iPad Airplane Mount
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| iPad mount for airplane |
Sure enough, numerous iPad holders are available for airplanes.
Just Google "iPad airplane mount" to see the large variety of offerings.
But for certain settings, none of these devices are satisfactory. That applies to our Zenith 601HDS, N314LB, which is a low-wing airplane with center control stick and a panel already filled with instruments.
The iPad simply cannot be mounted anywhere.
There is a way out: The iPad is attached to the pilot's left leg using some contraption. This method has three drawbacks.
First, whenever the sun shines into the cockpit, the horizontal glass surface of the iPad heats up rapidly.
That heat cannot be dissipated through the backside of the iPad, since that portion is covered by the attachment gadget or, if just a strap is used, by the leg of the pilot.
So within 10-20 minutes, the iPad becomes too hot and shuts down to prevent overheating.
Second, bright sky—with or without sunshine—produces an annoying glare of the iPad display due to the horizontal placement of the iPad on the pilot's leg.
Third, the copilot cannot see the information displayed by the iPad, since transfer of the iPad to the copilot is too cumbersome to be practical.
In the past, we have resorted to the following method:
We have taken the iPad out of its cover and placed it on both legs while holding it at an angle toward an air vent. This assures cooling and reduces glare.
There are three downsides.
First, holding the iPad in the tilted position becomes quite tiring.
Second, in complex traffic situations when both hands are needed, for example when entering Class C airspace, putting the iPad down and picking it up time and again is really annoying, as we found out once more on a recent trip to Sarasota, FL.
Third, taking the iPad out of its protective cover is never a good idea. If it slips out of hand and becomes damaged in the fall, the Garmin Pilot system becomes inoperable, an unacceptable situation.
The recent trip to Sarasota finally motivated us to design a mount for the iPad that avoids all these problems. The photo at the top of this post shows the completed mount.
The mount is placed on the pilot's legs. Air coming from a nearby vent cools the iPad via openings in the bottom of the mount.
The tilt of the mount is so chosen that glare is reduced as much as possible.
This post provides detailed instructions for making the mount.
We start with an iPad cover made by Fintie, available for less than $15. Additional materials used in the construction cost just a few dollars.
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| Fintie iPad cover |
Plywood Template of iPad
Shortly, we will cut out certain sections of the Fintie cover.
For precise cuts, the Fintie cover should be rigid, as if the iPad was inserted. Of course, we cannot actually insert the iPad, since it would be damaged by the cuts.
Instead, we use a plywood template that has the same size and thickness as the iPad. It turns out that 3/16 in. plywood has just the right thickness.
We obtain the template as follows. We place the iPad on the plywood sheet, draw the outline of the iPad on the plywood, and cut out the template with a table saw.
A saber saw works just as well. Make sure that the corners are properly rounded, in agreement with the shape of the iPad.
Inserting the template into the cover for a test, we see that it is a tight fit, just as we want it. We remove the plywood template again and lay it aside, to be used later.
Next we mark on the inside of the cover where we want to cut out material.
Defining Cuts
We want to remove material from the backside of the cover so that much of the back of the iPad becomes exposed.
To this end, we mark two areas inside the back of the cover. This is so done that the latching flap of the cover, which holds the iPad firmly in place, remains operable.
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| Regions to be removed from backside of Fintie cover |
We later decided against reducing the size of the flap. Also ignore the central vertical line. We introduced it to simplify measurements.
The precise location of the pencil lines does not matter much. Here are approximate values for our 9.7-in. iPad Pro:
The retained center strip has width 1 1/4 in. The lines around the perimeter are approximately 7/8 in. from the edges. The bottom horizontal line is about 1 in. down from the upper edge of the latching flap.
Lay the cover on a wood board and drill 1/16 in. holes at the corner points of the penciled outline.
While drilling these holes, press the backside of the cover down on the wood board so that the drill bit does not tear the simulated leather surface on the other side. Instead, that surface now has just some tiny holes.
If you cannot quite see in the above photo which corner points are to be drilled, don't fret.
In a moment, we turn over the cover and use masking tape to mark the cuts to be made.
At that time, it becomes clear what areas are to be removed, and where corner points have been drilled.
Preparing for the Cuts
Turn the cover over, thus exposing the backside. Use the drilled holes and masking tape to define the two black areas that are to be cut out.
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| Masking tape surrounds the two black areas to be cut out |
Of course, we could have used measurements instead of drilled holes to transfer dimensions from the inside of the cover to the outside. The holes avoid this transfer.
Cutting Out the Two Polygon Areas
We insert the plywood template into the cover and secure it in place with the latching flap. The cover thus becomes completely rigid.
