Mounting a Cell Phone on a Flight Deck

Why?

• Modern cell phones now have more processing power than most of our flight instruments and beautiful screens to display all the information that we need to fly XC.
• With a flight instrument connected to the cell network you can now get in air information previously unavailable like wind conditions on the ground, weather radar and also supply a live tracking for retrive drivers and friends!
• Using your cell phone as a GPS, vario or task navigator with a cheap or free app makes economical sense. Many models of phones now have barometric pressure sensors and some tablets have beautiful e-ink displays for extra large display space.

How Does it Work

• The best way to put a cell phone on your flight deck is by adding a heavy duty case to your phone and then applying a velcro backing to the case.
• All flight decks have the loop (fuzzy) side as their base. Therefore all instruments should have the hook side of the velcro applied to them.
• Adding a lanyard to your cell phone case adds extra protection however if you have enough velcro on your phone and attaches well to your flight deck the chances of it falling off are extremely low.
• Theoretically you could add velcro directly to the back of your phone but this permanently damages your phone so I figure it makes more sense to apply it to a case which provides extra protection.

Supplies

• Cell Phone case - $20 - I like the Otterbox Commuter series which provides dust proofing as well as a beefy container for you phone.
• Velcro with sticky back, 2" width - $5
• Sew on velcro, 2" wide - $5/yard, available in bulk from amazon or by yard from any fabric store
• Total Cost = ~$30

Construction

• Install your phone in the case
• Place a large piece of the sticky backed velcro (hook side) on the back of the cell phone case, make sure not to cover any holes for things like camera, speaker or microphone.
• Cut a piece of of the sew on velcro (fuzzy/loop side) to fit the piece attached to your phone. When your phone is not on the flight deck you can apply this to your phone so it won't stick to everything.