In rec.aviation.misc Peter wrote:
I need at least 8GB and in 1.8" format, and it doesn't seem to be
available.

I think M-Systems has flash disks in 1.8", but Digi-Key doesn't carry
that line. I don't know how much storage they offer in 1.8".

An alternative might be to buy a 2.5" or 3.5" IDE flash disk and put it
in an external USB enclosure. This will probably work a lot better if
your portable PC has USB 2.0 ports and you use a USB 2.0 enclosure.

The other thing is that the BIOS doesn't support the SD slot as a
bootable block device, so one couldn't (AFAIK) install windoze on the
SD card directly.

You might have to install it somewhere else, image it over to the SD
card, and then use something like Smart Boot Manager
http://btmgr.sourceforge.net/about.html to boot from the SD card. I've
used SBM on a floppy to boot various installation CDs on an older PC
that didn't have a BIOS setting for booting from CD. Of course your PC
probably doesn't have a floppy, so you'll have to be creative.

I am just curious what "altitude" solutions the GA vendors are
offering... they can't all pack up at 14k, or can they????

I can think of a few reasons this wouldn't work, like condensation,
poking holes in it with the stylus, and dying of embarrasment if anyone
sees it, but how about a big Ziploc-type plastic bag? Wait until 10000
or so, put the PC in the bag, seal it up, and the PC has a nice little
pressurized compartment to live in. OK, having a bag failure take out
all of your navigation information probably isn't the best idea. Maybe
put a normal hard drive in a USB enclosure, then put the USB enclosure
in a Pelican case or similar and figure out a way to seal around the
cable.

Matt Roberds