iPad and iPhone Aviation Apps for Pilots and Airline Passengers

After the weekend iPad frenzy, people seem evenly split: 50% of online comments are positive while the other half question the need to carry around yet another electronic device. Yet posts by pilots are all positive if not exuberant. Blogger Greg Hughes posted on Why the Apple iPad Tablet will find a home in my airplane cockpit (and in my life). And on Twitter, zpower said “just realized what an amazing kneeboard the ipad makes for pilots. airport directory, checklist, and so on. game changer there.” Full disclosure: I sell iPhone/iPad apps that are GPS Guides for the Garmin 430 and other GPSs.

When the iPad was announced in January, it was unclear whether...

 Apple’s marketing machine could transform the market for tablet PCs. Although the first tablet PC was announced in 2001, it has remained a niche segment of the computer market. Now, one analyst is projecting that 8 to 10 million tablets will be sold this year, many of them iPads.

Perhaps the best explanation of where the iPad will fit into the market and our lives was given by long time Wall Street Journal technology analyst Walt Mossberg, who’s been testing it for a week. “As I got deeper into it, I found the iPad a pleasure to use, and had less and less interest in cracking open my heavier ThinkPad or MacBook. I probably used the laptops about 20% as often as normal, reserving them mainly for writing or editing longer documents, or viewing Web videos in Adobe’s (ADBE) Flash technology, which the iPad doesn’t support, despite its wide popularity online.”

The beauty for pilots is that about 350 aviation iPhone applications already exist. Most of the existing apps will run either in their native iPhone 320 x 480 pixel size, or can be doubled to display larger on the iPad. However when doubled, some of the text may appear a little fuzzy. App developers can rework their applications so that they are optimized to display on the iPad’s larger display.

About a half dozen aviation applications have been optimized for the iPad and others are in process. Converted iPad apps include MyRadar Pro, a weather application, two chart applications and Foreflight, a multipurpose product that includes weather briefings, airport directory information, flight plan filing, and a moving map. A similar multipurpose product, WingX GPS Moving Map, runs on iPhone, Windows 7 and Blackberry phones, and a new version is under development that will “take full advantage of the new iPad,” according to company President Hilton Goldstein.

Probably the best source of information on aviation apps for the iPhone and iPad can be found at Brad Oliver’s www.aviatorapps.com.  Brad told me by email that he’s identified more than a dozen categories of aviation apps including aviation weather, calculators, checklists, charts & maps, logbooks and simulators.

In the future, I’d like to see interfaces that let you display nearby aircraft on the iPad. Data could conceivable come from an interface cable from a mode-S transponder or a panel mounted traffic awareness system (TAS). The Zaon XRX portable collision avoidance system (PCAS) I’ve been evaluating already connects to a number of portable GPSs and computing devices and an interface to the iPad is a logical next step.

iPad Models: Pilots, Wait for 3G

The iPad ships in two versions, each of which is available with 16, 32 or 64 GB memory. The version shipping now has built-in WiFi for Internet connectivity. However, it does NOT have a built-in GPS. This may make moving map apps unusable, so pilots will probably want to get the 3G version that includes a GPS and ships in late April. The 3G models will require a data plan from a cellular carrier and cost $130 more that the WiFi versions.

iPad Aviator Pros
One of the biggest benefits for aviators is the iPad’s long, 10-hour battery life. That makes it practical to use the iPad most of the day, regardless of whether you’re in the cockpit or a passenger traveling in coach. For example, in a WiFi enabled aircraft, passengers could download the free NetFlix app and then order movies throughout the flight. 

The iPad’s 9.7-inch display is bright and responds quickly when touched. The iPad is also light, just 1.5 pounds, though some users commented that it feels heavy if left on your leg for an hour or more. It’s also relatively inexpensive for a computer, just $499 for the basic 16 GB model WiFi model. 

iPad Cons
As John Ewing points out in his blog, there’s an altitude limit of 10,000 feet, which may affect some pilots. Having once sold instruments for use at 13,750 feet at Mauna Kea observatories in Hawaii, I can tell you exactly why the limitation exists: heat. At these high altitudes, air is significantly less dense and the effective cooling of electronics, even those using a fan, is greatly diminished. At Mauna Kea, competitors’ products routinely overheated and burned up while ours worked. Pilots contemplating taking an iPad above 10,000 feet for long periods of time may face the same issue. Note: this won’t affect pilots and passengers in pressurized jets, as cabin pressures are typically between 6 to 7,000 feet.

