iPads for NZ Commercial Cockpits

[Sqwark2000]

NZ pilots to trade air charts for iPads

BY MICHAEL FIELD

Pilots flying New Zealand skies might soon be able to toss out bulky briefcases stuffed with maps and checklists and instead use an iPad in the cockpit.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it was considering following an American lead where the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has given the go-ahead in a trial for a limited number of airlines to allow pilots to swap 15kg of paper for 600g of iPad – known as "electronic flight bags".

Communications manager Bill Sommer said CAA has received inquiries from air operators asking for permission to also make the swap.

"The CAA is considering the introduction of an Advisory Circular that would allow the use of iPads and similar devices for use on aircraft by operators as Electronic Flight Bags," he said.

New Zealand authorities were seeking guidance from FAA and European Aviation Safety Authority guidelines.

Alaska Airlines will try the iPads which can draw on around 250 general aviation apps that simplify pre-flight planning and assist with in-flight operations.

"The iPad allows pilots to quickly and nimbly access information," Jim Freeman, a pilot and director of flight standards at Alaska Airlines, which has given iPads to all its pilots, told the New York Times.

"When you need to a make a decision in the cockpit, three to four minutes fumbling with paper is an eternity."

New Zealand will model its proposed circular on one issued by the FAA which said the major motivator for them was "to reduce or eliminate the need for paper and other reference materials in the cockpit". It said there were systems being developed for iPads that support the functions of all phases of flight operations.

The FAA said that in the transition to a paperless cockpit, aircraft operators would need to find a way to provide a reliable backup. Suggestions included "paper products" be carried by a crew member. Another was to have an on-board fax machine to get paper to the cockpit if the iPad failed.

The FAA also considered where an iPad be mounted in flight and even the kind of colours used in aviation apps. It stipulated that red "should be used only to indicate a warning level condition" and banned the use of flashing text or symbols.

CAA has called for submissions on its proposed circular.
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- Sunday Star Times

[Capn Bloggs]

"When you need to a make a decision in the cockpit, three to four minutes fumbling with paper is an eternity."
ipads would be great but that is a bit of a furphy IMO. I'd wager it would take just as much time to hoik out your ipad, boot it up, go to the app with the info you want and then find the info compared to diving into my navbag, pulling out the required doc and opening it at the correct page.

Alaska Airlines... ...has given iPads to all its pilots
I'll take one! :ok:

[MilFlyer]

ipads would be great but that is a bit of a furphy IMO. I'd wager it would take just as much time to hoik out your ipad, boot it up, go to the app with the info you want and then find the info compared to diving into my navbag, pulling out the required doc and opening it at the correct page.



Try an iPad kneeboard! https://www.flightplanning.com.au/home.php?cat=250. Then it is on your leg, booted and ready to give you what you need :ok:

[yowieII]

It would prob be already out, mounted and booted Bloggs..

[Capt Claret]

Bloggs said, ipads would be great but that is a bit of a furphy IMO. I'd wager it would take just as much time to hoik out your ipad, boot it up, go to the app with the info you want and then find the info compared to diving into my navbag, pulling out the required doc and opening it at the correct page.

No booting required, and, if it's an iPad 2, open cover & it's on.

I'll wager my electronic search of the AIP v your flicking of pages, to find some obscure reference that neither of us knows the exact location. :8

Would you recognise an iPad if you saw one? :cool:

Nav bags at 10 paces, I say. :p

[Sunfish]

Ok, it's iPad vs. paper charts at Ten paces. I use Ozrunways, Naips for iPad, and Goodreader for reading .pdf's.

With my iPad i can flick from Aviation weather, to flightplan, to WAC, VNC, VTC, ERC, DAP the entire AIP and of course any ERSA entry and back again in less than Ten seconds.

Then I have the "Goodreader" App. Under that I have the VFG and all capital city guides (being a lowly bugsmasher person). I also have a complete set of checklists for the aircraft as well as the entire POH in .pdf format (checked to match revision dates and pages numbers with paper POH).

The upside? I can spend more time with my eyes outside instead of fumbling with paper.

The downside? If this thing fails or runs out of battery, I'm in trouble without paper.

[27/09]

Pray tell, what does the mighty iPad do that that a lowly book reader like for example the Kindle cannot do as regards displaying the pages of the AIP. The iPad seems to me to be an over kill for if it's just to be used instead of Vols 1,2,3 & 4 of the NZAIP

[Capt Claret]

Pray tell, what does the mighty iPad do that that a lowly book reader like for example the Kindle cannot do as regards displaying the pages of the AIP. The iPad seems to me to be an over kill for if it's just to be used instead of Vols 1,2,3 & 4 of the NZAIP

An Aussie perspective.


