iPad Flight Manuals

[Spectator]

Alaska Airlines has begun a program to phase out printed flight manuals with digital copies carried on an iPad.

http://splash.alaskasworld.com/Newsroom/ASNews/ASstories/AS_20110527_082430.asp

What do those of you who sit in the front seat think about the idea? To me it seems like a good idea on the face of it, but I can imagine concerns regarding using consumer grade hardware for what would become flight critical equipment in an emergency.

I see comments elsewhere which raise some interesting points for potential enhancements, some of which are in use already by private pilots:

• Automatic selection of approach charts based on GPS location
• Actual position displayed on a approach chart
• More easily visible in dim lighting

And best of all:

"This is your Captain speaking…we are currently flying at 35,000 feet and I just got four stars on Angry Birds!" http://mashable.com/2011/05/31/alask...-pilots-ipads/

[Evan]

Alaska Airlines has begun a program to phase out printed flight manuals with digital copies carried on an iPad.

http://splash.alaskasworld.com/Newsroom/ASNews/ASstories/AS_20110527_082430.asp

What do those of you who sit in the front seat think about the idea? To me it seems like a good idea on the face of it, but I can imagine concerns regarding using consumer grade hardware for what would become flight critical equipment in an emergency.

I see comments elsewhere which raise some interesting points for potential enhancements, some of which are in use already by private pilots:

• Automatic selection of approach charts based on GPS location
• Actual position displayed on a approach chart
• More easily visible in dim lighting

And best of all:

Well I guess this officially puts the "use of unapproved portable electronic devices may affect navigational systems" myth to rest.

[Passion for flying]

Today is June 1 not April 1.
Are you sure this is not a joke?

[Moose135]

Well I guess this officially puts the "use of unapproved portable electronic devices may affect navigational systems" myth to rest.

From the article linked by Spectator:

The iPad is considered a Class 1 electronic device, meaning it is stowed during takeoff and landing under Federal Aviation Administration regulations.

Now, what that means in actual practice?

[Evan]

From the article linked by Spectator:


Now, what that means in actual practice?

Does that mean it is unavailable during those critical aspects of flight?

[Fear_of_Flying]

First Problem:

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/05/31/357372/alaska-pilots-not-allowed-to-access-internet-in-the-cockpit-due-to-interference.html

The pilots can't use the iPads for internet use due to interference it has caused with Honeywell display units.

[EconomyClass]

Without judging the question of improvement over paper manuals, I just wonder if the manual on the iPad can be bookmarked. I'm guessing some contents might be more important to find than others. We had online manuals where I worked, and we were bookmarking them all the time for issues that needed to be found in a few seconds. The search feature wasn't that nice, finding too many hits. But once you found the path to something, it did allow the address to be saved into a "favorites" list.

[Mungous]

bump: UA & CO to follow suit

must've been working out fine for Alaska then...