Hands-On Review--The Aviator, An Airline Tray Table 'Book Stand

We travel a lot by air and frequently try to work with our notebook computer in economy/coach class. We write "try" because these days virtually every seat is taken on every flight and the seat pitch is so low there that there is precious little space to the next seat in front, especially if the person in that seat decides to recline it which is virtually always. Even if we can get our notebook open, which has been a challenge for us with a 17" PowerBook G4 and now a 15" MacBook Pro, there is the constant fear that a sudden recline of the seat back in front will catch our screen in the tray table notch and crush it.

Sound familiar? If so, Keynamics may have an inexpensive solution for you called the Aviator. We were introduced to the Aviator by a press release and instantly thought it could be the solution for us. So, we purchased an Aviator for this review.

Less than a week later our gray Aviator showed up. As you can see in the image above from Keynamics' Web site, the Aviator is nothing more than three pieces of plastic, two ends and a cross-piece, that weight about 9 oz. However, the plastic is thick and strong and the fit and finish is excellent. When assembled, the Aviator is very sturdy. The Keynamics Web page shows one wheel of a Toyota Land Cruiser being supported by the Aviator to illustrate its strength--more than is needed, of course.

There are two positions to use the Aviator, "on top" and "on notch." The "on notch" position is for use on an airline tray table. In this position, the Aviator has rubber strips on the support end's lower edges to keep it from sliding around. The top edges have the same rubber strips to keep one's notebook from sliding on the Aviator.

When disassembled, the pieces interlock with two small triangular tabs on the cross-piece so they stay together, laying flat in our MacBook Pro's bag.

So how did it work? Last week we used the Aviator with our 15" MacBook Pro in coach class both ways on a transcontinental flight. We found the working position provided by sitting our 15" MacBook Pro on the Aviator to be excellent. It cantilevered some 2-3" of our MacBook Pro's front edge over the tray table edge toward us. It also raised the rear edge and screen top some 3" higher. This gave us a very comfortable position to type and view the screen. It also raised the top edge of the MacBook Pro's screen well above the tray table notch in the seat in front of us, eliminating all fear of it being crushed by a sudden recline. On both flights, the person in front of us reclined their seat back for most of the flight but we still had room to work.

The image at right is from Keynamics' Web site--it shows how the Aviator is oriented but without the seat back in front being in a reclined position. Note that the top of the screen is above the dangerous tray table notch. The airline tray table can be pulled all the way toward one's body and the Aviator will still yield a comfortable typing position. We confirmed this with our 15" MacBook Pro.

We also found the Aviator to be a good portable desk stand. We used it in our hotel room and during our meetings.

In summary, the Aviator is a worthy 9oz addition to our MacBook Pro's bag. It enables us to work with our 15" MacBook Pro on a crowded flight in coach class. We guess that it might also work with the larger 17" PowerBook G4, although it would be close. Our use of the Aviator drew some stares, questions and trial use by other passengers seated around us. I suspect we "sold" several on each flight. It also works very well on a desk in a hotel or meeting room. The Aviator by Keynamics is $19.99 and comes in gray, black or white. [Bill Fox]