The iPad will download Jeppesen IAL Charts, the Kindle won't.
In time (expected this year) the iPad will download & display the AIP. The Kindle may not.
The iPad will also run NAIPS, the Kindle won't.
The iPad will run OzRunways, including a country wide WAC. The Kindle won't.
The iPad allows web surfing, email, callender, address book, a multitude of useful or entertaining Apps. The Kindle doesn't.

[Ultralights]

Ibooks app now reads PDF files as well. all pdf files all there on the shelf ready to go.

[Capn Bloggs]

No booting required, and, if it's an iPad 2, open cover & it's on.

That's because you didn't turn it fully off in the first place like you're supposed to, Claret. :=

Interestingly and a bit OT, the AUS AIP has been dumbed-down and is now a downloadable PDF in the 3 sections and the Index, complete with what looks like proper change-bars.

[compressor stall]

That's because you didn't turn it fully off in the first place like you're supposed to, Claret.

How can you taxi out and use the SID chart with it fully off? The certification / permission is to allow this.

From off to swiping on, entering password to swiping to find Goodreader to select aircraft type folder, open FCOM 4 and search the bookmarks for a specific chapter just took me 12 seconds. It would take longer than that to reach around behind the seat undo the strap (your FCOMs are strapped securely aren't they Bloggs?) grab the correct FCOM out redo the strap and resume your scan. Even longer if you are PF and need to hand over...

[Sunfish]

iPad has GPS and Ozruways does a moving map display with DTR, ETA, ETE, GS, etc. etc. etc.

[yowieII]

And through goodreader all our company manuals and notices are updated at the touch of the sync button, gold:ok:
Sent from my iPad....

[27/09]

Captain Claret and Sunfish

My comment was regarding just the ability to display the AIP. You go and add a host of other functions that I don't think were mentioned in the article that prompted this thread.

Kindles do .pdf files so far as I am aware and the whole AIP is in .pdf format.

As for the iPad having GPS and being able to do moving map stuff. If you want this in the cockpit get a proper multifunction display (like the MX200) driven off a TSO'd GPS and do it properly.

I see so many photos of cockpits with a multitude of hand held GPS units and tablets/iPads etc along with a web of power cable/aerial leads. It looks a cluttered mess and a real hazard if you need to evacuate in a hurry.

[notmyC150v2]

Pardon my confusion, but why would the flight crew be able to operate the iPad when I can't even play solitaire on my iPhone (whilst on flight mode) for fear of bringing the flight to a premature and firey end???

[Capn Bloggs]

How can you taxi out and use the SID chart with it fully off? The certification / permission is to allow this.
Ask the certifying authority. To my knowledge, operators in CASA and NZ land are not (yet) authorised to takeoff or land with these things ON or in Standby.

your FCOMs are strapped securely aren't they Bloggs?
The discussion is about access to AIP (carried in my bag beside me), not the FCOMs. Plenty of need to access charts during taxi; I've never needed to access the FCOM during taxi, nor do I think I ever will.

From off to swiping on, entering password to swiping to find Goodreader to select aircraft type folder, open FCOM 4 and search the bookmarks for a specific chapter just took me 12 seconds.
I ask again: is that from Fully Off, or just a Soft Off? Quite a few examples on the net show a full bootup takes at least 20 seconds.

Don't get me wrong; when they get approved, I'll probably get one. The screen format is by far the best for document reading; I don't understand why the all Android tabs are so long and skinny. But until the ipad can legally replace the few kg of paper I carry (did I read 15kg??) and Jepp gets it's act together with the Airway Manual and charts, I'll wait.

[doubleu-anker]

Kindle

We use jepview, print out the charts that are required for the trip plus alternates.

The charts can be converted to PDF(cutePDF writer) and downloaded to the kindle, then can be used.

Seems sanity is prevailing, instead of knocking down half the rain forest every time there is a flight!

[compressor stall]

Bloggs

To my knowledge, operators in CASA and NZ land are not (yet) authorised to takeoff or land with these things ON or in Standby.

I thought that it was the operator who called the electronic device shots, NOT the regulator. It might be not permitted in your airline, but only because your airline has said so.

Both CASA and NZ have indicated that they are relying on the FAA regulations and testing, and there it's the Operator that determines whether there is any interference and whether it can be used for take-off or landing.

