Mike53 wrote:The question I have for everyone contemplating using an I pad in the cockpit is how do you see it in bright sunlight?
Is there an iPad that is sunlight readable now that I am unaware of.When I take my I pad outside in direct sunlight I can't see a thing.
Mike,
I use an iPad in the cockpit and I agree that readability is a significant problem in bright sunlight. I have a glare-reducing screen protector, which helps a bit. I've worked around it when necessary (it's in a RAM mount so I can move it somewhat, and I can shade it with my hand to read a frequency, etc). It's okay for nav use, I would not find it acceptable for flight/engine instrumentation.
Some of the Android tablets are much more sunlight readable than any iPad: The Nexus 7 (esp the later "2013" edition) gets very good reviews over on the Van's forum. It's not a big tablet and it's not new (you'd have to get a used one), but pilots find them very readable (maybe close to your iFly?). Here's a well-done technical comparison of readability of some tablets in sunlight (including the Ipad Air2). It was done a few years ago, I haven't found a similar more recent comparison. At that time, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was somewhat better than the iPad Air 2.
http://www.displaymate.com/Tablet_Brightness_ShootOut_1.htm