AGADD Posted October 13, 2016 Report Share Posted October 13, 2016 Does having an iPad mini really help anyone out during flying or for pubs? And is one generation better than the other? I was thinking of buying a Generation 1 for really cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StockTrader Posted October 13, 2016 Report Share Posted October 13, 2016 Helps a ton. Especially if you pair it with the goodreader app. Most of the -10's are going electronic anyways so its probably good to pick one up. I use an old Gen 2 16gb and it works fine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VelosiT Posted October 13, 2016 Report Share Posted October 13, 2016 Related question: what's the official policy on using iPads as kneeboards while flying? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnanelson81 Posted October 13, 2016 Report Share Posted October 13, 2016 DES just came to our unit and they were surprised that we did not use iPads more often while flying, we are still flying 60L, they told us other Lima units have went completely digital and use the iPad as their knee board. I believe the awr is very specific and says gen 2 iPads are the only ones that can be used in airplane mode. DES made is sound like they didn't care what model of tablet you used but that we should be using them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creep0321 Posted October 13, 2016 Report Share Posted October 13, 2016 Each airframe has a specific AWR, and then units may have additional requirements(AERO) etc... But even without using it in the cockpit, I would still recommend one for PUBS, quick reference etc... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsbigfootguys Posted October 22, 2016 Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 As mentioned above, there are AWRs for each airframe. Redstone is quite good at updating them with each new Generation of iPad, but it does take several months after they roll out to be verified. As of right now, for the AH64, all generations of iPad minis are authorized. The AWR goes into painful detail about what you can and cannot do with the iPad, but also leaves some forgiving gray area. such as they "cannot be used for PRIMARY navigation". There are a lot of 60L pilots in Korea totally "not" using their iPads for primary navigation. I use mine all the time. I've used it for backup navigation, gunnery, in and out of cockpit references, and since it is authorized by the AWR, "every" picture I've ever taken in an aircraft was totally with an Apple iPad. It makes studying very easy when you find downtime, and settling office discussions about anything army aviation is just a quick search away. My previous battalion purchased a ton of iPad minis to use used as digital pubs bags. The pilots that took the time to learn the ins and outs, ended up using them a lot. Those that were reluctant to learn, ended up leaving them in the office for the most part. The AWR still requires paper pubs to be in the aircraft. As far as which one to get? If you have any intention of doing navigation, you want at least a 32GB iPad. And you are going to want the Cellular version. Even if you don't purchase a data plan for it, the cellular version is the only version that has a GPS chip. If you don't plan to use your iPad for navigation, you can definitely get by with a 16GB wifi only iPad. The reason I recommend 32GB over 16 for navigation, is that you are going to want to preload maps onto the device, since you are not allowed to take t out of airplane mode during flight. These maps are usually fairly large files. Foreflight is the industry standard for maps and charts, but there are other, free/cheaper apps that can accommodate as well. NGA/DOD have an app that is quite well made and incorporates ALL DOD Flip, moving maps, and georeferenced approach plates (and the capability for user-created maps). It is called Aero App, and it is 100% free, and has most of the basic features of ForeFlight. If you plan on using the iPad heavily for nav, Foreflight is definitely better, but Aero App gets the job done if you don't want to drop the annual fee for Foreflight. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01CelicaGTS Posted October 23, 2016 Report Share Posted October 23, 2016 Might want to check out this older thread... http://helicopterforum.verticalreference.com/topic/19465-tablet-advice/ As stated in that thread, I'd go with a gen 2 or a gen 4 as opposed to a gen 1, especially if you are going to be using a moving map app (the loading will be smoother and quicker). As far as moving map apps go, I've used AeroApp, FltPlanGo, ForeFlight (Premium), and WingXPro. At the moment I prefer WingXPro for very subtle reasons, but I think that Foreflight (Premium) and WingXPro are on par with each other. You can get WingXPro for free if you email them from your .mil email address and let them know that you would like a copy of their software (normally it's 74.99/year). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsey Posted October 23, 2016 Report Share Posted October 23, 2016 Right now the $200 version of Foreflight is available for free via the NGA website. Of course this happened like two months after I paid the money, ah well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akscott60 Posted October 23, 2016 Report Share Posted October 23, 2016 I am issued an IPAD for use in flight. The AWR for the 47F is quite generous. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creep0321 Posted October 23, 2016 Report Share Posted October 23, 2016 Lindsey can you expand on where on the NGA site that is? