Correct. Not all restart 172s have a power outlet.
Well it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve found out something new about a plane I’ve been flying for 20 yrs, but in this case not obviously.
dublinpilot wrote:
My experience has been that (…) lighter socket things never produce enough power (…).
At best they can keep an ipad from discharging, but not really charge it.
My experience back in 2015-2019 is that by choosing the cigar lighter – USB charger and the cable well (absolute rock-bottom minimum able 2.4A at 5V and implementing Apple’s proprietary coding for that), they will charge the iPad. With a recent iPad (able USB PD), I expect no need for the Apple proprietary coding any more, as long as the charger (and cable) support USB PD.
(After 2019 I rarely fly with the iPad in an USB charger in the cigar lighter socket, I had USB C PD 60W sockets installed on the panel.)
Aveling wrote:
The Cessna SP doesn’t have a cigar lighter or other outlet that I know about,
Unless there are variants of the Cessna 172 SP, or it is an option, they do. It is located at the middle of the centre console and has its own switch. According to the POH it must be off for start and landing.
My experience has been that thought lighter socket things never produce enough power and often cause interference.
At best they can keep an ipad from discharging, but not really charge it.
In the end, I settled with on a really good (Anker) charger with loads of power. It has the advantage of also being able to charge while on the ground between stops.
But really you want to be starting with a fully charged device which will probably then not need to be recharged inflight. If you are recharging in flight, temperatures rise significantly and you’re more likely to get thermal shutdown. This is where the battery pack comes in great. You can use your tablet inflight without charging and charge from the battery pack when you get to your destination and your tablet is turned off, and start the return flight with a fully recharged tablet.
The Cessna SP doesn’t have a cigar lighter or other outlet that I know about, so I carry several iPads for redundancy plus a portable battery pack which can keep one iPad with Foreflight going for 8 Hrs. Even then I’ve outflown them all and had to fall back on ‘traditional’ navigation (Panel mount KLN94) when away from controlled airspace!
There are 24/28V versions, for commercial vehicles.
Unless emissions data is available, I would simply buy the most expensive you can find. They are so cheap anyway.
I find this website very useful. https://lygte-info.dk/info/ChargerDCIndex%20UK.html Unfortunately he has not tested USB chargers in a while. I think (but I am not an expert) that noise on the DC output voltage is a reasonable proxy for build quality and RF noise…
As @mri mention yes, but be aware that many such chargers are cheap and generate noise or worse. I think there‘s a thread here somewhere that has lot‘s of feedback about what works and is recommended and what is junk. Personally, I would only use one from a aviation supplier such as Sportys or MyGoFlight, or at least a manufacturer known for quality gear.
All the ones I have seen work on 12-30V (trucks use 24V) but it should be written on your plug adapter.