Cutting out the black areas shown in the above photo is not easy, since the cover has dense cardboard as core material.
The key tool is a carpet knife, used with a new blade. With a steel ruler as guide, we slowly and meticulously cut along the long sides of the polygons, ignoring the small 45-deg segments for the moment.
Do not try to cut the material in one step. Cut with light pressure and repeat until the core cardboard as well as the cloth lining inside the cover have been cut.
It does not matter that you will also cut a bit into the plywood template.
If you are not sure about progress, remove the plywood template and examine the inside of the cover.
Typically, you will see that you have penetrated the backside completely in some portions, and only partially in others.
Note that we also cut across the rectangular tab of the backside that normally is used to operate the cover as a tilted stand. We simply cut through that tab, completely ignoring its function.
If the blade does not seem to cut properly anymore, use its other side or replace it by a new one.
After a while, all long sides of the polygons have been cut. But the 45 deg short segments have not been touched yet.
We cut those now partially, using the tip of the carpet knife. This will weaken the corner segments.
To completely cut them, we remove the plywood template and ever so slowly and carefully complete these cuts.
We now remove the two cutout areas.
Two parts of the now-destroyed rectangular holding tab are still sewn to the backside. We gently lift each such segment and carefully slice the threads with the blade of the carpet knife.
Do not apply any pressure at all; if you do, you may damage the simulated leather of the backside. Indeed, when the blade just touches the threads, they become cut. Pull out the thread remnants.
At this time, the backside looks like this, except for the two dark cloth strips that are added in a later step.
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| Backside of cover with two sections removed |
Use sandpaper to smooth the surfaces of the cuts.
It may well happen, as it did for us, that in some places the simulated leather of the backside or the cloth liner on the inside has separated a bit from the cardboard core.
Dip a knife into Elmer's glue, available at any drugstore or hardware store, and push a bit of glue between the surface material and the cardboard core.
Then press down to reattach the simulated leather or liner, applying even pressure with bits of plywood left over when you made the plywood template.
If you happen to get some Elmer's glue on the simulated leather or the cloth liner, simply use a moist rag to clean up.
You have the option of coloring the cardboard cuts black or simply accepting their dark grey as is. We decided on black coloring, but would not do it again.
The black ink intended just for the cardboard also bled into the edges of the cloth liner, necessitating that the entire cloth liner of the backside be colored.
Altogether it was an undesirable complication that contributed very little to the looks of the final product.
The cardboard cuts need to be protected to prevent damage. For an invisible yet strong coating, use Fray Block, which is a clear liquid normally applied to keep cut cloth from fraying.
Just Google "Fray Block" for the closest store, or order it on the Internet. The Fray Block tube has a tiny nozzle for precise coverage of the cardboard cuts.
Next, we construct the support gadget that holds the modified Fintie cover at an angle.
Measurement for Support Gadget
Move your airplane out of the hangar into open space. Sit down in the cockpit, and lay down the iPad in landscape orientation on both legs. The iPad will be approximately horizontal.
Thus, when you look at the iPad display, you see a reflection of the bright sky.
If the iPad happens to be turned on, the reflected sky appears as an annoying glare.
Gradually tilt up the iPad toward your face. Different things will be reflected, for example parts of the canopy.
At some point, the angle of the iPad is such that the amount of reflected light is minimal. In our case, this happened when our face was faintly reflected.
Regardless of the case, we want to position the iPad precisely at that angle.
To this end, we record how far the edge of the iPad has been lifted from the legs. In our case, the distance was D = 2 in.
We emphasize that the measurement of the distance D must be made in the cockpit and not at home using a chair.
The pilot seat in an airplane can be similar to a straight-back chair or to a quite laid-back recliner chair.
The different settings produce different distances D, so measurement in the cockpit is essential.
Construction of Support Gadget
The support gadget consists of two triangular plywood pieces connected by three wooden rods.
Here is a photo of the completed gadget, attached to the modified Fintie cover with inserted iPad.
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| Modified cover with attached support gadget |
We begin with a cardboard template that is a triangle with rounded corners. We shape it so that the template, when placed vertically under the iPad, lifts up one of the long edges by distance D.
At the same time, one side of the triangle must lie flat against the bottom of the cover, while the other side must lie flat on the supporting surface.
The side of the triangle template on the supporting surface should have length of about 3 inches, with a similar length for the side touching the iPad.
These are just approximate values. Indeed, except for lifting the iPad by distance D, no precision is needed here.
For a final adjustment, we round the corners of the triangle template.
