Flight bag upgrades

$150 off an iPad mini 6 on sale at Amazon finally convinced me to upgrade from the iPad mini 4 I’ve been dragging between rental planes (with its slightly cracked screen and outdated operating system - iPadOS 16, released in 2023, left it behind). Since it would now be USB C instead of Lightning, and since my old charging setup was woefully inadequate (10,000 mAh and 10W total output power), it was time to just sort of refresh things. Flight bag, 2020 edition, now:

• Center Section Four
• Top Pocket: Still the AO sunglasses and foggles.
• Main compartment:
• Same Stratus GPS / ADS-B receiver and RAM suction cup mount. At some point I might replace the battery, through the official kit ($125) or just an aftermarket battery ($30).
• Same Bose A20 headset, but I needed to replace the ear pads; I opted to use the official Bose SKU ($36 shipped).
• Same Velcro PTT switch.
• New for the iPad mini 6: RAM-B-202-AP36U RAM® EZ-Roll'r™ Cradle with Ball for Apple iPad mini 6 ($36.50). I’ll also need to pick up the matching X-Naut cooling case at some point ($200).
• Same RAM RAM-HOL-BC1 / RAM-B-238U mount for the Yaesu FTA550 handheld radio.
• RAM-B-121B Yoke Clamp Base (I’m not sure where my RAM RAP-B-400U claw got off to, but I’ve had this thing for forever and it works great).
• RAM RAM-B-224-1U suction cup base with ball, for window mounting whatever (radio, iPad...).
• I’m not lugging around an iPhone cradle anymore, as I was changing phones too often to keep up.
• Various length RAM arms: RAP-B-201U-A (short; 2.42"),  RAP-B-201U (standard; 3.75"), RAM-B-201U-C (long; 6"), for different combinations.
• Pocket Cap Front
• Top inner pocket: iPhone in flight.
• Top large pocket:
• Need to update to reflect current layout
• Top outer pocket:
• Yaesu SCU-15 headset adapter
• 3.5mm M/M audio cable
• Lightning to 3.5mm adapter (came with my phone)
  
• Middle inner pocket: ASA AFT SHORT fuel tester
• Middle large pocket: New: SHARGEEK 140 Power Bank, 140W Output 20000mAh ($90), this thing is perfect for the flight bag. Slim, has a nice LCD display that shows power output, capacity, charging rate, etc., delivers more than enough power to both charge and use the iPad mini 6 and Stratus 2S simultaneously, and with 72Wh capacity, should be able to fully recharge the iPad mini 6 (19.3 Wh) and Stratus 2S (19.6 Wh) at least once from 0 to 100%. I have the Storm 2 from the same company and so far it’s held up.
•  Middle front pocket: Was full of pens and styluses etc., but the new battery pack is just large enough to make that really awkward. Re-evaluating the use of that pocket.
• Bottom inner pocket: Same Gerber multitool.
• Bottom large pocket:
• New: Anker USB C Car Charger Adapter, 52.5W Cigarette Lighter USB Charger ($11), with both a USB-A port providing up to 22.5W (the Stratus 2S seems to not want to negotiate with a USB-C to USB-C charging circuit, but slurps happily from an "A" port) and a USB-C port providing 30W USB-C PD (simultaneously).
• New: Repurposed the PowerCore Fusion 10000 (earlier discussion) to be both a wall wart and an integrated battery (35.2Wh) as a backup or to charge other devices.
• Cables and adapters:
• 6' USB-A to USB-C cable for the Stratus 2S
• 6.6' SABRENT USB C to USB C Charging Cable with Smart Display for the iPad mini 6 (and to recharge the SHARGEEK pack if needed)
  
• Mini Travel Portable Fast Magnetic Charger for Apple Watch ($6)
• TechMatte USB C Type C to Lightning Adapter ($6 for a 2-pack)
  
• Travel-sized deodorant.
• Bottom front pocket:
• Aleve ($15 for a 3-pack)
• Vivarin ($7)
  
• Loose batteries
• Inner pocket:
• New: iPad mini 6 (64GB WiFi) in an inexpensive protective case, with a “dupe” pencil (first was this $26 gadget, which worked well and I liked it, but a foster dog destroyed it, so I replaced it with this even less expensive alternate, which doesn’t charge magnetically but otherwise seems to be just as good). While I’ve usually gotten a keyboard case for my iPad minis in the past, I skipped it this time as I rarely used them, and have a folding keyboard I can bring with me if I think I’ll need it.
• Flat Cap Rear
• Inner pocket:
• Occasionally a 13" MacBook Air laptop (about the biggest I’d try to slide into that pocket), or, these days, probably the MiniBook X.
  
• Outer pocket (open):
• Kneeboard (when I’m not actively flight training, I tend not to use this, though, and just use the scratchpad functionality in ForeFlight)
• Outer pocket (velcro flap):
• Medical certificate
• Pilot certificate
• Passport
• Other paperwork
• Side Pocket Alpha
• CamelBak Eddy 0.6L water bottle (the bigger ones - I found 0.75L most commonly - don’t fit) or, now in rotation, a 24 oz. Contigo, doesn’t have the straw, but keeps the water cool; a Hydro Flask would probably work too.
  
• Side Pocket Charlie
• Yaesu FTA550 handheld radio (comes with a headset adapter, belt clip, 12V adapter, etc). I spent about $200 on it in 2017 and money well spent. The antenna slips securely into one of the “pen holders” on the side of this pocket.
•  Smith & Wesson Galaxy LED flashlight, red or white illumination. Appears to be no longer available, which is a shame, it’s the perfect size and brightness.

 

Test run, charging and using the iPad mini 6 and Stratus 2S from the SHARGEEK 140

Charging and using both the iPad mini 6 (USB C connection) and the Stratus 2S (USB A connection) from the SHARGEEK 140 confirms what I expected, this power pack is more than adequate to provide the ~23 W of power needed, and should provide enough power for at least a flight back to SoCal from Las Vegas, even if the plane doesn’t have a worknig 12V outlet. I think I’m good.