Securing the Skies: How RAM® iPad Mounts Enhance Safety and Functionality in Aviation

The widespread acceptance of GPS navigation and electronic flight books (EFBs) on private and commercial flight decks is an indication of just how thoroughly consumer technologies have embedded themselves in general aviation. As GA has been eager to leverage these technologies, it’s no surprise that Apple’s iPad has quickly become the go-to device for their seamless integration.

Weighing no more than 682 grams, iPads are a welcome replacement for the multitude of charts, manuals, and weather reports that pilots need for every flight. The resultant challenge for a pilot, however, is ensuring their iPad doesn’t block any instrumentation while flying, or risk becoming a dangerous projectile in case of an emergency. That’s why if you’re a pilot who’s thinking about ditching your charts and manuals for an iPad, you also need to think about the benefits of getting an iPad mount from RAM®.

RAM® Makes the iPad Mounts That Aviation Experts Trust

With more than 30 years in the business of manufacturing electronic mounting solutions, RAM understands the importance of securing sensitive equipment. And with iPads seeing use in aviation for everything from navigation to regulating cabin temperatures, pilots and aircrews alike can appreciate having a durable RAM iPad mount in the cockpit as well as in the cabin to keep their interfacing devices secure.

Innovation is the most important quality in any successful mounting solution, and from their variable-length, double-socketed arms, to their massive selection of ball bases, flexible RAM aviation iPad mounts are designed to let users adjust the position of their devices as often as they need, giving them the perfect viewing angle under any circumstance. That means no matter if you’re crewing a fixed or rotary winged aircraft, you have a virtually limitless range of options when it comes to finding a suitable location to mount your iPad, including:

• Along dashboards, cockpit bulkheads, or cabin panels;
• Against windscreens and transparencies; and,
• On your yoke or on your knee.

Make no mistake: while there are literally hundreds of possible custom configurations that can be made with RAM mount iPad holder components, they all share one common quality: stability. Regardless of where you decide to locate your RAM iPad mount, you can trust its patented design to dampen the shocks and vibration that can either damage your device, or cause it to come loose during hasty rotations, abrupt turns, as well as heavy turbulence.

Mounting Solutions That Are Engineered to Go Anywhere They’re Needed

RAM’s unrivalled selection of heavy-duty iPad mounting solutions begins with their base plates. It’s the initial point of contact that’s expected to remain immovable until purposely removed, and there are 5 major styles of bases that are used specifically with the iPad.

• Drill down mounts. RAM’s 2.5ʺ diameter drill down-style mounts with the pre-drilled, AMPS-standard hole pattern are the mainstays of their permanent stabilizing solutions, featuring a 1.5ʺ ball, and are available in either marine grade aluminium or stainless steel.
• Twist-lock™ suction cup mounts. Single-, double-, and triple-based RAM suction cup mounts for iPad accessories feature 3.3ʺ bases, are manufactured from marine grade aluminium or a special composite, and are perfect for non-porous surfaces like windscreens and transparencies.
• Handlebar U-Bolt mounts. These RAM mounts are designed to clamp to rails from 0.5ʺ to 1.25ʺ, allow for a virtually unlimited range of adjustability, and are also made of marine-grade steel, or stainless steel.
• Hose clamp mounts. These mounts are designed to be fitted to 2.0ʺ – 3.0ʺ rails and plates, and are an especially good option for use on throwover yoke aircraft like Beech Bonanzas and Barons, and dual yoke Debonairs.
• Glare shield clamp mounts. These mounts feature a 1.0ʺ diameter mounting ball and are designed to clamp firmly onto the edge of 5/8ʺ surfaces, primarily glare shields.

Together with their choices of arm lengths, clamping options, and either 4-hole square or 2-hole diamond AMPS-standard ball connections, RAM iPad mounts give pilots and other aircrews the flexibility to mount their devices the way they need, while staying fully within compliance with Civilian Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) safety guidance, especially on flight decks. And no matter which iPad model you have, you can be sure that RAM makes the correct support cradle to keep your device fully compliant.

RAM Has the Exact Support Cradle For Every iPad Model

Although the iPads’ real-time accuracy and abundance of computing power has been the key to its Civil Aviation Safety Regulation (CASR) Part 175 approval as a valid EFB, or Backup device, it’s their compact size that’s made all the difference for pilots and aircrews. However, with viewing areas varying between 8.3″ and 12.9″, iPads aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution. The support cradle used to hold a RAM iPad Mini mount simply isn’t big enough to mount an iPad Pro; that’s why RAM produces a full range of device holders that are designed specifically for each unique model and version of iPad that’s been released.

• For iPad Minis. Form-fitting EZ-Roll’r™ cradles are the standard iPad Mini RAM mount for all versions from 1 – 6, and are designed to keep the Mini’s full 8.3″ viewing screen visible, while still maintaining the most secure grip possible.
• For the iPad Air. With their 9.7″ – 10.0″ support area, Tab-Tite™ cradles are the ideal iPad Air RAM mount for maximum visibility for the device’s 9.7″ viewing area, as well as access to all its ports and functions.
• For iPad Pros. The EZ-Roll’r™ and X-Grip® RAM iPad Pro mount solutions are designed to accommodate the Pro’s full-sized 12.9″ screen without blocking its side buttons, camera, or charging port.

RAM even makes a universal leg mount that can be used with the iPad. Snap-Link rotating leg mounts are made from heavy-duty composite materials, and feature a 2-hole, diamond-shaped ball AMPS that any of the above cradles can be attached to. These adjustable RAM iPad mounts give pilots the convenience of going through all their pre-flight and inflight checks and activities with the ease of looking down at their legs.

The Final Word

At the end of the day, as growing numbers of portable, Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) hardware like iPads achieve greater acceptance in aviation, especially in the cockpit, finding ways to secure these devices has to be a priority. That’s because, despite their usefulness, they can’t be allowed to interfere with an aircraft’s safe operation.

The iPad is more than just another helpful device, though. It’s a cost-saver that brings real-time accuracy to aviation, and a durable RAM iPad mount is what’s needed to seamlessly integrate them into any aircraft.