RUDDER & WRENCH NEVER AGAIN / Out of focus An iPad interferes with the flight controls BY JUAN B. PLAZA SAVE ON THE THINGS YOU NEED... AND THE THINGS YOU WANT ENJOY AOPA MEMBERS-ONLY DISCOUNTS ON: - Avionics - Hangars & Ground Equipment - Parts - Pilot Supplies - Services - Training - Travel Start saving with AOPA today! aopa.org/lifestyles IN 2006, two years after earning my private pilot certificate, I bought a Cirrus SR20. Following 10 arduous hours of training in the sleek aircraft I soloed it for the first time a week after the purchase. It was a 2001 model and had the initial configuration of steam gauges on the left side of the panel and an Avidyne multifunction display (MFD) on the right, which made the transition from traditional instruments to glass rather easy. Another feature of the Cirrus that I enjoyed was the electric trim, conveniently located at the top of both pilot and co-pilot joysticks. Little did I know that this great feature would almost cause a freak accident years later. In 2008 a friend of mine, a private pilot who had always flown a high-wing Cessna, asked me for a ride in my composite aircraft with modern avionics; he 100 AOPA PILOT / December 2021 was thinking about purchasing a similar model and making the switch to a glass cockpit. I happily agreed. The aircraft was parked at the ramp of the Boca Raton Airport (BCT) and when my friend arrived at 8:30 a.m. it was already hot and humid, a typical day in August in South Florida. I wanted to make the flight early in the morning to avoid the inevitable afternoon thunderstorms. My friend brought his iPad loaded with ForeFlight and a suction cup mount to place it on his side of the windshield. He asked me if it was OK, and I said yes. The location of his iPad on the windshield allowed me to have a complete view of the front over the nose of the aircraft and only obscured a small portion of the horizon to my right. The temporary setup looked solid, so I did not think about it again. ANDREW BAKERhttp://www.aopa.org/lifestyles