iFly GPS Forum

I've now had a chance to log a few flights with my new iPad Mini. Bottom line is that it is worlds better than the iPad in the cockpit...hands down. I love this device...it fits perfectly on my kneeboard and Foreflight runs very well. Prior to the mini, my iPad was used for pre-flight planning and would reside in my flight bag as a backup should it be necessary.

The mini changes that. Quickly pulling up sectionals, AFD, etc in flight is a pleasure. Using a Dual Bluetooth GPS antenna provides decent accuracy and there are no wires to be found......it's what the iPad should have been.

So, has my love for the iFly faded? We'll, I tried every way possible to replace the iFly with the iPad.....not because I don't love my iFly, but to really see what the differences are. If I had to pick one, there is no doubt it would be the iFly! I won't get into a side by side comparison but there are some very key differences.

1) Display. iFly 720 wins by a mile. It's so much better that I almost gave up on the mini. It's much, much brighter and exhibits virtually no glare. The glare on the iPad really is horrible....not sure how so many pilots deal with it. Perhaps an anti-glare screen cover but that still wouldn't solve the brightness issue.

2) External GPS antenna is required for the mini to be of any use in-flight.

3) Software. While Foreflight comes off as more polished, it simply is not as intuitive as the iFly.

End result.....Walter, please don't waste resources porting your software to the iPad. If anything, I would love to see a slimmer, lighter, and much faster iFly 740 down the road. The iFly is continuing to prove itself as an indispensable inflight pilot resource. Its an exceptional software and hardware solution. My only real gripes are the occasional hesitation that happens when making menu selections. Graphics could be better, scrolling could be faster and more responsive....this would give it that more polished feel.

....and the Mini? It's found a home on my kneeboard as a quick reference sectional / AFD. Having both really is nice....porting the iFly software still wouldn't resolve the "glaring" :-) Mac hardware issues that even the magical Mini can not resolve.


Dave

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Dave K

Dave..I have the new ipad and am looking at three different naviagation aps for review. I selected one that is free and two that require subscriptions but offer free trials...generally..the glare on the ipad was impossible...though I am still waiting for a screen guard that is supposed to dramatically reduce that..sure..we will see. Though I have only touched on the aps I am not impressed...at first glance they are difficult to navigate and there are some issues to say the least.

Flew yesterday with both the iFly and the ipad. Finally put the ipad away and used the iFly. I will have to do a considerable amount of practice to become as proficient with the ipad which btw lost lost gps constantly.

Traced the ipad's gps to the unit itself. Got it exchanged and at least I seem to be holding lock now. I will fly today and see how it works in the air. The free navigtion program does not geo reference the approach charts or airport charts so that is a minus. Al three seem to make it harder to actually just enter a flight plan and experiment. I can be up and running with the iFly just a few seconds after it boots. I still am working on these but the iFly has nothing to fear IMO.