Lido or not to Lido
Having previously used jepps, I'm still partial to them . Perhaps for the simple reason that one has to learn anew.
Having said that I'm partial to Jepps simply because that there is a comfort factor.
Some of the points in favour .
We have coloured charts. which helps situational awareness with regards to terrain and sea level areas.
The minimas are rounded e.g 238 ' is 240 '
The 25 nm MSA cirlce is clearly visible on the main charts rather than in the corner of the jepps.
Info on whether the runway is groved or not is clearly stated on the runway info.
Still getting used to the various chapter vis a vis Jepps. Some good info that was not in Jepps with regards e.g altitiude corrections for temperature and pressure and also wind (altimeter correction)
Some of the taxi charts depict taxy way directions ( not displayed on jepps) for a similar destination.
As the FMC data base is lido there is greater commonality when validating the approach.
The Briefing package is also LIDO so all the notams tie up nicely.
The introduction ( legends and Tables ) is also in colour so it helps when you read and does'nt get too boring . Also when you actually see an object in real life it makes more sense.
Now know what RLG visual docking system stands for .
Still not using the Electronic version of LIDO .Still trialling ther version. . A couple of great features a) you can magnify the route to suit your sight. b) you can select a way point and the chart will be reselected to the area of the waypoint. So making it easier to locate the route.
Electronic Charts - When we finally get them. Less paper and Less weight.
The Draw back
The chart paper is not that durable . Lots of torn and missing paper
There is a lack of consistency in the way some things are depicted.
e.g we use PDC and DCL and we need to rely on company documentation to confirm wheter PDC or DCL is available. There are occasions where it is indicated on the chart but not always.
The runway length TORA info is diplayed variously in tabulated form and sometimes along the runway, depending on the destination Intermediate distances are shown via flags and adjacent distances or tabulated form.at other destinations. One example in Manila where no intemediate distances are available. for calculation and intersection takeoff. This can be quite distressing when trying to calculate distances due to different possibilites.
The way the missed approach procedure is written in contrast to Jepps can lead to confusion. ( But can get use to once highlighted)
No ATIS Freq on the approach chart. -- their response "thats too late to be looking for ATIS info!"
Some of the info is a bit disjointed . I'm sure that they can work on a format where you can find only dep info and then a separate area for arrival and then additional info. Some info is indicated on a separate graphic info and some purely in text and some in additional info. I find I need to have more charts open when briefing.
Some info on Route charts with regards to making forward contact with ATC are incorrect . This info is also not depicted the same way when using the electronic format. But this can be corrected via feed back to LIDO
The route charts get very congested and busy in some areas.
Cheers
BM