This is my first time posting here but I’ve read lots of different threads in the past and love the support and information you can get here. Sorry if this is the wrong place to be posting this kind of question.
I’m beginning my training, beginning with Instrument rating, in a little under two months and have just about everything I need. Nearly done with all my written exams too. The one thing I don’t have yet is a knee board. I’ve read some threads on this but decided to post my own.
I’ve read lots about knee boards but since I only have my private pilots license I’ve never seen nor used one myself so I don’t have any experience with them. In the end I know that that’s what I need - experience - but I was curious to see if anyone has used a suction mount (I have an iPad mini 6) in the 172 and if they liked that. And when I say that I mean like attached to one the window or windshield, not a yoke mount. I probably wouldn’t go for that. I like the idea of having my iPad at eye level, but if a suction mount wouldn’t work or be recommended I’d hope to know before making a purchase.
Also curious to hear recommendations on knee boards in the case that a suction mount is a no-go. I’ve heard you’d want one regardless for writing clearances and so on? Would love to hear some more on that.
Any advice or recommendations are welcome and appreciated from anyone and everyone. Thank you
All personal preference! I know a lot of pilots enjoy the iPad mount to keep your vision closest to the instruments to keep your scan quick and efficient. You would still need a simplistic way of writing down clearances or holding instructions. You could either get a pad of paper or a simplistic knee board. That’s the down side, having two things while the alternative is one knee board that holds all that you need.
The simplicity is great having all you need easily accessible, your head is constantly scanning up and down to your knee and can lead to a slower scan and some motion sickness risk.
Welcome to the forum, we all start as a longtime lurker some way, shape or form. Congrats on starting your training!
Whether you use a yoke, suction mount, or a kneeboard comes down to personal preference. I started with a kneeboard and quickly switched to yoke mount halfway through my instrument training. I found that it was more costly to my situational awareness having my head down rather than glance down at the yoke to briefly brief a chart. When you have limited space you want to make sure you’re comfortable and not impeding your flight controls in any way.
Once you get to the bigger planes, you have a little more room. In the airlines, we use suction mounts on our side windows.
Though I haven’t used an iPad in flight, I feel like I’d be similar to you Brady and would feel more situationally aware personally with the iPad at eye level. Have either of you flown the 172? Would you say that kind of set up would fit comfortably in the cockpit? I flew it once during my admissions flight, but my mind was elsewhere during that flight obviously.
If neither of you can say for sure, I’ll do some asking around and see if I can get some more input.
I have flown in a 172 many times, I got my PPL in a 172, before I attended ATP. I found the yoke mount better than a kneeboard. The best thing you can do is once you start training with an EFB, try out one or the other method. If you don’t like it, return it. Most stores have a 30-day money back policy that I would look into.
