WiFi Vs Cellular Tablets for EFB

[TCC]

Wifi only Android tablet. I can use my phone as a hotspot if necessary then swap over to my Stratux for a dedicated GPS feed.

Since my EFB (iFlyEFB) is resident on both the phone and the tablet, I plan & file off the web interface, then sync/download the plan to both phone and tablet.

When I pick up my clearance, I usually just update the tablet if necessary; the phone copy exists solely as a back up.

I also keep an up to date copy of Avare on the tablet so I have a backup EFB if it really came down to it. Probably overkill, but Avare is free and simple enough to use in a pinch.

The likelihood of both devices on different OS and multiple EFB apps failing simultaneously is pretty low.

[Hank]

37 minutes ago, TCC said:

The likelihood of both devices on different OS and multiple EFB apps failing simultaneously is pretty low.

Just don't drop one of them on the tarmac!

[TCC]

Just don't drop one of them on the tarmac!

Wouldn’t matter, I don’t go to the plane without both.

I’ve gone through iOS and Android, worked thru six or seven EFBs and have been using digital flight planning/mission tools as far back as PFPS 4.0…about 20 years now, I guess.

I’ve found the “best” platform/form factor/tool is the one you’re willing to learn, whether you’re paying for the app or paid to use a specific app. I’d hazard most pilots that self brief via their service of choice don’t realize unless they connect that service with 1800wxbrief.com there’s no FAA record of that self-briefing having been accomplished.


I’d also hazard to guess most folks would rate Garmin Pilot and ForeFlight as having near parity. Except GP is available on android. And that version hasn’t let the user add a “PROC” to the flight plan in the EFB even though it’s been requested for at least six years now.

Even the nifty “pack” feature some EFBs use is…an interesting concept. I have a dedicated tablet for my EFB, so all the FAA data charts, supplements, references, etc., all of it for the 50 US states gets downloaded for each flight. Some, but not all, NOTAMS, too. But most of that stuff that can’t be downloaded is available over ADS-B.

Speaking of NOTAMS, that’s one thing I think FF and GP do better than iFly from a UI/UX perspective. But I get 15 months of iFly for 30% or more less than 12 months of FF or GP.

When I do my CFI/II as a third career, I’ll spring for copies of both and likely drop iFly simply because those two are the lion’s share of the EFB space and I think it’s incumbent on an instructor to be proficient in the tools the student is going to use.

Apologies for the long-windedness.

[midlifeflyer]

13 hours ago, Hank said:

Wow, it's come down. My first iPad mini (and my only iPad ever( was $300-$350 more than the wifi version. 

I don’t recall that. When I bought my first iPad (Gen 1, 14 years ago), I recall the cost of the cellular upgrade and an external GPS puck to be roughly equivalent. (I decided on the puck rather than the cellular.)

[midlifeflyer]

11 hours ago, TCC said:

Wifi only Android tablet. I can use my phone as a hotspot if necessary then swap over to my Stratux for a dedicated GPS feed.

There’s a difference from what some are discussing. Unless it’s unusual, your WiFi only Android tablet has internal GPS capability. If your Stratux craps out you still have GPS. 

A WiFi only iPad does not have internal GPS.

Other than that, like you, I have been using my phone’s hotspot capability for my tablet since the days you needed a third-party app to access it.

[midlifeflyer]

10 hours ago, TCC said:

When I do my CFI/II as a third career, I’ll spring for copies of both and likely drop iFly simply because those two are the lion’s share of the EFB space and I think it’s incumbent on an instructor to be proficient in the tools the student is going to use.

I’m running both Foreflight and Garmin Pilot. The comparisons are interesting. Yes, pretty much parity, but there are discreet functions that one tends to do better than the other.

i used to have iFly. Great app. In my case I dropped it because most every airplane I fly or teach in has Garmin Connect capability or a Garmin/FF compatible portable so I don’t have to pull out my portable GPS/ADS-B unit. Those are incompatible with iFly.

[Pinecone]

11 hours ago, TCC said:

Wouldn’t matter, I don’t go to the plane without both.

