I think charging is a big enemy of tablet computers in flight. It massively increases the thermal load – especially if you’re starting from an initial low state of charge.
I don’t have Skydemon anymore, and I don’t remember what it said to be honest, I never used it.
That pretty much invalidates all your previous assertions then!
However, this brings me to another idea – what about the new iPhone 6 Plus?
One issue with phones is that with the screens on and GPS running, the batteries don’t generally last very long. Tablets in general last much longer.
If using a phone, you’ll almost certainly need some power supply to it.
The problem with not charging the device in the aircraft is that you then have to carry it home / to the hotel / etc after every landing.
That is OK if you are able to do most / all of your “IT” needs on it. Indeed many people live on their Iphone/Ipad. But many find these devices are too limiting. You have to make this decision.
Another factor is ample airflow. If I position the T2 in a strong flow of cold air (and at say FL150 the air vent stuff is damn cold) it will never shut down. Whether you can do that in your particular cockpit is aircraft type dependent.
The battery in the iPhone 6 Plus is 11.1Wh, the iPad Mini Retina is 23.8Wh.
The problem with phones is that you are physically constrained for battery space, whereas a tablet is usually just a great big battery with a screen attached!
That pretty much invalidates all your previous assertions then!
Why is that? Anybody with Skydemon installed can check. I don’t remember what Skydemon said, but I think it said class D. Besides, the main reason I use EasyVFR instead of Skydemon is that EasyVFR has all the airports, Skydemon lacks all the smaller, which to me is important. It is important because airspace classes are found in the AIP, smaller airports are not.
I really don’t see the difference in discussing moving maps, as opposed to engines or instruments or EASA rules for that matter. My experience with a certain product or regulation is my experience, no matter what any vendor would like to mean about that.
I have to add. EasyVFR is positively wrong on certain airspaces. That is the main point here. EasyVFR or any other product are not the official data. It doesn’t matter if they work day and night to make it as correct as possible. As a pilot you are supposed to use official data, anything else are good additions – but the manufacturers of these moving maps have no responsibilities, they are not certified products, so they will always be nothing more than nice to have addons, but extremely useful at this. Exactly the same issue is to be found in experimental equipment, where it is the user who in the end has the responsibility that the equipment work as intended. I don’t see anything wrong with this, in fact this is what I prefer, but let’s not go into the trap of pretending these moving maps are something more than they are.
SkyDemon displays it correctly.
The only thing I’ve got a problem with is that you made a sweeping generalisation about a bit of software you don’t even use, but presented it as fact.
Peter,
I regularly fly all over Europe. From the Far North of Norway to the far South of Spain, Italy and Greece to the far East of Poland of Romania (without feeling the need to publish details of every Channel crossing) and I use nothing but SkyDemon for charts and JeppFD and AIPs for plates.
I have never encountered any issues of any seriousness with data on SkyDemon.
As a pilot you are supposed to use official data, anything else are good additions
So using Jeppesen for IFR is not allowed? Everything including official charts are a representation of AIP data. All can have problems. Your view doesn’t hold for IFR and I doubt it works for VFR either.
Calm down, everybody, or I will start deleting posts to keep the thread useful to others, and I am sure nobody wants that.
Many hundreds of pilots are reading this thread. Private messages/suggestions belong in a PM, not in the thread.
Lots of pilots believe you have to use “official data” (whatever that means) for everything. We have the PPL training establishment and the national CAAs to thank for that. We can have a useful discussion on this.
