Tablet Airplane Seat Mount

You probably noticed how uncomfortable it is to watch movies on your tablet during a flight. Placing it on the tiny folding table provides an awkward viewing angle and puts a lot of stress on your neck, which, in my case, leads to headaches.

I recently found an elegant solution - Velcro. The seats on most airlines have a small patch of Velcro "hooks" (that's the rough side of Velcros) used for attaching a small headrest cover. In this Instructable I will show you how to mount your tablet using this small Velcro strip as a base.

Step 1: Materials

Note - I will be using the terms "hooks" and "loops" to describe the two types of Velcro strips. If you are unfamiliar with the terms, please check out the Velcro article on wikipedia.

What you will need:
* 1 meter of Velcro (both sides - hooks and loops) with a sticky back
* scissors
* a tablet
* cheap back cover for the tablet (optional)

Step 2: Preparing the Mount

The first part of the mount is the base. The base connects the mount to the seat in front of you and still allows the other passenger to place his/her headrest cover.  To make the base:
* cut a 20cm hooks piece
* cut a 20cm loops piece
* remove the protectors from the sticky back and glue these two pieces together

Now we'll need two long vertical strips. Cut two 30cm (or longer) hooks strips, and attach the tip of these strips to the sides of the base piece. Do not remove the sticky back protectors. I suggest leaving some room on the sides of the mount piece for better grip. If you do it right, you will get something that looks like a PI symbol (Π).

You'll might want to take some extra Velcro with you, for final adjustments. Just make sure you cut everything before you go on the plane - bringing scissors on board is probably a bad idea.

Step 3: Preparing the Tablet

Now you need to place a loops strip on your tablet so you can attach it to the mount. I have a crappy old tablet so I simply glued the strip directly to the tablet. However, if you don't want to permanently glue stuff to your fancy tablet, you can glue it cheap back cover.

Notes:
* the strip should be installed horizontally
* the strip should be wide enough to match the vertical strips of the mount itself. Use 20cm or more
* use two (or more) strips for better stability

Step 4: Mounting

Make sure you arrive early so you can place the mount without disturbing the passenger in front of you.

1. Carefully remove the headrest cover of the seat in front of you
2. Attach the tablet mount to the Velcro on the top of the seat. The hooks side of the mount base should point up. The two vertical strips should be pointing you
3. Place the headrest cover so the other passenger won't suspect anything
4. attach the tablet to the vertical strips. Move up/down to adjust the height

Now for the tricky part - adjusting the viewing angle. On my tablet I have this small built-in leg that I use to push it away from the seat. If you don't have one (you probably don't...) you can either find a back cover that has one or just come up with a cool solution and post it here :)

Have a safe flight! 

(P.S - Thank you Singapore Airlines for those photogenic seats!)

Comments

[matbh]

thank you my friend!!! my hands and arms will not hurt anymore! this thing is also useful when u r eating! amazing idea!!!

[migounanounet]

Nice one !!! I can't wait to try it :-)
thanks !

[sharpstick]

Current (2013)TSA regs say: "metal scissors with pointed tips and blades shorter than 4 inches are allowed, but blades longer than 4 inches are prohibited"

[dboulant]

seems like you could fish the straps behind the seat mount screen as well, solid mounting point.

[OrenLederman]

that's not a bad idea. Does anyone have a flight soon and can check whether it is possible?

[dad_a_monk]

Most airlines don't have the hard rest covers you are talking about in the U.S. I have seen them on some of the cheaper European airlines and as you stated Singapore Air. So it will only work if it has the replaceable head rest cover with velcro. Other big disadvantage is you need the permission of the person in front of you. You are attaching it to their head rest after all.

Perhaps a better way on airlines that have a screen built into the head rest, which is more common than the velcro, would be a suction cup mount to attach it to the screen in the rest. It would give the same viewing placement but would not affect the person in front, and could easily be removed and attached when you wish to view the built in screen. Not to mention elimination of that horrible velcro sound each time you remove it.