Operating temperatures are also limited to 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C). Below 32°, I suspect that the display may be faint and unreadable.

Securing the iPad in the Cockpit
Pilots will want to investigate ways to mount the iPad in the cockpit. For example, pilots using it as a moving map may want to mount it on a side window so that it’s out of the way and doesn’t obscure instruments. Ram Mount, which sells suction mounts for many popular products, already lists the iPad in their product selector. However it might not be ready for shipment yet; the product pictured on their web site isn’t holding an iPad.

Alternatively, pilots may want to investigate a way to strap the iPad to their leg, particularly for checklists and route planning. I’m not aware of such a product, but there is one for the Kindle so I expect one soon. You probably don’t want to leave an iPad unsecured on a seat, as it’s easy to imagine a little turbulence relocating it between the rudder pedals, which wouldn’t be good for the iPad or your safety. 

Twitter Buzz
Two interesting iPad tweets came from San Francisco KGO radio talk show host Ronn Owens. He’s an inveterate gadget freak and iPhone user, as well as the national 2006 Talk Show Personality of the Year. First he tweeted “Think it needs a case, feels like it could break easily, though I know it shouldn't. The more I learn, the more I like it.”

Later he said “OK, verdict so far: screen is brilliant, some apps look amazing. But I still feel part of me likes the iPad because I'm supposed to like it.” So like the public, which is split 50-50 on the iPad, Ronn, is conflicted about it too. 

While early adopters love their iPads, it remains to be seen how mainstream the iPad becomes. But remember, just 20 years ago, cell phones were uncommon. Based on early reviews from users and pilots, I think iPads will play a significant role in the cockpit.

Comments

[Steve Brecher]

"In the future, I’d like to see interfaces that let you display nearby aircraft on the iPad. Data could conceivable come from an interface cable from a mode-S transponder or a panel mounted traffic awareness system (TAS)."

By future I guess you mean a future version of the iPad which would have a means to connect such devices?

[Mike miley]

I agree with the "wait for the 3G" if you want gps, but a celular contract is NOT required unless you want to use the 3g network. So, you could get the 3G model with gps for the additional cost of the unit but then have no data plan costs if wifi is all you need.

[Ed Hilton]

Is it permissible to use the iPad in the airplane with 3G? I have many aviation apps on my iPhone, but I turn it off before flight - as my instructor told me to do so.

Thoughts?

[Max Trescott]

Steve, there's a connector at the bottom of the iPad for connecting to your computer and synching files. I was thinking of future cables that might connect through it.
Mike, nice to hear from you. See you at OSH? It hadn't occurred to me that you wouldn't have to get a data plan. That would certainly save the monthly fee. Presumably you could still download new apps by connecting it to your home PC through iTunes.
Ed, it's certainly not legal to have 3G on when you're in an airliner. Years ago, ham radio operators were told that they could operate in an airliner with the permission of the captain and I remember doing that once. Presumably, the captain of a small plane--you--could authorize use of 3G in your plane. But regardless, I don't think it would do you much good anyway--cell ohones just don't work well at higher altitudes since they light up too many cell towers and the system has a way of figuring that out and locking the phone out from the system.

[Mike]

Regarding interfaces for things like traffic, etc, there is an ADS-B hardware/software combination for the iPhone that provides traffic (TIS style), weather, etc.

http://www.skyscope.net/

I'm sure they are hard at work on an iPad version.

[Mark]

Connecting to the cell phone infrastructure (3G) is regulated by the FCC and has more to do with system design and functionality, not the effect on avionics, etc. The pilot does not have discretion over this rule and it seems unlikely this will change in the near future.

[John M. White, ATP]

Max:

We keep adding more and more things to our flight bags and cockpits. I wonder at what point enough is enough?

Sometimes I wonder if we pilots don't get overloaded with so much information that we lose track of what we are doing and don't get to enjoy just flying the airplane.

John (JetAviator7)
Internet Publisher

http://all-things-aviation.com/blog

[ipad app development]

is it oke to turn on ipad on airplane, I am scare if I turn on ipad, it could be disturb navigation system of pilot

[[email protected]]

An iPad has quickly replaced a lot of separate pubs in my flight bag.