I think my way forward will be to acquire a drone only tablet and keep all other apps off it. The M3 looks promising and was one of Litchi suggestions.
I looked and compared both the M3 and the Galaxy Tab S2. They're very comparable for specifications, although the M3 may have a slight advantage. Although I was leaning to the S2, I knew what to expect from a Samsung. My biggest reason for getting a dedicated tablet was screen size. Although the screen on my S5 phone isn't small, it's far from ideal for reading all the nagging little warnings that pop up while flying. That, and being able to clearly see all of the in-flight data on the screen was also a concern. The M3 was a bit less money, and the positive comments by others on this site are what pushed me in that direction. My M3 doesn't have data, but it does have GPS. I just received it this week and haven't had it out on flights yet but, hopefully this weekend. I think either the M3 or the Tab S2 would be good choices. Good luck.