Electronic Flight Bag

[CLDriver]

Hey All,

I searched the forums on EFB's and saw a few threads from three years ago, anyone have some current information/advice?

I was tasked to research going to a paperless cockpit in our 604, but really don't know much about it, yet.

Anyone have preferences on which EFB? Whether stand alone or with a display in the cockpit and a box in the equipment bay?

Thanks for your comments.

Cldriver

[g4phil]

We are currently looking at EFB options for our GIV and GV, plenty of leg work has narrowed it down to these two:

Flight Serve C2 using E-Board flight displays available at:
http://www.paperlesscockpit.com
Approx $8,000 a seat

CMA 1100 PilotView EFB available at:
http://www.cmcelectronics.ca
Approx $15,000 a seat

Although for a cheaper option you could obtain the parts yourself using a micro PC, 8.4" PDA display and Bluetooth GPS sensor. I have priced these to about $3,000 a seat.

Which ever we run with one thing is sure, less paper!!

[JBrady]

Juat curious. What is the approval process for EFB's like with the JAA. Here in the US it's very straightforward, but I've heard it can be a challenge in Europe. Is my information out of date?

[Daifly]

There are Factory Mods for most bizjets for EFB's and they are hideously expensive.

If you are operating on an AOC or Part 135 then you must print out the charts before operating, even if they are the STC mod as you must have a backup in case all the power fails (no, I don't know how you fly an instrument approach with no power either!)

If you are private, well technically you can fly without the mod'd version. You can buy the EFB and strap them to the yoke without a mod requirement (most manufacturers of EFBs make mounts that'll fit most yokes) (www.flightdeckresources.com have always been good for us - if a little pricey) but I'd suggest that you show some willing towards the authorities by either printing out some charts (most EFB's have a USB port to link up to a printer) or having a backup laptop or other power sources.

The cheaper EFBs will all be completed enclosed (i.e. hard drive contained within it) rather than wired into the airframe with the data stored centrally (new Gulfstreams are the exception obviously, although even the G550 has to carry a backup at present (for the next couple of months at least).

Certification under JAR. A good question. The UK CAA carried out some flight tests last year and the consensus was that the additional weight on the yoke would provide forces under 'g' which were above accepted levels - whether that theory is Europe-wide (and therefore whether JAR accepts it) I'm not sure. At present though I believe that they are NOT approved for JAR Public Transport Ops. Hopefully someone will correct me if I am wrong.

Cheers, Daifly.

[CLDriver]

I found out that the Fujitsu has an STC out for the install, the others are a field approval type of deal.

Anyone out there in the US installed something other than a Fujitsu and had it field approved?

I found out today that our jet has been hard wired for the Northstar (CMC), but no STC, just field approval. Apparently the Dallas FSDO is notorious for being very difficult to get field approval on this sort of thing.

Cldriver

[AA717driver]

Slightly off topic but we've got the Primus Epic with the EFB built in but we still print out charts before we leave. AND, we've got a tablet-type laptop with the JeppView loaded.

Not that we've got no faith in technology, mind you...;) TC

[Red Mud]

The Disney folks use a stand alone EFB on their 604. Pretty nice except that you can't dim it enough for my liking.

[FlyMD]

Hi,

We use the ADR FG4000, which is a modified Fujitsu pen tablet.The only hardware modification to the original is a Dimmer which allows you to set the thing dim enough for night ops and bright enough for sunshine, and it's an essential mod!!

Moreover, the thingy comes pre-configured for the use of the Jeppesen Jeppview/Flightdeck program.

As we are using this unit "loose", which means strapped as a kneeboard instead of mounted, we do not need approval for it, even thought we operate JAR commercial. JAA will shortly publish it's guidelines for EFB, which should be very close to the FAA circular that has served as reference.

HOWEVER: you do need to have a power supply in the cockpit for these thingies, if you are gonna make flights over 2 hours. So we used a schedule maintenance downtime to install 2 outlets on each side of the cockpit. Total cost including STC: 10'000 USD for a Falcon 900.

The units, with 3-year warranty, cost about 7000 USD each.

As we carry a worldwilde Jepp, this was the ONLY way to go for us, and we are quite happy after 5 month of operation.

[727 exec]

Please excuse the smugness of a new G550 Pilot - but...we've got all the charts available on either of our two I-NAV screens. This PlaneView cockpit is just luverly :))