Here's the FAA circular http://www.faa.gov/other_visit/aviation_industry/airline_operators/airline_safety/info/all_infos/media/2011/InFO11011.pdf


And here's the FAA regulation

Sec. 91.21

Portable electronic devices.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, no person may operate, nor may any operator or pilot in command of an aircraft allow the operation of, any portable electronic device on any of the following U.S.-registered civil aircraft:
(1) Aircraft operated by a holder of an air carrier operating certificate or an operating certificate; or
(2) Any other aircraft while it is operated under IFR.
(b) Paragraph (a) of this section does not apply to--
(1) Portable voice recorders;
(2) Hearing aids;
(3) Heart pacemakers;
(4) Electric shavers; or
(5) Any other portable electronic device that the operator of the aircraft has determined will not cause interference with the navigation or communication system of the aircraft on which it is to be used.
(c) In the case of an aircraft operated by a holder of an air carrier operating certificate or an operating certificate, the determination required by paragraph (b)(5) of this section shall be made by that operator of the aircraft on which the particular device is to be used. In the case of other
aircraft, the determination may be made by the pilot in command or other operator of the aircraft.

[Sqwark2000]

I believe the iPad has undergone certification trials in the US to be certified as a class 2 EFB.

I know our Flt Ops Manager is pretty keen on the iPad and it's application in the cockpit.

NetJets subsidiary Executive Jet Management has received US FAA approval to use an Apple iPad App from Jeppesen as an alternative to paper aeronautical maps, in a precedent-setting move that will set the stage for this portable electronic flight bag (EFB) solution to be rolled out by business and commercial aircraft operators alike.
The first publicly-disclosed customer of Jeppesen's so-called Mobile TC (terminal charts) iPad App - which turns the tablet into a Class 1 kneeboard EFB - Executive Jet is now using the solution as the sole reference for electronic charts - including during taxi, takeoff and landing - on "10 different aircraft types" in its fleet, reveals Jeff Buhl, Jeppesen Mobile TC App project manager and senior manager, Jeppesen Enterprise Solutions.
FAA authorisation came after an intensive three-month in-flight evaluation, which included a successful rapid decompression test on the iPad to 51,000ft (15,555m) and non-interference testing. Executive Jet president Robert Garrymore says the firm was pleased to collaborate with Jeppesen and the FAA on the iPad EFB "and to support the introduction of this technology to the industry". Saying it has "an international focus", Jeppesen has already entered conversation with EASA.
While the firm declines to name other potential customers, it says there are "quite a few operators who are investigating the solution globally". The industry will "hear continued public conversation" about the iPad EFB in the coming months, it adds, and also should not be surprised if "by late summer" an announcement comes from a major airline.

Indeed, information obtained from the Executive Jet evaluation of the Class I iPad EFB will be useful in gaining future authorisation for Class 2 mounted configurations, which are expected to appeal to commercial operators.
"When you look into bigger aircraft, they will probably be looking for a mounted solution, where the pilot doesn't want to have a kneeboard. It depends on the operation, the type of aircraft being flown and the space available in the flight deck for what the optimal solution is for each carrier," says Buhl.
Exploring how in-flight connectivity can add a real-time element to the iPad EFB is also on Jeppesen's agenda. "We think that is something that is extremely interesting as well," says Buhl
Meanwhile, the introduction of the iPad 2, Apple's second iteration of the hugely-popular tablet, is expected to drive further interest in the iPad-as-EFB solution. The new, slimmer, lighter iPad "will have a huge impact on aviation", predicts Jeppesen, noting that the paperless solution replaces some "70lbs carried around for full flight bags for charts".

[compressor stall]

I believe the iPad has undergone certification trials in the US to be certified as a class 2 EFB.

Yes, last year IIRC, part of which involved a 51,000 foot decompression. Not sure I'd be reading it then though, I would hope to have most things committed to memory if needed at that point.:eek:

[Capn Bloggs]

Both CASA and NZ have indicated that they are relying on the FAA regulations and testing, and there it's the Operator that determines whether there is any interference and whether it can be used for take-off or landing.

I don't have any problem with that; you get me the approval and I'll use it! :ok:

However, this discussion is more than just about some entertainment device to allow Bloggs to play Solitaire whilst waiting at the holding point. It'll be used as an EFB, replacing paper charts. I suspect that Netjets will be guarding their 51,000ft flight test approval and will not let other operators use the results for free without a fight.

[doubleu-anker]

If Netjets are flying around FL510 I am glad I am not rich enough to have a share in one of their aircraft.

Have a blowout up there and you are in pressure suit territory. Ipad or no Ipad.

[Capn Bloggs]

If Netjets are flying around FL510
G550:
http://gulfstream.vo.llnwd.net/o36/assets/pdf/brochures/G550%20Specifications%20Sheet.pdf

How they did the decompression test is another matter! :eek:

5kg of documents for 800hrs per year = 120kg of fuel used.

[27/09]

I see one outfit at least uses the likes of the Kindle.

From a pure cost point of view it doesn't make sense to me for a Flight Ops department to buy iPads at $800NZD when something like the Kindle costs under $200NZD, just to be able to read the AIP in PDF format.

Sure if there are other requirements that the likes of the Kindle cannot meet then the scenario changes.