<story><title>Why Garmin watches have become common in some segments of tactical aviation</title><url>https://theaviationist.com/2019/10/23/update-heres-why-we-saw-so-many-garmin-smart-watches-at-mcas-miramar/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>onion2k</author><text>Probably a silly question, but why can&amp;#x27;t you charge the iPad in flight? Surely planes have some sort of socket like cars?</text></item><item><author>AdrianB1</author><text>I fly sport planes and the battery in the iPad I use to augment the cockpit has a 5 hour life. I definitely have the &amp;quot;charged iPad&amp;quot; on the checklist, I don&amp;#x27;t make assumptions and I make sure to charge it before flight. I use it for GPS altitude only as I have 2 baro altimeters and an old Garmin GPS, but the iPad&amp;#x27;s GPS is usually more precise to indicate current height above ground.
A 12 day battery life for a smartwatch I would only wear when flying is more than enough. I would not wear the smart watch on the ground, my regular watch is running without any maintenance for 21 years (Citizen EcoDrive).</text></item><item><author>billziss</author><text>I am no fighter pilot, but I (used to) fly airplanes, floatplanes and helicopters. A watch with a 12 day battery life makes little sense to me as I find it too easy to forget to charge it. Even if you put it on a checklist, it may be too late to charge it when you are about to go.&lt;p&gt;For my flights I mostly use an automatic Glycine 24hr watch with a second dial set on UTC for &amp;quot;Zulu&amp;quot; time. If the watch is running at the beginning of the flight (confirmed with a checklist) it will continue running during the flight.&lt;p&gt;I have to admit that this Garmin MARQ looks lovely though :)</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>AdrianB1</author><text>The point was to compare battery life and care for equipment. I cannot mod the plane to add a 12V socket, but I can use an external battery pack. Still, 5 hours vs several days comparison still makes the smart watch good enough.</text></comment>
<story><title>Why Garmin watches have become common in some segments of tactical aviation</title><url>https://theaviationist.com/2019/10/23/update-heres-why-we-saw-so-many-garmin-smart-watches-at-mcas-miramar/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>onion2k</author><text>Probably a silly question, but why can&amp;#x27;t you charge the iPad in flight? Surely planes have some sort of socket like cars?</text></item><item><author>AdrianB1</author><text>I fly sport planes and the battery in the iPad I use to augment the cockpit has a 5 hour life. I definitely have the &amp;quot;charged iPad&amp;quot; on the checklist, I don&amp;#x27;t make assumptions and I make sure to charge it before flight. I use it for GPS altitude only as I have 2 baro altimeters and an old Garmin GPS, but the iPad&amp;#x27;s GPS is usually more precise to indicate current height above ground.
A 12 day battery life for a smartwatch I would only wear when flying is more than enough. I would not wear the smart watch on the ground, my regular watch is running without any maintenance for 21 years (Citizen EcoDrive).</text></item><item><author>billziss</author><text>I am no fighter pilot, but I (used to) fly airplanes, floatplanes and helicopters. A watch with a 12 day battery life makes little sense to me as I find it too easy to forget to charge it. Even if you put it on a checklist, it may be too late to charge it when you are about to go.&lt;p&gt;For my flights I mostly use an automatic Glycine 24hr watch with a second dial set on UTC for &amp;quot;Zulu&amp;quot; time. If the watch is running at the beginning of the flight (confirmed with a checklist) it will continue running during the flight.&lt;p&gt;I have to admit that this Garmin MARQ looks lovely though :)</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>naz</author><text>The Tecnam P2008 has a 12v socket and it&amp;#x27;s a rare luxury in an otherwise awful plane. Most single engine piston aircraft don&amp;#x27;t have charging ports or 12v sockets.</text></comment>