Once we have the triangle template, we cut out that shape four times from 5/16 in. plywood, thus getting four identical triangle plywood pieces with rounded corners.
It is easy to make them truly identical, by clamping them together and sanding them to identical shape.
In two of the four pieces, we drill three holes, each near a corner of the triangle. The precise location does not matter, but the holes must be in identical positions in the two triangles. Drill size is 23/64 in.
We now pair each drilled triangle with one without holes. There are two ways to do this.
In the first case, two identical pairs are created. In the second case, the two pairs are mirror images. We want the latter pairing.
We make the pairings permanent by gluing the two pieces of each pair together. Elmer's glue for wood is excellent for this. It sets quickly and allows cleanup with a moist rag.
We now connect the two triangular pieces with three wooden rods of 3/8-in. diameter and 8-5/8 in. length. We do this in two steps.
First, we gently but firmly push the 3/8-in. diameter rods into the 23/64-in. diameter holes, all the while rotating the rods.
In the process, the diameter of the comparatively soft rods is slightly reduced, and we get a press fit.
We remove the rods again, coat the rod ends and the holes with Elmer's glue for wood, and then permanently push the rods into the holes.
Setting the gadget vertically on the work table, we tap on the top triangle using a small hammer and a protective wood block.
We readily can tell by the tapping sound when each rod is fully seated in each hole.
Cleanup is with a moist rag. When the surface areas are completely dry, paint the gadget with matte black paint.
Overall width of the gadget should be 9 1/4 in.
Here is a picture of one end of the finished gadget, after addition of certain strips of material, to be covered next.
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| Triangular piece with three rods |
We want to use the iPad and support gadget as follows. The iPad is always kept in the cover, and the gadget stays always in the airplane.
When we prepare for flight, we attach the gadget to the cover. Upon landing, we remove the gadget.
That way, the iPad is never taken out of the cover and thus is always protected.
We use Velcro straps to make this process possible. We glue these straps to the backside of the cover as well as to the support gadget.
Velcro is a brand name; the generic term for the system is "hook and loop straps."
The hook strap is quite aggressive, in the sense that it always wants to latch onto carpets and other soft material, sometimes causing damage. In contrast, the loop strap is not aggressive at all.
Since we want to carry the iPad always in the cover, we glue the non-aggressive loop straps to the cover. They are 3 in. long.
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| Loop strap glued to cover |
Our airplane has carpeting and other soft material, so we store the support gadget in the airplane in a small plastic bag to prevent damage.
You can purchase self-adhesive hook and loop straps, but our experience with them has been awful:
The glue typically lets go when we try to separate the two strips. For a better method, we use E6000 glue, readily available at hardware stores. Just Google "E6000 glue."
The E6000 glue can only be cleaned up with solvents at least as strong as gasoline. For example, Coleman white gas works well and leaves no smell.
You do not want to use any such solvent on the simulated leather of the cover.
Hence, we delimit the areas holding the loop strips on the backside of the modified cover with masking tape.
We then use just enough glue to get a thin coating of the exposed area, and apply another thin coating to the backsides of the strips.
We carefully place the strips onto the cover, press down hard for a minute or two, and then remove the masking tape.
After 24 hours, we have a very strong bond. Similarly we attach the hook straps to the flat surfaces of triangles of the support gadget.
We are assured that the straps will never come off even when the cockpit becomes hot and the glue is potentially weakened, as follows:
When removing the support gadget from the cover, we use a rolling motion that gradually separates hooks from loops.
The motion requires little force. Yet, when the support gadget is full attached, it is firmly held in place.
We need to carry out one more step.
Cloth for Support Surfaces of Triangles
In flight, the cover with attached support gadget is placed on the pilot's legs.
To prevent sliding of the gadget, we glue two cloth strips onto the support surfaces of the triangles.
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| Cloth strips for supporting surfaces of triangles |
Otherwise, by Murphy's Law for Binary Decisions, we will always try to use the wrong surfaces first.
To prevent fraying of the cloth strips, we soak them with Fray Block.
In our case, that glue stiffens the fibers of the fleece material a bit, thus increasing the friction when the support gadget rests on our legs in the cockpit.
Optional Portrait Orientation of iPad
As described, the mount holds the iPad in landscape orientation. We have come to like that, since the information at the top of each screen of the Garmin Pilot is well displayed and the on-screen keyboard is relatively large.
But we also know that not everybody feels that way.
We sketch a simple modification that accommodates portrait orientation.
During construction of the support gadget, we also create from plywood an additional 5/8 in. thick bar that is about 3 in. long, 1 in. wide, and has two 3/8 in. holes.
The two holes are so spaced that the bar can be slipped onto two rods before the two triangles are assembled with the three rods.