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsey Posted October 23, 2016 Report Share Posted October 23, 2016 Lindsey can you expand on where on the NGA site that is?If you haven't found it by Tuesday let me know and I'll ask one of my PCs who has downloaded it. Just got back from the field and won't be at work until then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creep0321 Posted October 23, 2016 Report Share Posted October 23, 2016 Yea I'm looking now and can't seem to have any luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01CelicaGTS Posted October 23, 2016 Report Share Posted October 23, 2016 OK, I was being a little selfish and holding out on saying anything about the free version of foreflight because it says there is a limited number available. LOL. Anyway, go to https://geoaxis.nga.mil/You'll have to first sign up for an account using your CAC. It'll ask for your supervisor and security manager's email to confirm your account. Make sure you tell them you're going to be setting up an account, or they might just disregard your email and you won't get approved. After you set up an account with your CAC, you'll need to set up a "Disadvantaged User Account" in the User Menu. After that is all set up, you'll need to go to https://apps.nga.mil/ on your iPad and download the Geoint App Store. Once you download the App Store, you can download AeroApp and other apps. For Foreflight, just click the Foreflight Military Flight Bag icon and instead of a download button it will have a button that says Request Access or something like that. You'll have to check back on it after a day or two, and once you are approved, you can download it. Once you download it, you'll click the button that says "I need a license" and it will ask for an email address and password. Use whichever you would prefer for foreflight, and that will be it. It will be all set up. Here is the instructions for downloading the GEOINT App Store . There is a little quirk with it and you have to go into settings and "Trust" it. Hope that helps. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creep0321 Posted October 23, 2016 Report Share Posted October 23, 2016 Well that should be easy than, I already have the Geoint App Store.... just need to remember my username for that... ha. But thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobo Posted November 11, 2016 Report Share Posted November 11, 2016 I have an iPad Air 2. Will I be able to use it, or is tablet use limited to iPad mini? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StockTrader Posted November 11, 2016 Report Share Posted November 11, 2016 I have an iPad Air 2. Will I be able to use it, or is tablet use limited to iPad mini?I have a regular ipad 2 but I havent used it when in the cockpit due to its size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01CelicaGTS Posted November 11, 2016 Report Share Posted November 11, 2016 I used to use an iPad 2 in the cockpit. I now have an iPad mini 4 and it is much better. In my opinion, the iPad (non mini) is just a little too big for the cockpit. To see if it's "approved" you'd have to look at the AWR for the particular aircraft you are thinking about using it in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuffinMan Posted November 16, 2016 Report Share Posted November 16, 2016 OK, I was being a little selfish and holding out on saying anything about the free version of foreflight because it says there is a limited number available. LOL. Anyway, go to https://geoaxis.nga.mil/You'll have to first sign up for an account using your CAC. It'll ask for your supervisor and security manager's email to confirm your account. Make sure you tell them you're going to be setting up an account, or they might just disregard your email and you won't get approved. After you set up an account with your CAC, you'll need to set up a "Disadvantaged User Account" in the User Menu. After that is all set up, you'll need to go to https://apps.nga.mil/ on your iPad and download the Geoint App Store. Once you download the App Store, you can download AeroApp and other apps. For Foreflight, just click the Foreflight Military Flight Bag icon and instead of a download button it will have a button that says Request Access or something like that. You'll have to check back on it after a day or two, and once you are approved, you can download it. Once you download it, you'll click the button that says "I need a license" and it will ask for an email address and password. Use whichever you would prefer for foreflight, and that will be it. It will be all set up. Here is the instructions for downloading the GEOINT App Store . There is a little quirk with it and you have to go into settings and "Trust" it. Hope that helps.I just went through this process (thanks for the walk-thru by the way) and in the app store it doesn't even have a request button but instead just says install. clicked that and the app began installing for me right away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsbigfootguys Posted November 20, 2016 Report Share Posted November 20, 2016 Just wandered back over here to share that Foreflight Military Flight bag is now free from the NGA/GEOINT app store. Only to find I was beaten to the punch 3 weeks ago. It was news to me, and I was very excited to share, so I am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnus017 Posted November 21, 2016 Report Share Posted November 21, 2016 I'm curious how long the subscription lasts. It said it's good for a year on my iPad so how do we renew it in one year? Just the same way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creep0321 Posted November 21, 2016 Report Share Posted November 21, 2016 I would assume so, based on how much funding is allocated for the program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBuzzkill Posted November 26, 2016 Report Share Posted November 26, 2016 I'm hearing that Stratus 2s are now being approved as well, which is awesome. That said, don't neglect those paper map skills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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