AirVenture is arguably the largest aviation event in the world. Seven days of full-on aviation related activities (air shows, demonstrations, forums, workshops, meet ups, exhibits etc). The number of people who attended was around 677,000 with 93 countries (outside the US) represented. You can check out more astounding numbers here on the EAA site.
We had the opportunity to book a stand at the Fly Market. Some people commented that it would be better if we were in the indoor Hangar exhibits. But thankfully we still did alright. I have had around 180-200 people come through the stand where I got to demonstrate and explain how our cooling case works. It was great to have those face-to-face conversations because it gave people a tangible experience of the product and I gathered lots of feedback and had some useful takeaways. We also ran a giveaway of some sample cooling cases for the iPad mini 6 which led to some really good engagements.
Here are four main things that I took away from the week:
1) We need to make cooling cases for the bigger iPads.
That includes the regular iPads, the iPad Air and iPad Pros in 11" or 12.9". Based on the conversations we had with the pilots that came to our stand, 63% of them use the minis while the rest have the bigger iPads and they are looking for a cooling solution. So the plan is now to develop the bigger cooling cases and release them by early next year. If you belong to the "bigger iPad" group and would like to be informed, drop us a message and let us know which model you use.
2) Concerns about powering the cooling
One of the recurring questions from pilots are: "can I charge or power the cooling on the plane?" or "can I charge both the iPad and the cooling at the same time with one cable?". Most of the time, my answer is: you don't need to charge both the iPad and cooling at the same time usually. But I soon recognise that there should always be a contingency plan and probably a splitter cable that charges 2 devices with one output is the best option. Perhaps that is what we should offer in the near future.
3) Adapting to other mounting systems.
There are many different mounting options out there for iPads. Everyone has one that they prefer. Besides RAM (which has options that work well with our cooling cases), two other really popular ones are MyGoFlight and Pivot mounts. It is almost impossible to get people to switch to a different mounting from one they are already familiar with. It makes sense because they have already invested into their existing mounting systems. So alternatively, what we can try to do is to come up with ways for our cooling case to work with either the MyGoFlight mounting system and/or the Pivot one.
A few people also brought up AirGizmos, a company that develops panel docking/mounting solutions for tablets. That might be others. So if you would like us to look into adapting our cooling case to work with the mounting of your choice, do reach out to us.
4) Partnering with other enterprises
Lastly, being in the same grounds as other organisations and businesses in aviation means the opportunity to meet up and discuss possible collaborations. Some of the potential partnering we are working towards are:
- traditional media (aviation related magazines),
- digital media (Instagram and Youtube creators),
- businesses that develop software/applications for iPads
- pilot shops or distributors
- not for profit organisations that could benefit from our products.
If you belong to any of these enterprises and would be interested in a partnership, please feel free to contact us.
Until next time!