The place for technical discussions about GA and flying.
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By PilotyAF
#1879439
Hi - can anyone advise me how to get started with mobile nav equipment. I have a SD sub and I'll be running it on a tablet with GPS...do I need to plug this into the a/c or will it work without? I'm also thinking of buying a yoke ram mount (I'll be flying a C150 and/or PA28) - has anyone used a yoke mount, and is it any good? I'd prefer a system that's close enough for me to be able to use the screen. Cheers :)
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By Flyin'Dutch'
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1879458
1. Good choice of Nav material
2. Plug in or not is depending on battery life of Tablet when in use. I hardly ever bother. If you have an iPad and want to charge, ensure that the screen brightness is a few clicks off the brightest stop; there are people who have experienced shut down on hot days if they charge and put screen brightness to max. Never happened to me but knowing that it is easy to avoid.
3. I use a 'ruggedised' case and have the tablet on my lap so I can look at it when I want to but put it away when not (take off/landing/manoeuvring) and do not really want it mounted in my view (nearly all things I fly have sticks not yokes) but recently I flew something with it mounted on a side screen so no blocking off of the view - liked it. It was on a RAM mount.
Rob P liked this
#1879462
On the whole Android tablets are less expensive and more reliable. Otherwise, wot he ^^^^^ said.

I can't comment on yoke mounting as I don't have a yoke. I leg mount, out of the way but within easy reach.

Rob P
Last edited by Rob P on Sat Oct 30, 2021 11:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
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By johnm
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1879467
I use an old iPad on a modified RAM mount on the yoke, I direct the air flow from the ventilators to guard against over heating
By Lefty
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1891035
I use an Apple iPad Air just sitting on my lap for approx 300 hrs per year. Never had a problem with either operating, or with temperature. Sure, if you leave it on the dash in bright sunshine, it might overheat, but no problem in normal operation.

Also I see no need for yoke mounting. You don’t mount your chart on the yoke do you? You don’t constantly stare at your chart - you tablet is just a moving map, so there is no need to mount your tablet where you can stare at it constantly.
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By Fellsteruk
#1891048
I’ve used an old iPhone 6s+ for most of 2021 with SD and a yoke mount and more recently replaced with new iPad mini

Both work well and not overheated yet but I carry both, the iPhone as a backup as well as my iPhone I use as a phone for a 3rd backup plus paper charts but most will think that’s pure madness, I won’t disagree but I like to know I have options.

I’ve used a yoke mount, I fly PA28’s and being big I cannot find anywhere useful to mount them other than the yoke but I’m cheap….

I picked up an old garmin yoke mount on here from a fellow member which has a flat plate, this was covered in Velcro, with a big patch on the back of my iPad and iPhone case and it works like a dream!!

If it breaks I’ll likely get the RAM mount as I have the ram phone holder for my car and the sucker is pretty good.

Good points with yoke mount is that it won’t likely cover any important stuff and is a glance away.

I’ve even started to use Apple Pencil with SD and notepad side by side for atis, clearance which works pretty well also but I always have paper on knee board just in case :)

You don’t need it… but I also got a sky echo, which despite having a cell/gps iPad I always use the location from the skyecho which also gives possible traffic alerts, I found this is good piece of mind but TBH I’ve had just as many near by traffic show on sky echo as I have not so “eyes out the window” is still needed.
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By VRB_20kt
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1891108
I’m lucky enough to have the Samsung S2 fixed to the panel either with a RAM mount or directly. It gets it out of the way and keeps the external view unobstructed. At the same it’s not far from a normal scan.
#1891273
Sorry for the delay. I missed your question.

If you attach something to the yoke, you are effectively modifying the flight controls. I’m not sure that’s wise and it looks naff. (IMVHO of course)

However I also agree with what Lefty said. The best way to navigate is to glance at a chart, pick out a matching ground feature in the distance, then put the chart away and look out the window until you reach your ground feature. Then repeat.

To be constantly distracted by gazing adoringly at SkyDemon rather than actually ‘navigating’ by looking out the window is precisely the reason why some folks now think we need EC.

As always, just like track up or north up, other opinions are available.
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By Fellsteruk
#1891276
A4 Pacific wrote:Sorry for the delay. I missed your question.

If you attach something to the yoke, you are effectively modifying the flight controls. I’m not sure that’s wise and it looks naff. (IMVHO of course)

However I also agree with what Lefty said. The best way to navigate is to glance at a chart, pick out a matching ground feature in the distance, then put the chart away and look out the window until you reach your ground feature. Then repeat.

To be constantly distracted by gazing adoringly at SkyDemon rather than actually ‘navigating’ by looking out the window is precisely the reason why some folks now think we need EC.

As always, just like track up or north up, other opinions are available.


Thanks for sharing, never thought about modifying controls but I guess that’s a valid point.

I’m not one to have my eyes pinned to the magenta line. I fly a heading and use SD as a guide to confirm every now and then, I fly mostly at night now so sticking to a heading when ground features are few and far supported by SD works for me but there is a risk I guess of over reliance of SD especially if it craps out and your unable to navigate without it.

I’m personally a fan of EC I’ve had a few targets flag up long before I could see them, again it’s a backup/compliment to eyes out the window.
#1891287
Flyin'Dutch' wrote:@A4 Pacific

I thought we were taught to work out a heading and fly that, check points notwithstanding, rather than feature hop?


And the very best way to “fly a heading” is to pick a feature (preferably with vertical extent) in the direction you wish to travel, (by referencing the compass) and then flying towards it whilst looking out. It’s an identical technique to walking on a compass bearing.

It’s the difference between planning a route using a protractor, and then flying that route by looking out of the window.

To me that’s different to “feature hopping”. It works at 50’ and 135kts, or much, much faster and at any height as long as you can see ground features.

Though to be fair, I learned to nav long before the advent of GPS never mind SkyDemon. That was how I was taught to fly ‘heading and time’. Though I also did fly very long overwater legs (such as East Anglia to Jutland or launching from an aircraft carrier north of Portugal to a night insertion in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco) all at very low level in the dark by reference to IRS, Decca and Doppler, and using best aids and the New Track Reference technique. But I digress.
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#1891292
A4 Pacific wrote:... is precisely the reason why some folks now think we need EC


Most folks think we need EC because it is now a realistic possibility at an affordable cost and we like reducing the possibility of bumping into another aircraft when we are funnelled into tight corridors between ever expanding CAS.

Rob P
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