On a high-resolution PPC, MountainScope’s displays, left, are stunning. NavAir, right, recently added approach plate capability.

by Frank Bowlin

Although we’re a long way from a computer in every cockpit, tablet PCs and PDAs—personal digital assistants—are finding plenty to do in the world of light aircraft GA. When they first appeared more than a decade ago—remember Apple’s ill-starred Newton?—PDAs weren’t even called PDAs and the market was limited to the pocket protector crowd.

Not anymore. PDAs have become ever more capable and the number of aviation-specific PDA applications has exploded. Significantly, the world’s dominant avionics manufacturer, Garmin, has a Palm-based PDA and it recently introduced the first aviation-specific model, the iQue 3600a, to compete with products from Control Vision, AirGator and other plying the palmtop subgenre. In the February…