These two rods are closest to the triangle surfaces with hook straps. The ends of the bar are rounded.
The photo below shows a mock-up of the bar before painting.
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| Mock-up of bar |
That effect is achieved when two 3 in. long loop straps are glued to the long sides of the backside of iPad 2 1/2 in. down from the top edge.
A 2 in. long hook strap glued to the bar connects with one of those loop straps.
The hook strap of the selected triangle connects with the other loop strap.
The above photo shows the case where the cover would be connected with the left triangle and the bar.
Do not glue the bar onto the two rods so you can decide at any time which triangle is used for support of the cover.
When the iPad with cover and expanded supported gadget is in use, the flap of the cover dangles down on the side of the support gadget where the cover sits on the triangle.
Depending on the position selected for the additional bar, this will be on the left-hand or right-hand side.
Adjusting for Leg Size
The 9 1/4 in. width of the support gadget should work for most pilots.
But if the gadget is not wide enough and does not rest properly on the pilot's legs, simply extend the length of the three rods to achieve the desired width, and add the above described bar as one of the supports for the cover.
Operation
The mount produces an almost glare-free display of the Garmin Pilot information. The iPad no longer overheats, and it can be laid aside in flight without fuss.
If you fly with a copilot, you easily pass the iPad to that person, who then enjoys the same almost glare-free view of the navigation data.
The photo at the top of this post shows the front part of the cover folded under the backside. This reduces cooling somewhat.
For maximum cooling, let the front part rest in your lap. That way, the two openings on the backside of the cover are fully exposed.
This also has the advantage that you can temporarily close the iPad, shut down computation, and shield the iPad against sunshine.
All of which helps with cooling when ambient air temperature is 90 deg F and the sun beats down from its zenith.
Performance Test
In August 2018, we carried out a performance test of the mount. Here are the details.
Length of Flight: 3.5 hrs
Outside Air Temperature (OAT): 79-84 deg F, most of the time 82 deg F. This is the temperature of the air coming from a cockpit vent and hitting the underside of the mount.
Sun position: Essentially vertically above the cockpit. Given that we have a low-wing plane and the entire canopy is made of Plexiglas, the heating of the iPad by the sun is maximum.
Brightness setting of iPad: Max value. This was selected automatically by the iPad Pro to compensate for the brightness of the sun.
The power consumption was so large that the Skiva charger to which we always hook up the iPad in flight, could not keep up. Indeed, the battery charge dropped over the 3.5 hr flight from 91% to 82%.
Evidently, this was as severe test of the mount as one could devise.
Throughout the entire test period, the metal cover of the underside of the iPad was just a bit warm.
Amazingly, the display glass of the iPad was only a tad warmer than the underside, and never hot.
Thus, the iPad was always far from overheating, and never shut down or posted a message that overheating was imminent.
Given the selected incidence angle of the support gadget, the display of the iPad was easy to read and free of glare.
The cloth strips attached to the underside of the support gadget prevented the mount from slipping any which way.
It was really convenient that the mount could be easily moved around the cockpit — for example, when we exited after landing.
Altogether, the test confirmed that the mount meets all goals described earlier in this post.
Finally, the test may convey the wrong impression that we run the iPad continuously on long flights.
Normally, we don't do this, but made an exception to test under extreme adverse conditions.
Indeed, whenever all is well during a long flight and there is no surrounding traffic, we close the cover flap of the mount to shut down the iPad.
We then track progress of the flight using the appropriate Sectional map.
This keeps piloting skills sharp and prepares us mentally for the possible scenario where the iPad/Garmin Pilot system breaks down or must be shut down due a failure of the electrical charging system.
Update on Performance
For several years, we used the iPad with the mount as described above. But now and then the iPad overheated, as cautioned by the Garmin Pilot, and we had to cease operation. Invariably, this happened toward the end of a long trip, sometimes not more than 20 miles away from the destination.
Depending on the situation, the forced shut down was really bad. No longer could we see the ADS-B information about nearby aircraft and couldn't navigate precisely under tight airspace conditions. Not good.
Due to these difficulties, we decided to create a cooling system using a fan. A separate post has the details.
Have any questions or feedback about making an iPad mount for the cockpit? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Have any questions or feedback about making an iPad mount for the cockpit? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Thanks fot the great article! Do you ever use X-ACTO knives for the more precise cuts?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind comment. An X-ACTO knife is an excellent alternative for cuts in the tight corners. For the straight cuts, the carpet knife seems to provide more control since some pressure must be exerted. The cardboard core is tough material, and I used two blades before I was finished.
ReplyDelete