> Joe Nunley wrote:
>
> >> You mentioned you were moving to the iPad to run IFly rather than on
> the 740. Why go with the IPad? Do you need to have a paid
> subscription to have gps on the iPad? <<
Each of these devices have the strengths and weaknesses. I use an old android
tablet in one plane, a retired Android phone in the second plane, and an iFly
740 in the third plane, then always have my phone with me as a backup if any of
the above quits, which has happened due to overheating with both the iFly 740
and the Android tablet. That's a lot of bang for $100 annual fee from iFly!
As Mark points out, the Android boots much faster and is cheap and disposable.
On the down side, it also overheats very easily in the sunlight and is not
nearly as bright as the iFly screen for visibility in direct sunlight. I had
one Android overheat so badly the battery swelled to where it pushed the screen
out the front of the device and the screen fell out. But, it's cheap and
replaceable, so no big deal.
I use an Android phone in another plane because the small space available in
the cockpit doesn't leave me space enough for a 7" tablet. Otherwise, the same
strengths and weaknesses as the Android tablets apply.
I equipped my planes with several USB ports. The Androids, phones, Stratux,
etc all plug into USB ports. The iFly 740 requires 12V to their plug, or a
cigarette lighter adapter, which is typically clunky and unreliable. The USB
power for the Andoids makes them much more portable for use in almost any plane.
I use an iFly 740 in the third plane. It has a USB port that is configured to
work with the NMEA socket in the software, so I can slave the Autopilot to the
iFly GPS. It knows how to fly the magenta line! The iFly software for the
Androids and iPads do not have the software sockets to talk to the serial ports
for autopilot use. The iFly 740 is much less heat sensitive than the Androids.
However, I have had mine fail in flight once thanks to direct sunshine causing
it to overheat. I had to use my phone as my backup nav device while I put the
iFly in the shade next to an air vent to cool. 45 minutes later, the iFly was
working again. I now have a stick up sunshade I can move around the canopy to
help shade it as necessary.
As a side note, the iFly 740B has a faster processor than the iFly 740, so
boots up much faster and has a 30 minute battery reserve. The price of the
iFly 740b is now down to $499, so isn't outrageously expensive either.
Second side note: At one point in time you were supposed to be able to buy an
AHRS device from Level Aviation that would interface to the iFly software on
the Android or iPad, then talk NMEA on a serial port to the autopilot. The
issue is that the device cost significantly more than just buying an iFly 740b.
Consequently, support for that device seems to have evaporated.
Conclusion: Know the strengths and weaknesses of each device and use the one
that best fits your application. Each has their place, and I use both
depending on which plane I'm in.
-Jeff Scott
Arkansas Ozarks
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