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Old eyes--65 and up

donaziza

Well Known Member
Looking for some feedback, from guys 65 and older, on how well you can see your I- Pad mini. Specifically, the mini 64 GB---Model # 7M3LL/A. My old Nexus 9 is dying. There "is" the iPad pro, like Dougie has, and the Samsung S-8. There both plenty bright enough, but as I discovered today, I can't get those underneath my RV-8 glareshied.:eek:
 
I have the iPad mini 4, 32 GB, Model MNY12LL/A (not sure what all that means).
RV6 mounted on a panel mounted PIVOT gimbal. I can see it most of the time, as long as the sun isn’t shining on it. The newer bright screen models may be better. I’m waiting on a review of these new models before I decide to give up and mount a second, smaller, GRT screen where the current iPad is mounted.
……. And yes, I am well north of age 65.
 
Just me

I have been buying a new ipad mini every 2 years due to gravity failures. The newer ipads are so much better to see in the cockpit. I only fly spam cans so cant speak for the glare effects.
 
I fly with an Ipad Mini that is about 3 years old. Only rarely does glare bother me and it has only shut down from overheating once. That was summertime on the taxiway in Red Bluff, CA. I have suction cup RAM mount on the lower corner of the canopy. Seems to work OK for these 66 year old eyeballs.
 
Ipad mini 6 is 500 nits, which is as bright as any. Relectivity should be no worse than any oother.

I'm a Droid flyer, mine is 480 nits in the 8 inch size.

Adventure Pilots new iFly 740 GPS is 1300 nit, push come to shove.
 
Ipad mini 6 is 500 nits, which is as bright as any. Relectivity should be no worse than any oother.

I'm a Droid flyer, mine is 480 nits in the 8 inch size.

Adventure Pilots new iFly 740 GPS is 1300 nit, push come to shove.

The iPad Pro, 11 inch is 600 nits, and the 12.9 inch iPad Pro is 1000 nits. The difference in brightness and readability in the cockpit compared to the iPad mini is very striking. I use the 11 inch version mounted on my panel (RV – 9A) and the iPad mini six sitting on my passenger seat or knee, primarily for screen display of my lIFD 4040 rather than navigation.

Biggest problem I’ve seen with all three of these iPads is screen reflection impairing readability. I more or less solved that with a non-glare cover glass.
 
Not sure I have room for the 12.9, but that is intriguing based on cost vs capability. I thought Apple was coming out with a bright screen mini.
 
I have found the 11 inch iPad Pro to be the ideal size to mount in a side-by-side RV but I can understand how the OP would find that iPad to be too big for the cockpit of an RV 8. I’d be inclined to use a Mini 6 on a knee board with a non-glare screen if I had that airplane, but 500 nits is as bright as the regular iPads go. There are rumors of a smaller iPad Pro some day but they’re only rumors and Apple isnt commenting. OLED displays (brighter) are coming, maybe late 2024 according to MacRumors, but right now it appears they’ll only be used on the iPad pros because of cost.
 
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I've been using iPad mini's in the both my RV-8s for a very long time. Currently use the iPad mini 6 and like it. And, unfortunately, I fit the OP's age criteria. But I have Mark II eyeballs (i.e., lens implants) and use stick-on reading lenses attached to my sunglasses for near vision.

Note that in the pic below the relative sizes of items are exaggerated by the iPhone's camera. That's a Garmin Aera 660 on the left.

i-LTs9FcW-XL.jpg
 
I've been using iPad mini's in the both my RV-8s for a very long time. Currently use the iPad mini 6 and like it. And, unfortunately, I fit the OP's age criteria. But I have Mark II eyeballs (i.e., lens implants) and use stick-on reading lenses attached to my sunglasses for near vision.

Note that in the pic below the relative sizes of items are exaggerated by the iPhone's camera. That's a Garmin Aera 660 on the left.

i-LTs9FcW-XL.jpg

Hey Carl, The Samsung S8 I tried to put in my cockpit today, was up over and in front of my glareshiels, just like the one on your right side. I felt it was too close to my face. You're OK with this? Maybe I should reconsider??
 
Hey Carl, The Samsung S8 I tried to put in my cockpit today, was up over and in front of my glareshiels, just like the one on your right side. I felt it was too close to my face. You're OK with this? Maybe I should reconsider??

Don, I use many functions of ForeFlight on the iPad mini such as changing flight plans and then sending them to the SkyView and other things, so I'm tapping on the mini fairly often. It works well for me in that location. Of course in turbulence using the touchscreen is kind of pain since the touch areas are relatively small in ForeFlight running on the mini. Sometimes that is frustrating. But this location is one of those subjective things where everyone has their own preferences, so I'm hesitant to wholeheartedly recommend it, but it works for me.

I think you may be able to mount the iPad mini such that it is under the glare shield depending on what you have on the panel under it. But then it seems it's too far away (but maybe I'm just used to it in its current position).
 
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EFIS displays are better

I have a four year old iPad Pro 9.7” and I’m ten years beyond 65. My iPad utilizes a ball mount on the panel and I keep a sun screen above the iPad attached to the mount to protect it from direct sunlight. Still as a result of its location it is sometimes still subject to both solar heating and glare. All iPad models are sensitive to heat and when they get warm will experience a dimming of the screen long before they shut down due to overheating.

Frankly, because of this dimming issue, I don’t use the iPad inflight anymore with my dual EFIS displays providing all the information I need. With adsb-in I can display weather and traffic; synthetic vision provides terrain information when wanted; and route guidance data on the maps screen. I can also call up airport information as required, etc on the display. All of this information is displayed much brighter than my iPad can display it and it doesn’t dim due to heating.

The iPad is great for flight planning but inflight my eyes prefer a brighter screen.
 
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