Before buying another cockpit gadget, test the setup you have

The shopping list starts too early

It is easy to begin with the tablet: large or small, more storage or less, this year’s model or last year’s. Those questions are concrete and the answers come with prices. They can distract from a less convenient question: what is wrong with your present cockpit setup?

Perhaps the screen is difficult to read where it sits. Perhaps a cable gets in the way. Perhaps you have never checked whether the information you need is available without a connection. Those problems point to different purchases, and some point to no purchase at all.

This is a way to evaluate your own arrangement, not a review of a particular product. No comparative product testing is claimed in this article.

Try it in the seat, with the engine off

Before ordering a replacement, sit in the aircraft on the ground and use the equipment you already own. Adjust the seat as you would for flight. Bring the case, mount, headset, and cable rather than examining the tablet by itself.

Can you reach the information comfortably? Can you see what you need on the panel? Where does the cable run when you move? Does the arrangement still make sense when you hold a checklist or put something in the side pocket?

Write down the specific irritation instead of naming the replacement you hope will fix it. “I cannot comfortably reach the screen in this position” is useful evidence. “I need the larger model” is already a purchase decision. Have an appropriately qualified person assess any installation or interference concern; an informal fit check does not approve an installation.

Name the failure you want a backup to survive

A second device is most persuasive when you can explain what it backs up. If the concern is one discharged battery, another charged device may address that particular problem. If both devices depend on information you never downloaded, the second screen does not resolve the missing information.

Write a few separate scenarios: one device is unavailable; a cable no longer works; a connection is absent; an application cannot be opened. On the ground, identify what information you would still have and where you would find it. Do not create failures during a flight to prove a point.

The FAA’s AC 91-78A provides EFB guidance for Part 91 operations, including power, information currency, and managing loss of EFB functionality. It is advisory guidance, not itself a regulation. Use the full document when evaluating an EFB arrangement rather than treating the presence of a spare tablet as a complete answer.

Source: FAA AC 91-78A: Use of Electronic Flight Bags

Price the arrangement you will actually carry

Compare the complete setup: device, suitable mounting or storage, case, power accessories, and the software access you intend to use. Check current compatibility directly with the relevant manufacturers and application providers before purchasing.

Also consider how the equipment moves between aircraft. A convenient arrangement in one cockpit may leave you carrying parts or improvising placement in another. A product comparison that ignores that transition can recommend the wrong thing for your flying.

A useful review would state the aircraft context, the equipment combination, what was actually tried, and what was not evaluated. Keep that standard in mind when reading recommendations, including future ones here. A product photograph and a list of advertised features cannot establish how well a setup works in your seat.

Buy against the problem you found

After the ground check, make one sentence your buying criterion: “I need this purchase to fix…” If the answer is a placement problem, investigate placement. If it is a power problem, investigate the whole power arrangement. If you cannot identify a problem, keep the money until you can.

New equipment can be worthwhile. The point of the exercise is to make the purchase earn a specific job. A smaller shopping list, based on what you found in the cockpit, is more useful than an impressive collection of accessories that you still have to work around.