Has anyone suction mounted a 10.5 iPad Pro yet?

Hello Everyone,

I asked a question recently about kneeboards and after a lot of responses which I am very appreciative of, I really think I want to go with a suction mount. I am fine with a knee board for papers and writing, but I do not want my iPad on my leg all the time.

Many people recommend the mini, but I am curious if anyone has suction mounted an iPad Pro. I am really interested in the pro because of the anti-glare and also because I already have an iPad mini. My iPad mini is a little old and doesn’t have cellular, but if I have to buy another iPad, I would prefer a significant upgrade.

There is a mount called mygoflight or something like that. It’s crazy expensive but looks like it gives you tons of leeway on exactly how you want to configure your iPad, so I think it would really work for even the bigger ones. Has anyone tried this mygoflight mount with a 9.7 or 10.5?

I was talking to someone about this the other day. He uses a mini, but recommended I get the new 2018 iPad 9.7. He claimed the overal footprint is smaller than the older Ipad because the screen Bezel is now smaller. He is larger and flies a Cherokee 180 so that can give you a reference on how cramped it is in the aircraft and he wants a bigger one. That’s the route I’m going to go.

The only thing about the new 9.7 is that it’s not the pro and correct me if I’m wrong but only the pro has the anti-glare screen. Even though the 10.5 has a bigger screen, it also has a smaller bezel so the footprint is pretty comparable to the old 9.7. Let me know if the new 9.7 has the same anti-glare features as I would also consider that.

Why not just purchase a anti-glare screen protector?

The 2018 9.7” iPad does not have the anti-reflective screen. Even though the 2017 iPad Pro 10.5” does have an anti-reflective screen, it is borderline cancelled out by adding a clear tempered glass screen protector, and has quite a bit of glare, but it maintains great resolution and clarity. So, you can pretty much accept the glare to have extra scratch protection with a clear tempered glass screen protector on the Pro, or go with no screen protector to maintain the anti-reflective functionality, yet with less screen protection. However, you can add a matte finish screen protector or anti-glare, but in my opinion, it seems to degrade screen picture quality and looks worse (that’s subjective of course), and that starts to defeat part of the reason people buy the 10.5” iPad.

The 2018 iPad 9.7” is a great value and it will likely have a very similar screen glare out of the box as an iPad Pro 10.5” screen with a clear tempered glass screen protector installed. When the 10.5” doesn’t have a clear tempered glass screen protector though it does a nice job cancelling some of the glare. No matter what though, glare is going to be an issue regardless of which iPad you get and where it’s placed in the plane.

The iPad mini 4 also has an anti-reflective screen, as well as a laminated screen like the iPad Pro 10.5”. The screen on the mini 4 is absolutely fantastic in my opinion, just much smaller in size. The mini does not have the other options of the Pro 10.5” such as True Tone, ProMotion, and P3 wide color display. Some people care about those specs and others don’t. The iPad mini on iOS 11 still has multitasking ability like the larger screen size iPad’s do, which is a nice feature to have primarily outside of the plane, just on a smaller screen. The iPad mini 4’s display is better from a specs standpoint (not in dimensions obviously since it’s the smallest screen size) than the 2018 iPad 9.7” (but the 2018 iPad 9.7” has newer a newer more powerful CPU and graphics, as well as Apple Pencil support, so may be a better value for some in comparison to the mini 4 if a larger screen is preferred. The mini 4 seems to have gone unchanged in specs since about 2015 unfortunately, yet the 2018 iPad 9.7” and mini 4 are almost the same price when comparing WiFi+Cellular version at 128GB of storage), but the screen is not as good as the 2017 iPad 10.5”.

I am going to go with the Ipad Mini 4 with the PIVOT case. Look into that case, the bundle includes a suction cup mount, and a way to prop it up when not in flight. Similar to you, I am going to use a regular kneeboard for jotting down notes.

We use the PIVOT cases at work, I really like mine.

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Just went to the website. I’m loving that PIVOT case. Thanks for sharing that man, I’m pretty much sold on that. Love that it’s a case as well for when it’s not hooked up.

Still think I may get the 10.5, just because if I’m spending so much money I want all the bells and whistles that the pro offers and I can do other stuff with this iPad outside of work to make it worth it. Luckily they have a set for the 10.5 as well.

According to the website, a lot of airlines use them and they were created by people in the industry. Glad to see your stamp of approval as well, Chris.

Thanks for the in-depth response, Tom. I think I will go for the pro after all. I don’t intend to put a screen protector on. I will likely purchase the PIVOT case/mount mentioned by Justin which should provide plenty of protection when it’s not mounted.

I would love the 10.5 as well but I feel that it may be too big for the mounted cockpit space… From what I have heard a lot of people regret getting the large iPad and downgrade to the mini later on.

Not a problem at all Cody. It’s defintely a nice iPad, no doubt, although all are great and do a good job.

The Cessna 172 has a decent amount of front windshield room for suction cup mounting an iPad (although anything larger than the mini iPad may be pushing the limits on room without being in the way) on the lower left corner. However, the Piper’s don’t really have the same room in that area. So, you may need an alternative method for those, but not sure since I’ve never seen a 10.5” iPad mounted in a small General Aviation airplane. Hopefully it works good though.

it’s making me worry. I really really want that iPad. I’m scouring the internet trying to find pics of it mounted. I really wish I could test it out before buying. Ughhh hopefully when I visit the facility before my classes start I can get a better feel. Maybe someone will have one.

No matter what I don’t want my iPad in my lap, so if worse comes to worst I will get a mini.

Do you know if the regionals/majors supply iPads? If so I’ll just get the mini for my training and use the supplied iPads later. But if I need to use my own for many years I really want to get the iPad I really like. I’ll have to check out the piper cockpit when I’m at the facility.

Most airlines provide an Ipad or tablet for their pilots. Whatever you are buying now, will be out of date in two years anyways.