Flight Training - May 2020 - 12
PREFLIGHT WHAT AM I?
BY MIKE COLLINS
POWER PORTS
KEEPING YOUR TECHNOLOGY CHARGED
ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHANGES IN AIRCRAFT COCKPITS OVER
the past few years has been the shift to tablet computers and
even smartphones running electronic flight bag apps, many of
which can provide digital aeronautical charts. But the need to
run your technology continuously during a flight has the predictable effect of draining the batteries.
Aircraft cockpits today increasingly feature USB power
ports. These reduce the 14- or 28-volt current from the aircraft's electrical system to a lower DC voltage that can safely
charge personal technology. For a power port to be permanently
installed in the aircraft, it should have FAA technical standard
order (TSO) approval, and the installation will be protected by a
circuit breaker. Aircraft-grade power ports are shielded, which
means you shouldn't experience interference or static in your
aircraft radios when the power port is in use. Many power ports
have two USB slots, and a rating of 2.5 amps should allow a port
to charge a full-size iPad while the device is in use.
Older aircraft may have a cigar lighter. This is a cylindrical
receptacle about 3/4 inch in diameter that also provides power to
portable devices. (A cigar lighter is the same size as the cigarette
12 FLIGHT TRAINING MAY 2020
lighter that used to be common in cars, and there's no clear reference as to why many older aircraft used the cigar lighter term.)
Note that some cigar lighters might not provide power. Some
initially were installed without circuit-breaker protection, and
a 1979 airworthiness directive required that the cigar lighters
in a large number of single-engine Cessna airplanes either be
disconnected or connected to a breaker (removing them was
optional). In those pre-personal-technology days, many aircraft
owners opted to simply disconnect the lighter, and some have
never been reconnected.
You might be able to purchase a USB adapter for a cigar (or
cigarette) lighter, but this type of solution may be less reliable. Vibration eventually can break the electrical contact, and
charging will stop-and portable units like these, if not designed
for aircraft use, are more likely to cause radio interference. Keep
in mind that if the unit is not designed to handle 28-volt current,
using it in an aircraft with a 28-volt system will ruin the adapter
and could damage the connected electronics.
mike.collins@aopa.org
Flight Training - May 2020
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - May 2020
Contents
Flight Training - May 2020 - Intro
Flight Training - May 2020 - Cover1
Flight Training - May 2020 - Cover2
Flight Training - May 2020 - Contents
Flight Training - May 2020 - 2
Flight Training - May 2020 - 3
Flight Training - May 2020 - 4
Flight Training - May 2020 - 5
Flight Training - May 2020 - 6
Flight Training - May 2020 - 7
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Flight Training - May 2020 - Cover3
Flight Training - May 2020 - Cover4
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