I completely agree with confessing the situation to ATC. I think that too often, as pilots, we are unwilling to admit that we’re over our heads. A little help can go along way.

I agree with your points about these radios and especially about the usefulness of a portable VOR tranceiver. Either of these radios would serve most pilots well for many years.

I love the Preflight TV series and I look forward to many more episodes. Keep up the great work!

PreFlight TV episodes are an introduction to the gizmo, idea, practice, or event, in the way that television news is to newspapers. The episodes are really just a taste.

For the record, I agree with everything you’re saying.

I too heard/read the blog story about iPad overheating above 10,000 feet, though I don’t believe it. In an unpressurized aircraft 10,000 feet is ~20F colder than the surface, and pressurized aircraft are pressurized to at least ~8,000 feet. So, the reason doesn’t make any sense to me. My best guess is that Apple simply didn’t test it for higher than 10,000 feet. Why would they? It probably didn’t even cross their minds that general aviation pilots would want to use it.

1> A person can use the Wifi only iPad for in flight use. There are many compatible Bluetooth enabled GPS receivers that are much more accurate than the AGPS receiver that comes in the 3G enabled iPad units. You can find much more accurate fix readings with a WAAS enabled Bluetooth GPS.

2> This is important to note since it has been found that compared against a new handheld Garmin and a panel mounted G1000 GPS that the iPad GPS can be off as much as 14 NM. This problem is most prevalent on climb out and descent to approach and landing. The most critical phases of flight. At steady cruise the AGPS in the iPad was vitually spot on with the other 2 GPS units. Source: Video on Foreflight blog page. The iPad was using foreflight app for iPad.

3> If you look at the specs on the iPad the unit is only rated up to 10,000 feet MSL! I have called Apple tech support about this. I spoke with techs as well as their supervisors and none of them could tell me why this is. Best answer I could find was a guess by a blogger who guessed that the limit was due to the iPad being succeptible to overheating due to thinner air at high altitudes. And it is true that there have been reports with the first iPads overheating while sitting in cars or in direct sunlight when sitting in a window. So fly high with the iPad at your own risk. They will know if you were up to high since you had your GPS altimiter on.

Foreflight recently posted an article on their website listing their picks for GPS accessories, maps and apps to compliment Foreflight on iPad. It is worth a look.

Nate – MT

As for the “Practical FAA Requirements”, does the report display what’s left to achieve a private pilot certificate? Safelog is the only software I found that does this. All other software report on past flights, but not report on remaining flights. If Zululog reports on future requirements then I’ll certainly make the correction.

Thanks for the reviews!

I just wanted to point out that ZuluLog.com does indeed include support for both flight reviews and practical FAA requirements, as well as free exports.

Flight review support is included in the free EX version, and conforms to FAA requirements about when a flight review is due. Flight reviews are entered via the regular flight entry screen, and status can be checked via the Pilot Currency screen.

Practical FAA requirements are included in the Platinum version via the advanced filters and the “Form 8710 Totals” screen on the Currency/Certificates menu.

For the export feature, only the XML export is limited to Platinum customers. The CSV/spreadsheet export is free.

Thanks again,

Kelly Bonner
Vice President, Customer Relations

Don’t worry, we’re planning on the filming her flying, when we go.

Actually, I’m thinking that I well get an instructor to give her a lesson. I mean, the whole reason for having a non-pilot as a co-host is to ask the questions us enthusiasts take for granted. So, seeing Amy take the controls for the first time might help someone who knows very little about aviation gain the confidence to try it themselves. After all, as pilots it’s no big deal to say, “just find a flight school/instructor and go”, but to someone who is totally out of the loop this is a huge hurdle.

Now… shhhhhh… Don’t tell Amy. I haven’t said anything to her yet.

The reason I missed it is because only the certificate to expire NEXT shows up in the ‘flights’ window. So, in my case I see that my medical is going to expire in 57 days, but I don’t see when my biannual review will be required. This looked to me like only the medical was being reported.

Anyway, I added the ‘Y’ to the field. Thanks.

Great review by the way! We are looking forward to the detailed episode!

Since I represent Coradine Aviation Systems, I just wanted to point out that we do in fact show when a Flight Review is due for you. When you track your certificates, BFRs and medicals in LogTen Pro, we do alert you for your next expiring certificate record right on the Flights page (or Radar for mobile devices). Future versions will have more advanced notifications as well.

And while we do not have a predetermined list of Practical FAA Requirements, we do have the Smart Group system which is customizable to track nearly any field. So it could easily track that you are meeting requirements towards any FAA (or other agency for that matter) practical exam.

Looking forward to the detailed episode!
Cheers,
Torea Rodriguez
Director of Customer Relations
Coradine Aviation Systems