I think he was referencing that mishap where the guy dropped his power bank.  Then tossed it on the back seat.  While taxiing out, it burst into flames.

[TCC]

I think he was referencing that mishap where the guy dropped his power bank.  Then tossed it on the back seat.  While taxiing out, it burst into flames.

Ahhh, gotcha. I must’ve missed that one.

[wombat]

 

[M20F]

I have 2 GPS’s and an iPhone.   If all else fails I have one of the last additions of the AirChart’s atlas’s in the back.  
 

[Justin Schmidt]

My mini 6 Wi-Fi only has gps

[toto]

8 minutes ago, Justin Schmidt said:

My mini 6 Wi-Fi only has gps

Apple is very clear that only the cellular iPads have GPS.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/111886

[Justin Schmidt]

1 hour ago, toto said:

Apple is very clear that only the cellular iPads have GPS.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/111886

Ohh I should clarify on MY mini 6 Wi-Fi ha. There are benefits of being an electronics and software engineer 

[toto]

12 minutes ago, Justin Schmidt said:

Ohh I should clarify on MY mini 6 Wi-Fi ha. There are benefits of being an electronics and software engineer 

I’d be very interested to know more about this hack. You have added an internal GPS receiver to a WiFi-only iPad Mini 6 that’s recognized by iOS?

[midlifeflyer]

On 3/12/2025 at 5:48 PM, M20F said:

I have 2 GPS’s and an iPhone.   If all else fails I have one of the last additions of the AirChart’s atlas’s in the back.  
 

Must be fun looking for T-Routes in it.

[M20F]

3 hours ago, midlifeflyer said:

Must be fun looking for T-Routes in it.

I have one of the last sets of IFR atlases as well with the NDB airways off Louisiana.  
 
I really wish somebody would take up the VFR aircharts.  They are really nice.  

[midlifeflyer]

20 hours ago, M20F said:

I have one of the last sets of IFR atlases as well with the NDB airways off Louisiana.  
 
I really wish somebody would take up the VFR aircharts.  They are really nice.  

They were. But there’s a reason the atlas is no longer being produced.  Same reason those great little brown books of airport diagrams are gone.

[Marc_B]

I think the reason that wifi only vs cellular iPad doesn't matter for most of us, is that 1) we're talking about a very specific issue that overall is unlikely to happen, and 2) even if it did most have a phone that can be used as a hot spot vs just transition to the phone running ForeFlight/GP.

But I've found that there are times when the wifi/bluetooth connectivity of my iPad is spotty and so I've lost the link at times with my iPad.  I find my panel WAY more consistent with showing data overall.  Sometimes my iPad goes in and out and you have to reset/unpair all connections, restart, and relink to get it squared away.  When that happens the iPad usually is just turned off.

[M20F]

5 hours ago, midlifeflyer said:

They were. But there’s a reason the atlas is no longer being produced.  Same reason those great little brown books of airport diagrams are gone.

That doesn’t mean my heart can’t pine?

[midlifeflyer]

16 minutes ago, M20F said:

That doesn’t mean my heart can’t pine?

Not at all. I'm old too

[M20F]

2 hours ago, midlifeflyer said:

Not at all. I'm old too

You are older than me, which makes you ancient. 

[Hank]

3 hours ago, M20F said:

You are older than me, which makes you ancient. 

Ancient, you say??? He's only midlife!

But I miss the little Flight Guide book, it was certainly handy. Now I can't look up FBO details in the air if I decide to change my destination.

[M20F]

4 minutes ago, Hank said:

Ancient, you say??? He's only midlife!

But I miss the little Flight Guide book, it was certainly handy. Now I can't look up FBO details in the air if I decide to change my destination.

Shit you are older than both of us!!

[Hank]

43 minutes ago, M20F said:

Shit you are older than both of us!!

How do you figure that?

[midlifeflyer]

11 hours ago, Hank said:

Ancient, you say??? He's only midlife!

Well, I was when I started. But “middotageflyer” doesn’t sound too good.