I am a user of Logitech/Saitek instrument panels with the above SPAD.neXt app. Updates to the app recommend a high-end powered USB hub which I thought I had (Logik 7-port with 2500mA max total and "not more than 500mA per port at the same time"). I have reset all advanced power settings as per SPAD.neXt recommendations.

However, I still get significant drop-outs with anomalous aircraft behaviour such as sudden un-programmed turns.

Is my USB hub not up to the task? Or am I doing something wrong?

Edited August 25Aug 25 by roadrabbit149
clarity

43 minutes ago, roadrabbit149 said:

However, I still get significant drop-outs

Is my USB hub not up to the task? Or am I doing something wrong?

I use this TP-Link Powered USB 3.0 Hub with 7 USB 3.0 data ports and 2 smart-charging USB ports. It’s compatible with Windows, Mac, Chrome, and Linux, and it also has a power on/off button and a 12V/4A power adapter (UH720).

I’ve had no issues with it since purchasing it. At the same time, I would recommend checking that your USB ports aren’t going to sleep. This can be adjusted individually, or you can select a power plan that prevents your peripherals from being put to sleep unnecessarily.

I hope this helps and that it solves your similar issue!

Thanks for the recommendation - I have ordered one immediately.

41 years on the B747? I finished on the B744 in 2001 after 35 years - had to retire at 55 sadly. 3 years later the compulsory retirement aged was lifted to 65 (by order of the EU) but it was too late for me. Like you, I thoroughly enjoyed training others - a way to share the pleasure. My avatar shows me doing what I liked best!😎

Edited August 25Aug 25 by roadrabbit149

1 hour ago, roadrabbit149 said:

Thanks for the recommendation - I have ordered one immediately.

41 years on the B747? I finished on the B744 in 2001 after 35 years - had to retire at 55 sadly. 3 years later the compulsory retirement aged was lifted to 65 (by order of the EU) but it was too late for me. Like you, I thoroughly enjoyed training others - a way to share the pleasure. My avatar shows me doing what I liked best!😎

Thinking back to the classics, we had a few guys who went sideways after retirement. We used to call them “switch bitches”—always complaining, always finding something different. They weren't professional FEs, and it could be difficult to adjust to having them around. But the really good ones—the professional FEs—we called the “systems gods.” And they truly were.

It was both hilarious and painful to see a former CA, after so many years in the left seat, suddenly find himself in that position. But we knew each other well, so you can imagine the back-and-forth comments and the good-natured abuse that went with it.

Many times, on ferry or no-revenue flights, I would reward them out of respect by giving them the left seat and letting them have their moment. That worked beautifully until one rather weak FO decided to turn me in. I was lucky that the CP and DO were classmates, and I escaped with nothing more than a serious verbal warning: “Cut it out!”

Those were different days—different airplanes, different characters, and, in many ways, a different airline culture. Looking back now, some of those memories make me laugh, while others make me realize just how fortunate I was to have been part of that era.

Now, after retirement, I spend two weeks on and two weeks off in the simulator. I have to admit, I get humbled by what I see and by how much there still is to learn. But honestly, it is a wonderful feeling to still be involved in airline training, to share what I've learned, and—just as importantly—to keep learning from others.

Not as much as before, of course. The days of living in the cockpit are behind me. Now I feel like a lion in a cage. But I'm genuinely grateful for this opportunity. After all those years, I never imagined that retirement would still give me a chance to sit in a simulator, teach, share a few stories, and continue learning alongside the next generation.

And perhaps that's the best part of all: you never really stop being a pilot.