This sounds like an iPad commercial, though I would rather have an
Android because I do Linux almost exclusively. The problem is I have
yet to find an Android device that would come close to the iPad for
this purpose. I am still holding out. If I was a pro pilot I would
have bought an iPad with no reservation. Here is the commercial:

I used an iPad w/ WingX-Pro on a trip to Texas last month. for
$100/year it has the aopa FD, all VFR geo referenced charts, plus
everything you need to flight plan and be legal. It is a legal flight
bag if mounted on something. No paper is needed.

The iPad2 is out now, but we were using the first generation 3GS
model. The 3GS has a cell phone chip which includes a GPS. The WIFI
only model does not have GPS, but you can add an external blue tooth
GPS.

The iPad was my nephews. At only $600 and $100/year it beats the
hell out of garmin or any other. I like to land at airports with cheap
gas. WIFI was not always available, so a data plan would have been
convenient. For that trip we would have purchased five VFR charts and
a few FD books for about $55 for the one week of flying. The charts
and FD are downloaded to the device so the data plan is not need
during use. I would have like to see how well the data plan would have
worked in the air to get current weather. A reasonable data plans
start at $20/month

 So for $600 and $340/year you get all georef VFR charts, non-georef
approach plates, AOPA FD, an interface to DUATS, plus a data plan. For
$100 more per year you also get georef approach plates so you can
watch the little airplane fly the ovals...

Lowrance wants $300/year for my moving map gps, it is not a legal
information source and
it doesn't even have stuff like RP for runways.

Most of the professional pilots in the area have iPads. My
instructor picked up a Challenger 850, delivered it to China. An
iPad/wingx-pro was supplied by the contractor when he picked up the
plane in Canada.
It is the "killer" app. I think Garmin and the like will have to do
some major product changes and price restructuring to compete.
 On top of all that, it does email, book reader, web browser...

Blake Lewis


Blake,

Just to make sure, are you saying that if you download the charts onto
the ipad, you don't need cell phone coverage to use the GPS feature in
the ipad?  If so, that's what I was talking about.

Van  Vannoy


What sizes and resolutions for the various files of charts etc. How
many can you store at once. Can you store everything for the entire
US? The 64 Gb (most expensive) might be an option, but even with 16 GB
on my iPhone, I have to pick and choose what I want to store based on
what I plan to do the next day. Thats just day to day apps and
music/podcasts. One graphical map for the city of Budapest is 54mb.

I have used Itronix and motion tablets as far back as 7 years ago.
They are full blown laptop power computers with usb and mem card
slots, and IEE card. Run anything windows can run (spare me the
windows rant, I know it already) i could load the entire US sectional
VFR/IFR charts, approach plates AF/D as well as another set of topos,
and street maps, and not even fill a drive halfway. I had a little
pentax therma printer just bigger than 2 packs of smokes end to end,
if I really needed paper.
C. Smith

http://www.gd-itronix.com/index.cfm?page=Products:GD8000

I am with you Craig. A full blown note book or net book makes a lot
more sense. I have an Asus EEEPC with a 40 gig solid state drive,
9.5 hours of battery life and three USB ports among other I/O features.
3 pounds.
http://usa.asus.com/Eee/Eee_PC/Eee_PC_1215N/
http://usa.asus.com/Eee/Eee_PC/Eee_PC_1000HE/
http://usa.asus.com/Eee/Eee_PC/Eee_PC_1000HE/#specifications

I have used it all over the world.

It runs windows or Linux. I use Linux.

Paul Lamar

I have used paper charts, netbooks with PDFPlates, AnyWhere Map, Ipad
with internal GPS, and Ipad2 with external Bluetooth. The Ipads had both
Foreflight and WingX. The best is the Ipad2 with Bluetooth GPS and WingX.
WingX allows simultaneous display of approach charts and Sectonal or IFR
Enroute charts, with instantaneous switching between full-screen
Approach, sectional, or Enroute. The present position is always the
center of the Enroute or sectional display. With remote Bluetooth GPS
the present position is instantaneous when coming out of sleep mode,
with internal GPS it may take 30 seconds to re-acquire .  The batteries
will last all day.  The form factor of the Ipad is the best, and no
wires at all makes it effortless to store and retrieve. I use a kneepad
for approaches, and loose for VFR and enroute.
The disadvantages are long download times for the charts (several hours
if you want the entire U.S.) and the display needs to be shaded for good
visibility in direct sunlight (not an issue for cabin planes but a
consideration for bubble canopies).
No knocks on the Foreflight program, the WingX is a more mature program
and has a few features not yet in the Foreflight; more personal
preference than anything.

Victor Roberts