Face it, the majority of aging general aviation cockpits just weren’t designed for the portable digital revolution. Heat has always been the enemy of solid-state electronics, including batteries. For panel avionics, internal and external fans help in fighting the premature failure of small internal components.
But the heat buildup from solar radiation plays havoc on iPads and other smart devices we use in the cockpit—further exasperated during charging. Luckily for iPads, there are several aftermarket cooling systems.