Using your laptop on your actual lap, especially in a car, airplane, or that recliner at the Copacabana, is almost as much of a trial as learning a new piece of software. A few gadgets have been sold specially for the purpose of stabilizing the slippery little machines, but longtime pilots have known the answer since Lindbergh discovered the high road to Paris.
Pilots have had to write notes, read charts, and keep track of where they are as if their lives depended on it. Which is exactly why they developed kneeboards in a wild assortment of flavors. My favorite is the inexpensive but well-made aluminum "Pilot's Pal" Clipboard from Sporty's Pilot Shop. It comes with a comfortably wide, adjustable elastic strap and an irrelevant (to this purpose) pad of FAA flight plan forms. They make fine paper airplanes.
At about 6-by-9 inches, it might at first seem too small for the job, but it works just as well as a larger, harder-to-pack surface. It keeps the computer stable and in just the right position for typing and track-balling.
The whole Sporty's Pilot Shop catalog offers a glimpse into the pilot's world. One negative: The photographers don't seem to have realized that women can fly planes too.
Pilot's Pal Clipboard: US$15. Sporty's Pilot Shop: (800) 543 8633, +1 (513) 732 2411.
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