the software and hardware to withstand aircraft usage.
 
I also just bought the new iPad; same feeling here. I think the way we do computing both in and out of the cockpit is going to make a dramatic shift. I think the best thing that will come out of this for aviation is competition. For most of us, any inaccuracies that the iPad might currently have is irreverent. Face it; many of us don't need the kind of accuracies that the top of the line Garmin has. I also don't need to spend the high $$$ for that level of GPS for the kind of flying I will use GPS for. At 1/4 the price of high end dedicated aviation electronics a lot more user's will jump on board. We have to realize that Apple is manufacturing "millions" of these a year so their cost is way down. Up until the iPad, iPhones and smart phones every GPS for aircraft was tide to a manufacturer manufacturing "thousands" of units a year so the price to pilots has always been high. Now we finally have an electronic device for use in our aircraft that is tied into true MASS production so we now can enjoy some of the lower prices afforded to other "gadget users". Because of this I really think that "We ain't seen nothing yet" will hold true. The dedicated aviation hardware manufactures are either going to have to dramatically lower their prices to compete with the iPad revolution or go out of business. True compaction in aviation electronics is here and we are just starting to reap the benefits. Just my thoughts here but it should be a fun ride!
Marty57
 
On a recent trip in our 172 I counted the GPS units aboard -- the KLN90B in the panel, the Garmin 196 on the yoke, my iPad, my iPhone and my wife's iPhone. Five separate GPS units! Getting lost would really be embarrassing!

I imagine the super cub of the future will have nothing more than an Ipad velcroed to the panel- everything wireless! Someone will come out with a wireless oil pressure sending unit, another with a wireless temperture system, etc - everthing will just feed wirelessly into the Ipad.

That's almost here. CubCrafters now offers a panel designed around a centrally-mounted iPad:

mp-ipad.jpg
 
I too just picked up an Ipad 3. Good machine, but the battery dosnt hold a charge like the ipad2. Must be because of the retinal display. as for the display it still gets a little washed out in bright sunlight. I put mine in an Otter box and used it for 12 hours this last weekend. Bummer that the video still shows the prop in flight, as that would be cool to shoot video with the front facing cam. I've been using the Garmin and the Foreflight products, trying to decide which suits my needs better. Flying between FAI and PABV this weekend I did find that Foreflight lost signal more often than the Garmin Pilot did.
It does have allot of capabilities and i agree that this is the way of the future for basic computing and also for aircraft uses. Does anybody know off hand" can you exceed the streams via bluetooth/ have to many?" Sporty just came out with a box that will give GPS/TIS/ ADS-B/ and weather all for one time purchase and NO monthly subscription.:roll:

Jeez, now I have "in flight" movie capabilities to offer my pax! It rocks!
 
Steve Pierce hit it on the head. On the way home from Florida a couple weeks ago, the sun was shining on the ipad all morning, it was hot flying, and I had it plugged into dash power. Got a blue screen of death that said over temp. Took 5 mins or so out of the sun to recycle. Foreflight is a great crosscountry tool, with the wx and 100 LL overlays. Really handy when trying to find a place to lay your head down at night too with the hotel/taxi info. Still like the ole Garmin Aera though.

Jim
 
Call me old school, but why would anyone not know where they are and where they are pointed at all times when flying. Reliance on these gadgets, fancy GPSs, iPad, and the like, is short sighted for any pilot. I use them all the time, I like them.....alot. But if you threw them out the window, or if they overheated, or if the battery quit, I'd be just fine. Now IFR is a different matter.

Additionally the suggestion that a compass is not useful is just bull. Regardless of its accuracy its precision is solid enough to keep you on course, provided you knew what it read prior to all of your gadgets taking a dump. Moral of the story.....Know where you are and know your heading, and your destination will arrive on time.

My opinion of course. I'll shut up now.
 
An Ipad is a great device to take place of gadgets that were 100% functional and make them 75% functional with a monthly fee.
 
"...Additionally the suggestion that a compass is not useful is just bull...."

Thank you, Grant. You get a free BFR and IPC if you come to Oregon (or I go visit Bob again in Saint Paul).
 
Grant is right, know where you are at. After 45+ years and some 6000+ hrs I have found the most unreliable part of an airplane is the electrical system, and the stuff it powers. I too use the GPS as a backup to my maps, but when the GPS quits, I know where I am at on the map. As far as a compass goes, they are overrated here in the mountains. Canyons usually do not go in straight lines. The only way I have used one is to navigate across flat land. After take-off, established my ground track, then held what the compass says. Automatically corrects for variation and wind drift. As a mechanic, the thing I do not understand, is the push for all encompassing glass panels. Sure, they are pretty, but all electric, shudder shudder.

Steve
 
Just a little note, my Garmin 496 batteries have been replaced twice in 3 years (they held no charge, 0 volts). $96.00/battery x 2 = BS.

Just hope the Air Force does not go back to SA (Selective Availability, error algorithm) which is still possible for civilian GPS receivers. But, not likey after the Air Force realized that civilians of the USA OWN the system!
 
Couple observations,
iPad and android capabilities will continuue to expand each year including the internal gps. The battery on my ipad outlasts my fuel supply and batteries, too, will get better each year. I wish that they would change the screen so I can be read with polarized sunglasses and direct sunlight and they will probably do that in the years to come. If I were Garmin I would be rethinking my future strategy as the hardware and software is getting to cheap and capable. I hope the rumors are true and Apple comes out with a smaller ipad (e.g. 7" screen). With Technology changing so fast I think the FAA is going to need to update it's proceedures as well.
 
.....
iPAD have been know to have memory leaks and bad background apps which slow GPS and foreground processes TOO!

nothing to do with the physical device, that the Idiot programers fault(like me!) for poor design & testing ...testing.....testing.....
 
Call me old school, but why would anyone not know where they are and where they are pointed at all times when flying. Reliance on these gadgets, fancy GPSs, iPad, and the like, is short sighted for any pilot. I use them all the time, I like them.....alot. But if you threw them out the window, or if they overheated, or if the battery quit, I'd be just fine. Now IFR is a different matter.

Additionally the suggestion that a compass is not useful is just bull. Regardless of its accuracy its precision is solid enough to keep you on course, provided you knew what it read prior to all of your gadgets taking a dump. Moral of the story.....Know where you are and know your heading, and your destination will arrive on time.

My opinion of course. I'll shut up now.

You be a wise man

Glenn
 
Cliff,

bring up all them gadgets and fly around here...

When you lose service, you better know where you are, cause it looks similar every direction.

Keep your ipad, droid and aps. I like my stand alone GPS and even a compass once in a while. Relying on electrics is a dumb idea. Why do you think so much of your IFR training is for FAILURE?
 
Somebody with some b#$ to standup against this new generation!
 
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My kids like to remind me of when I didn't need no stinkin' new-fangled play-toy gadgets like a microwave oven - - - Of course I was wrong - - - The new stuff is GREAT, no doubt about it. I am absolutely DELIGHTED with my GPS - I am in awe of its capabilities. But my finger stays on the map and I know my heading too (unless in very familiar territory). Hard to argue against redundancy - -
 
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