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iPad Panel Mounts: They Beat Kneeboards

For those who worry about the legalities, the FAA has recently relaxed restrictions on semi-permanent cockpit mounts for tablets, even products that require a sizable panel hole, wiring or plumbing for cooling. These are generally considered minor modifications and although they require logbook entries, they may not require further documentation.

Does there breathe a pilot not using an iPad or tablet of some kind in the cockpit? We may know of one or two, but the rest of us confront this challenge: Where to put the confounded thing during flight? The aftermarket has provided in the form of more mounts, straps, clips, brackets, cases, bags and sleeves than an ordinary human can fathom, much less evaluate for purchase.

In fact, there are so many of these devices that we’re breaking them into two categories: brackets and systems for panel mounting and gadgets for strapping them to yokes, knees and the odd windshield or window. In this article, we’ll examine the panel-mount options, of which there are a surprising variety.

Paul Bertorelli

Paul Bertorelli is Aviation Consumer’s Editor at Large. In addition to his valued contributions to Aviation Consumer, his in-depth video productions on sister publication AVweb cover a wide variety of topics that greatly contribute to safety, operation and aircraft ownership. When Paul isn’t writing or filming, he’s out flying his J3 Cub.