IT policy for a small aviation firm in Africa - which kit?
 

Hi all,

I've been asked to start to create an IT policy for a small aviation firm in East Africa. They currently fly 9 aircraft (mostly single engine 4 and 6 seaters and a couple of twin engine aircraft) but hope to expand quite quickly.
I am trying to find out what technology (other than the iPad which I understand is very useful) pilots in these small and medium size operations use or would like to use and for what purpose. I understand the legalities would vary from one country to another so I will take the info away and check it against other sources before I write my initial report. I am currently poorly informed so please feel free to point out the blindingly obvious to me. Thanks in advance.

The people who probably know best are the pilots and office/dispatch staff. Don't miss an opportunity to hear from them.

Depending on the type of operation and aircraft equipment I'd be concerned about iPad battery autonomy, dirt/waterproofness and unauthorized use in tricky weather conditions. For less than 100$ you can plug a quite precise GPS that's much more responsive than the built-in GPS (I've seen it work flawlessly in an airliner in cruise). The temptation to use the iPad for navigation would be significant.

Thanks Stratocaster. I will be talking to the pilots and staff of course.
Yeah, I've been up with the guys and seen small GPS working perfectly. But I was also thinking not just of navigation but also any other data and communication needs. Be as broad as you like!
Thanks again.

iPad
 

Why would you want an iPad for Africa? Is data that fast to accomodate all the bells and whistles? I imagine a deal with one of the cellphone operators to send bulk texts or BlackBerry, which has much more market saturation in Africa than other smartphone platforms, would be more versatile.

For the price of setting up iPads, surely some form of GPS tracking system would be more beneficial and is required to access charters for the larger corporations visiting Africa, i.e. mining, UN, etc... therefore would be a better bet.

For IT requirements, especially for smaller African operators, I would focus on streamlining the quotation, sales, invoicing and aircraft scheduling process to improve efficiency as this is where most smaller operators employing locals with less extensive IT literacy tend to lose both time and money.